Category Archives: Student

Train2Game News: Shootmania closed beta begins soon

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FPS Shootmania from Ubisoft and Nadeo is entering closed beta in the near fure, and you can sign-up to be a part of it.

The free-to-play shooter comes from the makers of Trackmania, and will allow players to create and share their own levels.

Those interested in taking part in the Shootmania closed beta can register their interest on the official website up until Monday 2nd July.  The level creation tools could be of particular interest to those on Train2Game courses.

Get a taste of Shootmania in the trailer below, right here on The Train2Game Blog.

There’s more beta testing news, and information on how it’s useful for developers and Train2Game students, here on The Train2Game Blog.

What are your initial thoughts on Shootmania and its level creation tools? Will you be applying for a place in the beta?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: MechWarrior Online developer diary talks four pillars of game design

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Learn about development of MechWarrior Online, the first title in the series for over a decade, in a brand new developer diary from Piranha Games.

The video sees Piranha Games President Russ Bullock discussing the four key game design pillars of the upcoming free-to-play mech combat MMO. They are mech warfare, information warfare, role warfare and community warfare.

Bullock also talks about Bringing MechWarrior up to date and introducing an online element to a series which originally appeared in 1989. MechWarrior Online is scheduled for release on PC later this year.

Watch the developer diary below, right here on The Train2Game Blog.

There are more developer diaries, giving an insight into development of a wide variety of games, here on The Train2Game Blog.

Were you a fan of the original MechWarrior series? What are your thoughts on MechWarrior Online?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: Valve releases Source Filmmaker

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Valve has introduced Source Filmmaker, the video creation tool they’ve used to make over 50 animated shorts including the nine Team Fortress 2 ‘Meet the’ class films.

It could be a fun way for those on the Train2Game Art & Animation or QA Tester course to practice their animation or editing skills. Those interested in a free beta invite can sign up via the Source Filmmaker website.

“The Source Filmmaker is the movie-making tool built and used by Valve to make movies inside the Source game engine.” reads the Source Filmmaker FAQ.

“It is how we have been making all of our animated short movies. Because the Source Filmmaker uses the same assets as a Source-engine game, what goes into the game can be used in the movie, and vice versa.”

“By using the hardware rendering of a modern PC gaming machine, the SFM allows storytellers to work in a “what you see is what you get” environment so that they can iterate in the context of what it will feel like for the final audience.”

Valve has released a series of tutorial videos for the Source Filmmaker, the first of which you can see below, right here on The Train2Game Blog.

Source filmmaker arrives on the third day of Team Fortress 2’s Pyromania event, which has also seen six community created weapons added to the popular free-to-play shooter.

Be sure to keep reading The Train2Game Blog for the latest news from Valve and Team Fortress 2.

Will you be trying out Source Filmmaker?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: Ron Gilbert on game design “For me, it almost always starts with the world”

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Game design begins with building a world before adding characters and then a story. At least that’s the case for Maniac Mansion and The Secret of Monkey Island co-creator Ron Gilbert.

“For me, it almost always starts with the world.” he told The Guardian in an interview about The Cave, the adventure game he’s developing with Tim Schafer’s Double Fine Productions.

“Maniac Mansion is really all about that mansion, that was the genesis of it. The Secret of Monkey Island all started for me because I loved the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disney – I wanted to live in that world.”

“It’s the same thing with The Cave; it started with the setting and the characters kind of get built up from that – I think, okay, now I have the world, who would live there? Who would want to adventure in that place?” Gilbert continued, before going into a little bit about game design in adventure games.

“So the characters come about, then the story starts to form, and very quickly after that I start to figure out the major puzzle beats – because in an adventure game it’s the puzzles that drive the narrative forward.”

“ I start with that over-arching narrative then, I go, ‘okay, I need a big puzzle here, another one here, and one there’, and I start building backwards from all those big puzzles to all the little ones that lead up to them.” he added.

Ron Gilbert’s The Cave involves taking three of seven adventures into a cave, battling monsters, solving puzzles and stealing loot. It’s scheduled for release by SEGA on PC, Xbox Live and PlayStation Network early next year.

There’s more from Ron Gilbert here on The Train2Game Blog in this video where he discusses game design with Tim Schafer

What are your thoughts on game design? Does the world form the base of the games you’re building?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog or on The Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: Paradox Interactive talking Crusader Kings II: Sword of Islam development in live demo today

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Paradox Interactive are hosting a live demo of Crusader Kings II: Sword of Islam today, allowing viewers insights into development of the newly released expansion.

Crusader Kings II project lead Henrik Fåhreus will host the live stream, discussing development of features specific to the newly introduced Islamic rulers in addition to taking a live Q&A session with viewers. It could provide Train2Game students with a great insight into development of Sword of Islam.

The Twitch TV live stream event begins at 5pm (6pm CEST) on the official Paradox Interactive channel http://www.twitch.tv/paradoxinteractive

There’s more Crusader Kings II news here on The Train2Game Blog, while be sure to keep reading the latest from Paradox Interactive.

Are you a Crusader Kings II player? Will you be tuning into the live stream with Henrik Fåhreus?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: World of Warplanes developer diary discusses game design

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Get behind the scenes of World of Warplanes in a brand new developer diary from Wargaming.net.

The video features producers Tatiana Zelenkevich and Anton Sitnikau, along with creative manager Eugene Smozhevsky discussing development of the upcoming free-to-play aerial combat MMO.

Subjects they talk about include changes to game design during development, brainstorming ideas how the main game type ‘superiority’ works and the importance of including a good training mode. The game is currently in closed beta.

Watch the World of Warplanes developer diary below, right here on The Train2Game Blog.

World of Warplanes is set to be released later this year.

There are more developer diaries, giving an insight into development of a wide variety of games, here on The Train2Game Blog.

What are your thoughts on World of Warplanes? Are you taking part in the closed beta?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: Peter Molyneux to give developer session at Rezzed

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 Peter Molyneux will host a developer session at PC and Indie gaming show Rezzed at 4pm on Friday 6th July.

The veteran game designer – who mentored Train2Game students during Make Something Unreal Live – will discuss his start-up studio 22 Cans and their first title, Curiosity.

Curiosity will see players tapping away at a single cube, with its contents only being accessible to a single player after an unspecified number of taps.  It’ll feature a one-off DLC item, a diamond chisel that costs £50,000, with Molyneux previously stating he’d he “shocked” if anyone bought it.

Of course, Peter Molyneux’s developer session also provides a great opportunity for Train2Game students to probe the mind of an industry legend.  Tickets for Rezzed are available on the official website.

Day Z creator Dean “Rocket” Hall, The Indie Stone,  Introversion Software, The Creative Assembly, Splash Damage CEO Paul Wedgwood and Gearbox Software’s Randy Pitchford are among those giving talks during the two day Brighton event, while a variety of games are available to play on the show floor.

Not only that, but everyone who buys a ticket for Rezzed gets a free DOTA 2 beta key.

We’ll be sure to keep you up to date with the latest news as the show approaches and more speakers are announced.

What’s your reaction to Peter Molyneux being added to the Rezzed line-up? Has it encouraged you to go?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: Team Fortress 2 Pyromania update adds 6 community created weapons to the game

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Team Fortress 2’s Pyromania update is into its second day and introduces six new weapons, all of which have been created by members of the TF2 community.

The update for Valve’s free-to-play shooter includes user-created weapons for the Sniper, Solider and Scout classes, in addition to The Scorch Shot for the Pyro.  It was the Scorch Shot which featured in a ‘How a gun gets made’ video you can see here on The Train2Game Blog.

As of August last year, Team Fortress 2 players had earned $2 million through their custom weapons being added to the game then sold in the game’s virtual store.

Valve has a reputation for supporting modders, with Chet Faliszek, a game designer at the Bellevue, Washington studio, previously telling the Train2Game Blog that modding is a great way to get noticed in the games industry.

There’s more about community created items and modding – both excellent ways for Train2Game students to practice and showcases their skills – here on The Train2Game Blog.

Meanwhile, be sure to keep reading for the latest news from Valve and Team Fortress 2.

What are your thoughts on community created weapons forming the bulk of the latest Team Fortress 2 update? Are you inspired to make items for the game?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: Developer diaries go behind the scenes of PSN RPG Rainbow Moon

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Get behind the scenes of upcoming PSN RPG Rainbow Moon in not one, but two, developer diaries from Eastasia Soft.

The first video gives you an introduction to the isometric role-playing game, while the second takes a detailed look at combat in Rainbow Moon. Watch them below, here on The Train2Game Blog.

Rainbow Moon is scheduled for release via PlayStation Network on Wednesday 4th July for £9.99, with a claim that the story lasts over 40 hours.

There are more developer diaries, giving an insight into the work going into development of a variety of games, here on The Train2Game Blog.

What are your impressions of Rainbow Moon? Is it a game you’re interested in playing?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game News: Paradox Interactive announce A Game of Dwarves closed beta

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Paradox Interactive will be holding a closed beta for their upcoming strategy and management title A Game of Dwarves, and you can apply to be a part of it.

In  AGame of Dwarves, players build, dig and conduct research in a randomly generated dwavern settlement, as you build your dwarves up from being poor and weak to master craftsmen,all the while defending yourself against various enemies.

To apply to take part in the Game of Dwarves closed beta, simply visit Paradox Interactive’s signup page and enter all of the required details.  It could provide a great opportunity for Train2Game QA Testers to use their skills.

The beta scheduled to begin on Friday 13th July, with the selected applicants receiving more information nearer the time. A Game of Dwarves is pencilled in for release towards the end of the year.

Get a taste of A Game of Dwarves in the trailer below, here on The Train2Game Blog.

There’s more  beta testing news, and information on how it’s useful for developers and Train2Game students, here on The Train2Game Blog. And be sure to keep reading for the latest news from Paradox Interactive.

Will you apply to take part in the A Game of Dwarves beta? What are your initial thoughts on the game?

Leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or here on the Train2Game forum.