Train2Game News: Mass Effect 3 producer praises benefits of modding for aspiring developers

Train2Game students looking to show that they have that little bit of extra dedication in attempting to break into the games industry should be building and finishing mods.

That’s according to BioWare producer Michael Gamble, who is currently focusing on Mass Effect 3 DLC.

Speaking to the BioWare Blog, he said building a fully working mod shows potential employers that you can finish something that you’ve started.

“Work on a lot of mods and finish them. This shows that you have the rigor to complete something you have started, and gets you working in a team environment.” said Gamble.

“Developing mods will also show you what it’s like to pour your heart into a creative work, and to expect nothing in return!” he added.

The BioWare producer’s advice is almost identical to what id Software creative director Tim Willits has previously told The Train2Game Blog.

“What I suggest to people who want to get in the industry is find their favourite engine – Unreal, Source, it doesn’t matter, id tech – find whatever engine they like, what games they like to play, get the mod tools and make a mod.” he said.

“And make sure they complete it! Lots of times we have people who send resumes’ in with 20 half completed mods; we don’t want that, we want a handful of one’s that are actually done, and that’s really important.” Willits added.

There’s more advice from industry professionals right here on The Train2Game Blog, while be sure to keep reading for the latest news from BioWare.

What are your thoughts on the advice from BioWare producer Michael Gamble? Are you already following it?

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

Train2Game News: Reminder – Blitz Games ‘meet the experts’ live stream tonight


Train2Game students can get advice from experienced industry professionals when Blitz Games host a live ‘meet the experts’ web chat at 6:30 p.m. this evening.

“Two of Blitz’s experienced programmers from our BlitzTech and R&D teams will be sharing their knowledge on a variety of topics aimed at aspiring newcomers to the industry as well as experienced coders looking to further their career in a new field or specialism.” reads the announcement on the Blitz website, suggesting that this session will be of particular interest to Train2Game game developers, who’ll be able to watch it here.

Will you be tuning in tonight?

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

Train2Game news: Unreal Engine 4 unveiled by Epic Games

Train2Game students can get a first glimpse at Unreal Engine 4 from Epic Games in a huge feature published by Wired.  It contains the first details about the engine that’s hotly tipped to appear alongside next-gen consoles.

“There is a huge responsibility on the shoulders of our engine team and our studio to drag this industry into the next generation,” said Epic Games’ design director Cliff Bleszinski, who last month provided advice to Train2Game students during Make Something Unreal Live.

“It is up to Epic, and Tim Sweeney in particular, to motivate Sony and Microsoft not to phone in what these next consoles are going to be. It needs to be a quantum leap. They need to damn near render Avatar in real time, because I want it and gamers want it—even if they don’t know they want it.”

It isn’t the first time Bleszinski has called for Avatar like visuals for PlayStation 4 and Xbox 720 consoles.

Epic Games founder Tim Sweeny is more reserved, but hints that they’ll have a hand in suggesting the performance for next-gen consoles.

“We’re much more in sync with the console makers than any other developer is. That means we can give detailed recommendations with a complete understanding of what is going to be commercially possible.” he said.

Read the huge Unreal Engine 4 feature and see images of what it looks like over at Wired.

There’s more Unreal Engine 4 news here on The Train2Game Blog.

What are your initial impressions of Unreal Engine 4? What do you think it needs to bring to the table?

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

Train2Game at Gadget Show Live 2012 – All 4 documentary films

Train2Game student teams took last month’s Make Something Unreal Contest at Gadget Show Live, with the task of building an iOS game based on the prestigious Fighting Fantasy series.

Now, you can see the progress each of the four made through Make Something Unreal Live in a new video from Train2Game! It features industry figures including Cliff Bleszinski, Jon Hare, Peter Molyneux and Ian Livingstone providing advice to Train2Game students as they developed their game. Links to each of the 15 minute documentaries are below.

Train2Game at Gadget Show Live 2012 – The Commando Kiwi Story 

Train2Game at Gadget Show Live 2012 – The Derp Studios Story

Train2Game at Gadget Show Live 2012 – The IndigoJam Story 

Train2Game at Gadget Show Live 2012 – The Digital Mage Story

They’re also all available, with much more, on the Train2Game YouTube channel.

As usual, leave your comments here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game news: Free-to-play “the only sustainable option” for MMOs say Turbine

Train2Game Blog readers will have noticed how many MMOs have switched from being subscription based to a free-to-play model, including Turbine’s Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeon and Dragons Online.

And Turbine has told games.on.net that free-to-play might now be the only sustainable model for MMOs.

“The great thing about F2P is that it makes it a lot easier for players to check out the game or even come and go from another game,” said the unnamed interviewee.

“We continue to have hundreds of thousands of players in DDO every month and I doubt that could be the case if we were in a classic subscription model. It also allows different players to spend more or less in the game and everyone can contribute to the community in different ways and we can focus on improving the service for everyone. Overall it was and continues to be a great change for our game.”

“Is it sustainable? We would argue that it might be the only sustainable option.” they added.

Of course, the launch of Star Wars: The Old Republic and the continued success of World of Warcraft suggests there’s still some life in subscription MMOs yet.

There’s on free-to-play here on The Train2Game Blog.

What do you think is the future for MMOs? Will everything end up free-to-play? Or will there still be a demand for subscription based games?

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

Train2Game News: Watch BAFTA young game designers workshop LIVE at 1pm

Train2Game students can tune in to watch industry experts give advice to BAFTA young game designers when their Bradford Workshop kicks off at 1pm today.

BAFTA Young Game Designers is a competition for 11-16 year olds that gives them the opportunity to make their own games.

The Bradford Workshop will see Senior Designer at Evolution Studios Hal Sandbach, former Head of Design on Worms John Dennis and Curator of New Media at the National Media Museum Tom Wooley offering advice to the BAFTA young game designers.

With the talk aimed at those aspiring to get into the games industry, there could be some great advice for Train2Game students in there.

You can watch the BAFTA young game designers live stream here from 1pm.

Keep reading The Train2Game Blog for the latest news from BAFTA.

Will you be watching?

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

BAFTA’s public events and online resources bring you closer to the creative talent behind your favourite games, films, and TV shows. Find out more at www.bafta.org/newsletter,www.facebook.com/bafta or twitter.com/baftagames

Train2Game News: Go behind the scenes of Epic Mickey 2 in developer diary from Junction Point

Train2Game students can get behind the scenes of Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two in a brand new developer diary from Junction Point.

Creative Director Warren Spector and the rest of the team discuss subjects including making a game “worthy” of the Disney name, how introducing co-op with Oswald changes Epic Mickey, the advantages of now building the game for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and much more.

Watch the Epic Mickey 2 The Power of Two developer diary below, right here on The Train2Game Blog.

There’s more about Epic Mickey here .

What are your initial impressions of Epic Mickey 2? What do you think are the challenges of building a Disney game?

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

Train2Game news: Tribes: Ascend passes 1 million downloads in less than a month

Train2Game Blog readers may have read this post at the end of April, about free-to-play shooter Tribes: Ascend reaching 800,000 players in its first weeks of release.

Well, the growth didn’t stop there, with developer Hi-Rez revealing Tribes: Ascend has reached 1.2 million downloads since its release on 12th April.

“We’re thrilled that over 1 million gamers have discovered the fast-paced and skill-based gameplay of Tribes,” said Hi-Rez Studios COO Todd Harris. “It is truly the player support of the title that has driven the population growth and fuels our team to deliver updates.

“We see the community expanding primarily thru positive word of mouth. Since release we’ve already recognized seven players who have each individually referred over 500 new people to Tribes: Ascend.”   he continued.

“The game’s success allows us to give back to the community through free DLC updates, tournament events and expansion into new markets in coming months.”  Harris added.

As previously reported by The Train2Game Blog, the Hi-Rez COO believes free-to-play is the best business model for both studios and gamers.

There’s more on the rise of free-to-play here.

Are you playing Tribes: Ascend? What are your thoughts on the success of the game?

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

Train2Game at Gadget Show Live 2012 – The Digital Mage Story (Video)

Train2Game student team Digital Mage were one of four to take part in last month’s Make Something Unreal Contest at Gadget Show Live, with the task of building an iOS game based on the prestigious Fighting Fantasy series.

Now, you can see the progress they made through Make Something Unreal Live in a new video from Train2Game! It features industry figures including Cliff Bleszinski, Jon Hare, Peter Molyneux and Ian Livingstone providing advice to Digital Mage as they developed their game.

Watch it on the Train2Game YouTube channel, or here on The Train2Game Blog.

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

Train2Game Industry Experience Dairies: Lionel Adams at DR Studios – week 5

 

Train2Game game developer Lionel Adams has recently started a Train2Game student industry experience placement at DR Studios.

In his latest update from the Milton Keynes studio, Lionel discusses how he’s learned to love Lerp.

Read Lionel’s first industry experience diary update on the Train2Game Scribd site, or here on the Train2Game Blog. Keep reading to keep up with the latest student diaries.