Category Archives: train 2 game

Train2Game News: Train2Game Winners

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Train2GameThe Train2Game team are creating a new web page highlighting the positive achievements of the students.

We think it’s important that we show what can be achieved by taking a Train2Game course and also heap some praise on the deserving students that have made those brave steps to become professionals.

The site will be used as inspiration for all students to see what they are working towards and what they can achieve with a lot of hard work. This is a great chance to put something back into the Train2Game community, show off your work, gain interest in products you’re working on for your employer show your achievements to potential future employers.

It would be great to hear from all the students who have made that step to become professionals; be it in a company, in an independent studio or another area of employment in or outside the games industry that your Train2Game course has helped you to obtain.

This is a great opportunity for students to start shouting about the courses and their success stories. Please do get in touch by emailing Harry Cole at harry@swanpr.co.uk

Train2Game News: Games with Gold offer extended

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Xbox 360Microsoft have announced that the Games for Gold initiative on Xbox 360 has been extended past 2013.

It was announced at E3 in June this year as a limited-time promotion, Games with Gold gives Xbox Live subscribers two free games to keep each month, with new titles made available on the 1st and 16th.

Since then Microsoft says over 120 million hours have been played with Games with Gold titles. These have included Fable 3, Defense Grid: The Awakening, Assassin’s Creed 2, Crackdown, Dead Rising 2 and DR2 prologue Case Zero, Magic 2013, Rainbow Six Vegas, Might & Magic: Clash of Heroes and most recently Halo 3.

Despite switching focus to Xbox One in the run-up to the console’s November 22 release, Xbox chief marketing and strategy officer Yusuf Mehdi said in September that the company will continue to support Xbox 360 for years to come.

“If you look at Xbox 360 that platform has lasted for seven to eight years and it’s going to go for another three years. It’s incredibly profitable now in the tail,” he said. “We are going to continue to invest in Xbox 360 and the two devices can work in concert. So it isn’t just like the day we ship Xbox One, Xbox 360 won’t work, we will continue to support it. In fact, we are going to ship over 100 new games on Xbox 360, so you will still be able to play your games, just not on the same exact box.”

So for all those not wanting to go next generation from release you should still have at least three years with your Xbox 360.

Train2Game News: PS4 playable at GAME stores

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PS4GAME, the UK’s leading video game specialist, is giving UK gamers chance to get involved with a hands-on of the PS4 weeks ahead of its November 29th launch.

Sixty-two GAME stores across the UK will be extending their opening hours to host an incredible and exclusive event in the latest of GAME’s highly-rated lock-in series.  The lock-ins will take place after normal trading hours, giving lucky gamers the chance to experience the power of the Playstation 4 in a unique environment and be one amongst some of the first gamers in the UK to get hands on before it’s released!

Gamers can get their hands on the Dual Shock 4 controller and Fifa 14 in its next gen glory alongside Octodad: Dadliest Catch, Knack, Super Mother Load, Pinball Arcade and Contrast! On top of this, gamers will be able to get their pre-orders down on all the great upcoming Playstation 4 product such as the GAME exclusive editions of Call of Duty: Ghosts and Assassins Creed: Black Flag.

To reserve your place you can register at your nearest participating store, either in person or by sending the store a tweet. Spaces are limited and will be chosen on a first-come, first-served basis. Gamers must be 16 or over to register and attend. ID will be required for entry.

Charlotte Knight, Category Director at GAME said: “The PS4 brings a huge range of incredible games, jaw-dropping graphics, social integration like never before and a sheer power that has had the gaming community incredibly excited since it was first announced. We’re delighted to bring this exclusive evening experience to our stores and customers – we know they are going to be thrilled to be some of the first gamers in the UK to get hands on with PS4 over a month before it hits the shelves. Our relationship and partnership with Sony is key to the work we’re doing – we have already delivered three great lock-in tours with Sony this year and this PS4 tour promises to be the best yet. It’s an incredible opportunity for our customers and we can’t wait to join them in getting hands on with the next generation, exclusively at GAME.”

To find out more about this and other exciting events that are happening throughout the year, please visit http://instore.game.co.uk/

Train2Game News: Insomnia50 announced

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InsomniaMultiplay, organiser of the Insomnia series of gaming festivals, the largest gaming festivals in the United Kingdom is pleased to announce the initial line-up for its 50th LANniversary, Insomnia50, taking place at the Telford International Centre from 29 November through 2 December 2013.

Over 25,000 gaming enthusiasts attended Insomnia 49, with a further 4.7 million viewers on the Multiplay website, delivering over 11 million minutes of video views across the weekend, and over two million Flickr photo views and Insomnia 50 will continue the tradition of delivering an incredible weekend for attendees and its millions of viewers online.

With an incredible line-up of entertainment on offer, Insomnia is a place for friends and families alike to experience gaming-based activities throughout the whole weekend. From Hunger Games tournaments and creative builds in the Minecraft Zone, to a huge selection of the latest independent games and their developers in the Indie Zone.  There really is something for everyone; with prize-pool competitive tournaments for a variety of modern eSports for both pc and console gamers, a thriving exhibition with the latest games and merchandise the Card & Board game area, Retro Zone, Mainstage and more, Insomnia delivers a gaming experience unlike any other.

To celebrate the 50th LANniversary, Multiplay are hosting an Insomnia50 Celebration Evening. Taking place on the Saturday of the event, the evening comprises of the World Famous Insomnia Pub Quiz, live music from throwback glam rock heroes Saints of Sin, live comedy from critically acclaimed comedian Paul Tonkinson and the Insomnia Awards, a ceremony celebrating the uniquely brilliant qualities of both the Multiplay community and the Insomnia events themselves. With all proceeds going to Multiplay’s designated charity, SpecialEffect.

“It’s been a milestone we’ve been anticipating, and with the fantastic turnout from Insomnia fans at Insomnia49, we are incredibly pleased to produce the best gaming festival in the UK even better”, said Craig Fletcher, Multiplay CEO. “As a team, we couldn’t be happier with the success of Insomnia, driven by its passionate community, and we can’t wait to deliver something truly memorable for our fans as we celebrate our 50th LANniversary.”

With some of the biggest eSports tournaments in the UK, Insomnia is not to be missed, with spaces to compete in the tournaments still available online on the Insomnia Gaming Festivals website.

More announcements will be made in the coming months, including amazing games being shown for the first time in the UK. For the most up-to-date line-up, visit the official website at http://insomniagamingfestival.com.

Train2Game News: AppsWorld Reminder for T2G Students

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AppsworldThe academic team will be at AppsWorld 2013. So if you need some one-to-one tuition or simply need a little help come to Stand M6.

The added bonus is this year’s Earls Court 2 event is set to be the biggest yet with over 250 exhibitors and over 8000+ attendees including developers, mobile marketers, mobile operators, device manufacturers, platform owners and industry professionals registered for two days of high level insight and discussion.

AppsWorld 22-23 October 2013 at Earls Court 2 Train2Game STAND NUMBER M6

To see more information about the event visit http://www.apps-world.net/

Train2Game News: Marmalde SDK helping Windows 8 developers

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MarmaladeMarmalade, in partnership with Microsoft is giving you the opportunity to get a free 3-month Marmalade license extension and a Free Windows Phone 8 Device when you get apps approved on the Windows Developer Center.

When you sign up for this program you will receive a free Windows Developer Center token. You’ll need this token to submit your beta app and get your free Windows Phone and activate a free one-year membership for the Windows Developer Center.

After registering at the Windows Developer Center, you can submit your beta WP8 app and then tell Marmalade.

You have 30 days to submit your app in beta mode to the Windows Developer Center. Beta apps are reviewed to ensure that they are suitable for listing on the App Store (once complete) and that they are made with Marmalade. It doesn’t matter if it is not 100% complete, just as long as it shows how your app works. If you are porting an existing app, make sure to mention that.

Once your beta app is submitted on the store, letting Marmalade know can flag it for priority review by Microsoft.

When you’re ready, submit your final working app to the Windows Developer Center and inform Marmalade of the live URL, so they can issue your free Marmalade license or extension, and you can keep your Windows Phone 8 device.

The offer closes on the 31st December 2013 so make sure your app is approved on the Windows Developer Center by then!

To get in contact with Marmalade and start this great opportunity you can visit http://www.madewithmarmalade.com/wp8-hub

Train2Game News: Microsoft Executive comments on Cross-platform gaming

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MicrosoftPhil Spencer, executive of Microsoft, has recently commented that cross-platform between Xbox One and PC makes a lot of sense.

Spencer was asked in an interview with AusGamer, whether Windows 8 and Xbox One could host cross-platform play between their respective platforms.

“I’m not allowed to leak things,” Spencer replied, “but I think what you’re talking about makes a lot of sense.”

Mr Spencer then went on to mention past attempts at cross-platform and how it was received.

“If you go back to Shadow Run on Xbox 360, something I worked on, we had PC players playing against Xbox 360 customers. We didn’t have tremendous success with that, but we learnt a lot from it.

“Then earlier this year we released Skulls of the Shogun, which was a game we launched on all three platforms on the same day, and you could start on one platform and then save the game to the Cloud and play across any of the screens and progress. And then Halo: Spartan Assault has some links between Halo 4 and Spartan Assault, even though they’re very different games.”

The executive went on to comment on how important Xbox Live will be in developing for cross-platform.

“This connected ecosystem across all the different devices is definitely where I think the future of gaming is going; you don’t have to do it as a developer, but you have the capability and I think a system like Xbox Live across all those screens where you know who someone is and who their friends are, what their Achievements are and their progression is really critical to that.”

The Xbox One releases next month so it won’t be long before we can start seeing how this next generation console will evolve over the coming years.

Train2Game News: UK Top 20 Games – 14.10.13

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GTA VAfter two weeks at the top after over taking GTA V, Fifa 14 has been dethroned by… GTA V! This may go on for a while until the next big game is released. Pokemon X and Pokemon Y entered the charts at numbers three and four respectively just ahead of Beyond Two Souls which has debuted at number five. The only other new entry this week is Dragon’s Crown which just reached the top twenty at number nineteen.

All formats

Week ending 12 October 2013

POS.  TITLE  PUBLISHER  LAST
WEEK 
1 GRAND THEFT AUTO V ROCKSTAR 2
2 FIFA 14 EA SPORTS 1
3 POKEMON X NINTENDO –
4 POKEMON Y NINTENDO –
5 BEYOND TWO SOULS SONY COMPUTER ENT. –
6 F1 2013 CODEMASTERS 3
7 JUST DANCE 2014 UBISOFT 9
8 MINECRAFT: XBOX 360 EDITION MICROSOFT 5
9 DISNEY INFINITY DISNEY INFINITY 6
10 THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: THE WIND WAKER NINTENDO 4
11 – SAINTS ROW IV DEEP SILVER 11
12 LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 13
13 NBA 2K14 2K SPORTS 7
14 – MAX PAYNE 3 ROCKSTAR 14
15 PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2014 KONAMI 10
16 TOM CLANCY’S SPLINTER CELL: BLACKLIST UBISOFT 8
17 TOMB RAIDER SQUARE ENIX 19
18 – ANIMAL CROSSING: NEW LEAF NINTENDO 18
19 DRAGON’S CROWN NIS AMERICA –
20 THE LAST OF US SONY COMPUTER ENT. 12
< previous week
Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2013 UKIE Ltd

These charts cannot be reproduced either in print or online without obtaining permission from Ukie. If you wish to reproduce the charts in print or online, please contact david.smith@ukie.org.uk for the appropriate license.

Train2Game News: Affordable eye tracking technology

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MyGazeA new affordable myGaze eye tracking technology offers developers a robust platform to make video games more accessible and exciting for disabled and non-disabled gamers.

The new myGaze eye tracker is a mainstream product that offers high performance at a low cost. It was used at EuroGamer Expo 2013 and illustrated the potential of the new myGaze eye tracking technology to enhance the enjoyment of many disabled as well as non-disabled gamers.

Many people with a range of disabilities find themselves unable to use their hands to control technology as well as they would like to, due to conditions such as multiple sclerosis, spinal injury and muscular dystrophy and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), with 30,000 people estimated as having the latter condition in America alone. According to professionals in the assistive field, a long-time challenge for using gaze interaction for many potential beneficiaries has been its cost.

The German company Visual Interaction has now offered a solution to this problem: It makes its myGaze eye tracker, which can be used with various 3rd party applications, including video games, available in its online store for as low as €499.

Recently, SpecialEffect, acquired the myGaze Developer Edition in order to consider the feasibility of using this gaze interaction system with videogames such as DiRT3, Peggle and Fruit Ninja for people with disabilities. The myGaze system was one of the gaze interaction systems available for the public to try for themselves on the SpecialEffect stand at the EuroGamer Expo 2013 in London.

Dr Mick Donegan, Founder and CEO of SpecialEffect, an independent charity, talks about his experience:

“…While the myGaze isn’t designed to offer the range of features available on systems specially designed for the assistive market, it can nonetheless offer a level of performance that can enhance the enjoyment of people with a wide range of abilities, if it is used with carefully selected and modified games.”

The big question however remains – will eye tracking become a mass-market product with wide variety of applications available?

“Game changers like Google or Amazon have now accelerated the patenting and integration of eye trackers into their upcoming products,” says Daniel Trifonov, Head of Business Development & Partnerships at Visual Interaction, “With our state of the art technology made affordable and the growing popularity of our online application store, 3rd party developers have in myGaze a robust platform to build a variety of applications for the future of gaze interaction in gaming, the assistive market and other application fields.”

Visual Interaction (VI) has taken on the mission to provide easy to use and affordable gaze tracking and gaze based interaction solutions for broad professional, educational and consumer audiences and developers. VI collaborates with leaders around the world to create best in class solutions. For its superior performance VI myGaze trackers rely on eye tracking technology by SensoMotoric Instruments (SMI) from Germany, for more than 20 years a leader in eye tracking solutions.