Category Archives: train 2 game

Train2Game News: Word slinging game Spellirium

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SpelliriumUntold Entertainment introduces Spellirium, a trashpunk comedy adventure with monsters, mystics, and linguistic spellslingers.

In a future when reading and writing have been outlawed, Brother Todd of the Runekeepers and a motley crew of characters must journey across the devastated landscape, bringing peace and order to a ruined civilization. But outlandish legends thrive on oral tradition, and Todd uncovers a painful truth written in the margins of his life’s story.

Untold is setting its sights on older players with Spellirium’s darkly comic approach to themes of betrayal, individualism, and privilege. The company hopes Spellirium will please venerable adventure fans who remember a time before pointing and clicking, when entire worlds were explored through text parser commands. Puzzlers who delight in crosswords, Scrabble, Boggle, and logic challenges will find something to love in Spellirium.

Using word-based spellcasting to battle monsters and shadowy overlords, Spellirium is an adventure for clever players. More than just manipulating letters to form words, players must utilize palindromes, synonyms, color combos, rhymes, and more. One monster, for example, can only be defeated through onomatopoeia (CRASH, BANG, BOOM). A certain achievement sees players building semordnilaps – words that spell valid, entirely different words when read backwards (ROOM <-> MOOR). A mindless word-search this most definitely is not.

Pre-order customers immediately receive an alpha download of the game, which includes the prologue and two of three acts. The “kickENDER campaign,” as called by Untold Entertainment founder, Ryan Henson Crieghton, will be used to fund further development, including the implementation of the final act, voice-overs, and sound effects.

Rewards for financial backers at various tiers include voicing a character in the game, designing a creature, and branding a word in the Spellirium Dictionary; a collectible list of 50,000 words that can be used to buy items and craft power-ups. The Reserve-A-Word tier is already proving popular with players, who have reserved a bizarre list of words including SLUG, LIZARD, MOIST, BARF, MOMMY, SAMURAI and SAUSAGE.

In one of the support tiers you also get access to the UGAGS game logic and a “God Panel” so you can tweak and play around with the game as much as you want or just see the coding that went in to how the game works. This should be very helpful to any Train2Game developers.

This sounds like an interesting new take on an old system that was used in the likes of the text based adventure, ZORK.

You can watch the trailer below

You can pre-order Spellirium, support them and find out more at www.spellirium.com

Train2Game News: Mobile Talisman board game

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TalismanMobile games publisher, Thumbstar Games, is excited to announce the release of Games Workshop’s fantastic Talsiman Prologue from Nomad Games scheduled for 25th April for iOS and Android.

Enter the Mythical World of Talisman’s Dragons and Sorcery!

Talisman Prologue is the first in a series of games based on the seminal Talisman board game.

For those unfamiliar with this classic world of fantasy adventure, Talisman is a game like no other – indeed, it is no ordinary game but a fantastic quest in a world of magic and monsters.

As you play, a story unfolds from turn to turn: a heroic epic of brave deeds, daring encounters, treasures and magic, of battles won and lost, but always a tale that enthrals!

In Talisman Prologue, you take the role of 10 characters on a series of epic quests. Fight your way through hordes of monstrous creatures and cast powerful magic spells along the way.

Using the rules of the board game, Talisman Prologue is a single-player strategy role-playing game.

The key features of the game include:

· 10 classic characters from the board game
· 50 quests to play through
· Original sountrack
· Endless replayability

You can enjoy the trailer below:

To keep up on the latest news from Thumbstar Game and Talisman, you can using the links below:

Website: http://www.thumbstar.com/games/TALISMAN

Facebook: www.facebook.com/thumbstargames

Twitter: @thumbstar

 

Train2Game News: UK Top 20 Games – 22.04.13

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AquamanThis week in the games charts BioShock has been knocked off of the number one spot! The game that punched it down to second place is the DC Comics fighter, Injustice: Gods Among Us. The new Fire Emblem game on Nintendo 3DS is the other new entry this week coming in at number three.

All formats

Week ending 20 April 2013

POS.  TITLE  PUBLISHER  LAST
WEEK 
1 INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE –
2 BIOSHOCK INFINITE 2K GAMES 1
3 FIRE EMBLEM: AWAKENING NINTENDO –
4 TOMB RAIDER SQUARE ENIX 2
5 DEFIANCE TRION WORLDS 4
6 FIFA 13 EA SPORTS 3
7 CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II ACTIVISION 6
8 LUIGI’S MANSION 2 NINTENDO 5
9 TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 14 EA SPORTS 12
10 – FAR CRY 3 UBISOFT 10
11 THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM XBOX 360 CLASSICS 14
12 LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 9
13 ASSASSIN’S CREED III UBISOFT 7
14 SKYLANDERS GIANTS SKYLANDERS 15
15 GEARS OF WAR: JUDGMENT MICROSOFT 8
16 SNIPER: GHOST WARRIOR 2 CITY INTERACTIVE 20
17 NEED FOR SPEED MOST WANTED EA GAMES 11
18 GOD OF WAR: ASCENSION SONY COMPUTER ENT. –
19 SONIC & ALL STARS RACING TRANSFORMED SEGA 17
20 SLEEPING DOGS XBOX 360 CLASSICS –
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: A visit to Special Effect

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Kirsty Payne from SpecialEffectI had the great pleasure of going to visit SpecialEffect at its headquarters in Oxford on Wednesday. The charity held a get together to thank supporters for their work during the Art Charity Auction back in December.

As I arrived at the building I was struck by how incredible it looked. I drove up a long road, flanked by trees all the way up to a Manor building where SpecialEffect is housed. I parked around the back and entered the easily accessible building where I was met by Hannah Whittaker, who works at SpeciaEffect.

As I entered the office I was greeted by Gavin Tan, who is a developer for the charity. I chatted with Gavin for a bit about games, that is the reason we are in this industry, and he then showed me some of the controllers they use to help disabled people to be able to play games.

The first controller I tried was the “EyeGaze”. This is a device which tracks your eye movements and lets you do all the things you want on a computer using nothing but your eye movement. Following a quick calibration I got to play racing game, Dirt. To control the vehicle you moved your eyes to the top of the screen to go faster, to the bottom of the screen to brake and reverse and direct your eyes left or right to turn. I am normally terrible at racing games but using the EyeGaze I managed an average time which pleased me!

Following on from the EyeGaze I got to experience voice activated controls in Street Fighter. A control was set up which is used for movement and can be controlled by your chin with a sensitive microphone for the voice commands. The commands were simple like “Punch” for an uppercut, “Kick” for a spinning kick and “Move” to do a Hadouken.

Seeing and experiencing these controllers for myself really showed me how helpful these can be for people trying to get back in to gaming and back playing games on a level playing field. It truly is an amazing thing that the people at SpecialEffect do.

Over the next half an hour several games industry people turned up to the office for the event. There were people there from Sega, Warner Bros, and Take-two. Once everyone had arrived it was time for the main event.

Everyone was welcomed to the event by Kirsty Payne, a Vice President of SpecialEffect, who can be seen in the picture above. She gave a quick run down of the event in December. The art auction featured games art from across the industry and was held at the London City Hall and was visited by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson. The auction managed to raise over £30,000!

The floor was then given over to Dr Mick Donegan, founder of SpecialEffect, who showed where the money will be going and who is being helped.

After the presentation SpecialEffect offered us drink and food. It was lovely just being able to talk with some of the games industry people who do so much for our industry and hearing their opinions on the games industry at the moment.

It was an incredible day and I will continue to do what I can for this amazing Charity! I will leave you with this amazing video of a young man called Alex who has been able to play games again and has used Special Effects help to be able to become a Train2Game student!

Enjoy!

Train2Game News: Games Industry News – 19.04.13

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Connor AdamsIt is the end of the week so it is time for the Train2Game end of week round up!

The first bit of news this weeks come with the release of Injustice: Gods Among Us, the new DC Universe fighting game. Train2Game student Connor Adams did some of the concept art for the game at the company he works at Atomhawk in Newcastle. Congratulations Connor! You can view some of his art work, which I highly suggest, in the following link: http://crayonmechanic.deviantart.com/

The Pokémon Company International recently revealed a mysterious new Pokémon that looks strangely familiar to Legendary Pokémon Mewtwo. Nintendo have now confirmed that this new Pokémon is connect to Mewtwo! How this connection will play out when Pokémon X and Pokémon Y launch in October is still to be confirmed. You can enjoy a short clip, that makes the connection clear, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tSVBVQzNMg&feature=player_embedded

Bethesda have recently uploaded a couple of six second long clips to the video sharing site, Vine. These little teaser clips had the internet buzzing about what could be coming. It has now been announced that it is the new game from Resident Evil creator, Shinji Mikami. Mikami’s studio Tango Gameworks will reveal ‘project Zwei’ via a debut trailer set for release at 5:00 a.m. Pacific / 8:00 a.m Eastern. Mikami has previously described Zwei as “a true survival horror” in which the player “confronts and overcomes fear”. Mikami has also said this will be his last game as director.

Activision social media manager Dan Amrich has said he expects 2013’s entry in the Call of Duty series, which is most likely going to be Modern Warfare 4, to be revealed no later than E3 in early June. Amrich noted that the last two Call of Duty games were revealed in May 2011 and May 2012. It has been rumoured that Microsoft are revealing their next Xbox on May 21 so it is likely the new COD will be announced around the same time.

Finally, Microsoft reports that Xbox Live now has around 46 million members worldwide. This, is according to the firm’s Earnings Release for FY13 Q3. It represents an 18 per cent increase from the prior year period. Microsoft’s Entertainment and Devices Division posted revenue of $2.53 billion, an increase of 56 per cent from the prior year period. Microsoft sold 1.3 million Xbox 360s during the quarter, which is down 9 percent from the same period but it is still impressive that so many consoles are still being sold, even at the end of this generations cycle.

Train2Game News: FIFA 14 revealed

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FIFA 14EA has revealed details for FIFA 14, including new features and improvements which will allow us to play “just like real footballers”, according to a press release.

Players will now have the ability to adjust their stride before taking on a shot, therefore creating a better angle, with the new ‘Pure Shot’ feature. “Well-hit balls feel more exhilarating and rewarding,” apparently, according to the press release. It continues: “Real Ball Physics now determines the trajectories of balls, enabling players to kick the ball with force from distance, drill low rising shots with accuracy, and blast dipping or turbulent shots, just like real players.”

Teammate intelligence is set to improve, meaning defenders are better able to predict the movements of oncoming strikers. ‘Sprint Dribble Turns’ and ‘Variable Dribble Touches’ will allow for tighter ball control and deft touches, and the ‘Protect the Ball’ feature will  allow players the ability to fend off pressuring defenders whilst dribbling at a range of speeds.

The last, and probably most expanded upon feature is the Global Scouting Network – an improvement on the Youth Academy Scout Network from FIFA 13. “Players now develop and refine a scouting network and search for talent year-round. Scouts can evaluate players all over the world to uncover the attributes and traits of every player in the game, in preparation for the transfer windows,” the press release reads.

FIFA 14 will deliver engaging online features and live services that connect fans to the heartbeat of the sport, and to each other, through EA SPORTS Football Club, making FIFA 14 football’s social network, where fans connect, compete and share with millions of others around the world.

The FIFA games have had a gradual evolution and a steady, yet high, popularity amongst online players. The question is though is this game going to change enough to keep it above the ever increasing popularity of PES?

FIFA 14 is in development at EA Canada and will be available in stores world-wide this fall.

Train2Game News: New Zelda 3DS Game announced

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Legend of ZeldaNintendo have announced in there latest Nintendo Direct video that a new Zelda game is coming to the handheld 3DS. It will be a sequel to the SNES classic, A Link To The Past.

After announcing how much he loves A Link to the Past, Nintendo of America COO and president, Reggie Fils-Aime confirmed that Nintendo is now developing a new game that will take place in the same game world for Nintendo 3DS. While the setting for the game might prove familiar to fans, Fils-Aime confirmed that it features an original storyline and entirely new dungeons.

Fils-Aime said “What our developers want to achieve in this new Zelda game is to reinvigorate the flat, 2D world of A Link to the Past with a sense of height and volume using the three-dimensional display in Nintendo 3DS. With it, it’s easier to differentiate levels in the environment and our developers can utilise height differences in dungeons as a puzzle-solving mechanic.”

In the few brief seconds of footage shown, link can be seen springing upwards to access the higher reaches of the game’s multi-tiered dungeons.

One of the most intriguing new features of the game is the ability to turn Link into a drawing, enabling him to navigate across walls and zooming the camera down into the game world.

There is not yet an official release date but the video from Nintendo Direct informs us that it will be released this holiday season.

You can enjoy the trailer for the new Zelda 3DS game below. A 3D version of the video is being shown on the console.

Train2Game News: Injustice: Gods Among Us Heroes

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With the release of Injustice: Gods Among Us, Warner Bros and DC Comics have released a couple of infographics to make sure you know the characters in the DC Universe.

First up is a collection of all the Heroes in the DCUDC Heroes

 

Train2Game News: Rapid2D winner interview

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NicolaTwo weeks ago, the winner of the Rapid2D £10,000 competition was announced as Nicola Valcasara and this week he was interviewed by Eric Wiltsher on RTI.

Nicola is a truly inspirational young man and his story is quite incredible.

You can listen to the interview at www.rti.fm in the podcasts section

or read the transcript below:

An Interview on RTI with a student from Train2Game Who won £10,000 with Rapid2D