Category Archives: Train2Game

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Train2Game news: Meet independent developers at The Guardian Gamesblog Indie Social

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Frozen Synapse by Mode 7 Games is published through SteamTrain2Game students have the opportunity to meet some of the of the best, upcoming indie developers in the UK by attending The Guardian Gamesblog Indie Social.

The event in association with BAFTA, takes place on Saturday 11th February at BAFTA’s central London headquarters and developers who’ll be there include, Frozen Synapse developer Mode 7 Games, Hard Lines developer Spilt Milk Studios,  Size Five Games and many more!

Not only will Train2Game students who attend the Guardian Gamesblog Indie Social get the chance to speak to indie developers, but they’ll also be able to get their hands on the PlayStation Vita ahead of its UK launch.

More information about The Guardian Gamesblog Indie social is here, while Train2Game students who wish to attend can sign up for the free event here.

Train2Game has previously attended interview some of the industry’s most well known figures at BAFTA events. You can find them here on The Train2Game Blog.

So Train2Game, will you attend The Guardian Gamesblog Indie Social? What would you ask the indie developers?

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

[Source: Guardian]

Train2Game news: Your chance to join the RiotZone open beta

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Train2Game students have the opportunity to take part in the open beta for Mail.Ru Games tactical military MMO RiotZone.

RiotZone is a free-to-play, browser based title set in a tropical jungle where players take part in the civil war of fictional Latin American state Merania. You take control of one of two factions, The Red Alliance or the Coalition of the Crown, and fight for supremecy. RiotZone sees players train their soldiers, upgrade weapons and expand their base in single player and PvP missions.

Train2Game students who wish to get involved with the RiotZone open beta should visit www.riotzone.net, where much more information about the game is available.

Beta testing is an excellent way for Train2Game students, especially those on the Games QA Tester course to practice their bug hunting skills. Not only that, but in an interview with the Train2Game blog, Trion Worlds Senior QA Tester Karl Tars said that beta testing is potentially a way to get into the industry.

For more on beta testing, how it’s useful for Train2Game students,  and opportunities to get involved with it, see the Train2Game blog.

So Train2Game, do you think you’ll get involved with the RiotZone open beta?

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

Train2Game industry experience diaries from Train2Game student Guy Mayne

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Train2Game student Guy Mayne has been on a Train2Game work placement at DR Studios. In his latest industry experience diaries, he details what he’s been up at the Milton Keynes based game development studio.

Read what Guy has to say about his Train2Game work placement  here on The Train2Game Blog, or on The Train2Game Scribd page.  Read previous Train2Game industry diaries from Guy here on The Train2Game Blog.

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

Train2Game news: Trion Worlds on why free-to-play is the best strategy for End of Nations

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Train2Game students have differing opinions on free-to-play titles, with some regarding them as a great way to get a game out there, while others worry that they encourage a “pay-to-win” culture.

Trion Worlds say the reason their upcoming MMORTS End of Nations uses the free-to-play model is because it’s the best way to make sure the game gets the numbers of players it needs to thrive.

“For a premium strategy game like End of Nations, we really want to bring as many players as possible into its massive-scale strategic warfare.” End of Nations Executive Producer David Luehmann told VideoGamer.

“And as we looked at the enormous battles and huge persistent world, we realised that the success of End of Nations would be driven by having thousands of players from around the globe battling daily in the world’s biggest strategy game, and that is why it made perfect sense to be free-to-play!” he said.

Luehmann also pointed out that End of Nations might be free-to-play, but Trion Worlds is being careful this doesn’t become “pays-to-win” with microtransactions mainly being for cosmetic items.

“We are very sensitive to the concept of pay to win. In End of Nations at similar experience levels, player skill will determine the outcome of battles, not player wealth.” said the Trion Worlds Executive Producer.

“From that precept the monetisation elements must adhere, therefore anything you purchase in the game with real money with focus on vanity or convenience item type. Examples being skins, or boosts the increase the players experience or wealth generation rates.” Luehmann concluded.

You can find out much more about End of Nations in The Train2Game Blog’s huge interview with Senior QA Tester Karl Tars.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on End of Nations take on free-to-play? Do you think it’ll prove successful for Trion Worlds?

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

[Source: VideoGamer]

Train2Game industry experience diary from game developer Darren Price

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Train2Game Game Developer Darren Price is on a Train2Game work placement at Double Eleven, a studio that has been named by Industry Gamers as one to keep an eye on this year. The studio is currently developing LittleBigPlanet for the PlayStation Vita.

In his latest Train2Game industry experience diary, Darren writes the less serious side of the industry after his experiences at the Double Eleven Christmas Party.

Read it right here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game Scribd page.

You can also read more Train2Game industry experience diaries from Darren Price here on The Train2Game Blog.

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

Train2Game news: Gotham City Imposters open beta goes live

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Train2Game students have the opportunity to get involved with the beta for Warner Bros. Gotham City Imposters, which is now open to anyone.

All Train2Game students need to do to be part of the Gotham City Imposters beta is download it for free from the PlayStation Store. The Gotham City Imposters beta runs from now through until 6th February 2012.

Gotham City Imposters is a download only FPS that pits vigilantes dressed as Batman against criminal gangs dressed up as The Joker. It’s a light-hearted multiplayer shooter that boasts massive customisation and plenty of unlockables.

Train2Game students who take part in the Gotham City Imposters beta participants are encouraged to leave feedback on the Warner Bros. forum.

Beta testing is an excellent way for Train2Game students, especially those on the Games QA Tester course to practice their bug hunting skills. Not only that, but in an interview with the Train2Game blog, Trion Worlds Senior QA Tester Karl Tars said that beta testing is potentially a way to get into the industry.

For more on beta testing and opportunities to get involved in it, see the Train2Game blog.

So Train2Game, will you be getting involved with the Gotham City Imposters beta? What are your impressions of the game?

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

Train2Game news: Dead Space 2 artist offers advice on getting into the industry

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Train2Game Art & Animation students who want to build in-game environments will be interested in this one, as EA Environment Artist Philip Simmons has offered advice on getting into that particular area.

Simmons can certainly be classed as an Environment Art expert, as he designed the environments for Dead Space 2. He told EA’s Breaking into the Industry that the best way to become an environment artist is to build your own worlds.

“The easiest way to become an Environment Artist is to be a World Builder. If you’re going through school, lots of schools will try to get you to be a Prop Artist, because props are the easiest things to turn around and make nice-looking.” said Simmons.

“The problem with that is that most prop work gets outsourced. Companies need people who can make entire spaces. And to get those jobs, you have to show that you can realize an environment in its entirety, concept it, build it, and handle it – all by yourself.” he added.

The full interview sees Simmons discuss other subjects including creating environments, how he got into the industry and his typical day at the office. It’s an interesting read for Train2Game students and you can find it on ea.com

EA previously published an interview Dead Space 2 game designer Brian Bartram in which he offered advice to game designers. Train2Game students can read that here.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on Simmons advice? Are there any Train2Game Art & Animation students out there who want to be environment artists?

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

[Source: EA]

Train2Game news: Notch: “It’s easier to be an indie game developer these days”

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Train2Game forum users are familiar with the success of Minecraft, the indie game that brought huge success for its creator Markus ‘Notch’ Persson and his studio Mojang.

And while it’s unlikely that all indie titles will match the huge success of Minecraft, Notch believes it’s easier to be an indie developer now than ever before, which is potentially good news for Train2Game students!

“I think it’s easier to be an indie game developer these days because back in the day it wasn’t called being an “indie developer” but a “garage programmer.” You weren’t expected to charge for your game so you couldn’t do it. People never charged. It was just a hobby.” he told PC Gamer.

“I think it’s much easier these days, but there’s still no guarantee you’ll make a profit. If you’re doing it out of passion and just want to get some money back it’s definitely doable.” the Minecraft creator added.

Notch also discussed whether after selling almost 5 million copies of Minecraft, Mojang still count as “indie” developers.

“I don’t think [Mojang] are indie in the sense of how I used to work anymore, because we have a payroll to worry about and we need to do stuff to ensure the company lasts,” he said.

“We have other stuff which influences what we do other than trying to focus on the games. We make sure me and Jacob are only focusing on game development so the founders are still developing” Notch continued.

“But as a company, I don’t think we are indie in the sense that I used to mean it. But in the other sense of indie – as in we make games we want to play without having any external dependencies – then yeah, we’re indie.” The Minecraft creator concluded.

As previously reported by The Train2Game Blog, Notch has stepped down as lead developer of Minecraft in order to concentrate on other projects.

Keep reading The Train2Game Blog for the latest Minecraft news.

So Train2Game, do you agree that it’s easier to be an indie developer nowadays? And  what’s your definition of an “indie” studio or game?

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

[Source: PC Gamer]

Train2Game student Craig Moore’s industry experience diary digest

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Train2Game Game Designer Craig Moore has been on a Train2Game work placement at DR Studios. In his latest industry experience diaries, he details what he’s been up at the Milton Keynes based game development studio.

Read what Craig has to say about his Train2Game work placement  here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game Scribd page.

Craig’s previous Train2Game industry experience diariesare  here on The Train2Game Blog.

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

Train2Game news: Mass Effect 3 will be more accessible to new players

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Train2Game blog readers who played Mass Effect 2 without having previously played the original may have found it difficult to understand what was going on. They weren’t alone however, as Bioware don’t think they did enough to accommodate newcomers to the series

“In all honesty, we didn’t do a really good job of new player orientation,” Mass Effect 3 Marketing Manager Nick Clifford told IGN. “If you didn’t play the first game then 2 was pretty jarring for the first half hour.”

He said that in Mass Effect 3, new players without any previous experience in the series won’t hear references to past events they might not know about.

“If I’m a new player and some guy walks up to me and is like ‘Ohhhh Shepard! Remember that one time?’ I would be like ‘No. I don’t remember that one time,'” said Clifford.

“So we wanted to make sure that there aren’t those moments that the player is like, ‘Who is this? What’s going on? What are they talking about?’

It’s something that’s often missed in game development, the fact that a sequel might be a player’s first experience of a series, making the narrative confusing.

As previously reported by The Train2Game Blog, the Xbox 360 version of Mass Effect 3 will be connect compatible.

The Train2Game Blog interviewed Bioware founders Dr. Ray Muzyka & Dr. Greg Zeschuk in November last year. They discussed how they set up the studio and provided advice on getting into the games industry.

Mass Effect 3 is released for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC in March.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on Mass Effect 3’s attempts to make the it easier for new players to understand? Is it something more sequels should try to achieve?

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

[Source: IGN]