Train2Game News: Gearbox Software’s Randy Pitchford presenting developer session at Rezzed

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Gearbox Software founder and CEO Randy Pitchford will be presenting a developer session at Rezzed, during which he’ll demonstrate Borderlands 2 and take questions from the PC and indie gaming show audience.

Borderlands 2 is one of a number of playable titles at the Brighton expo, which takes place on Friday 6th and Saturday 7th of July. Pitchford’s developer session is on the Friday and gives any Train2Game students in attendance to ask the games industry veteran questions about the industry.

Gearbox Software titles include Half-Life: Opposing Force, Borderlands, Brothers In Arms, Duke Nukem Forever and the upcoming Aliens: Colonial Marines.

Tickets for Rezzed are available on the official website, and it’s looking to be an interesting event for Train2Game students to attend, with a variety of developer sessions including those from Introversion Software, The Creative Assembly and Splash Damage CEO Paul Wedgwood 

We’ll be sure to keep you up to date with the latest news as the show approaches.

What would you ask Randy Pitchford at the developer session?

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

Train2Game News: UK Charts – FIFA 12 takes its 9th No.1

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FIFA 12 once again sits atop the UK Charts, taking its 9th No.1 38 weeks after release.  In that time, the EA Sports title hasn’t dropped out the top five once, beating the achievements of its predecessor FIFA 11 which remained in the top five for 23 weeks.

Having held top spot for three weeks, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Soldier settles for No.2  The Train2Game Blog recently spoke to Ghost Recon: Future Soldier Creative Director Jean-Marc Geoffroy and Ubisoft Development Director Adrian Lacey, with the pair offering advice to Train2Game students on getting into the industry.

Max Payne 3 drops one to No.3, while new release Lollipop Chainsaw debuts at No.4, pushing Battlefield 3 down to No.5.

Diablo III jumps 16 places to No.6, with Game of Thrones dropping one to No.7.  Sniper Elite V2 slips three to No.8, Mario and Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games is a non-mover at No.9, with DiRT Showdown completing the top ten.

New release for PlayStation Vita, Gravity Rush, is the other new entry at No.11.

The UKIE Gfk Chart-Track All Formats Top 10 for the week ending 16th June is therefore as follows:

1. FIFA 12 (EA)
2. Ghost Recon: Future Soldier (Ubisoft)
3. Max Payne 3 (Rockstar)
4. Lollipop Chainsaw (Warner Bros)
5. Battlefield 3 (EA)
6. Diablo III (Blizzard)
7. Game of Thrones (Koch Media)
8. Sniper Elite V2 (505 Games)
9. Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games (Sega)
10. Dirt Showdown (Codemasters)

Releases for the week ahead include LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes.

What are your thoughts on FIFA 12 returning to No.1? Were you among those who picked up Lollipop Chainsaw?

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

Train2Game News: The Amazing Spider-Man developer diary discusses Manhattan as your playground

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Get behind the scenes of The Amazing Spider-Man in a developer diary from Beenox and Activision.

In this ‘Manhattan is your playground’ developer diary Executive Producer Brent Nicholas discusses various features of this movie tie-in including web slinging navigation, combat and interacting with the environment. He also discusses the reasons why these game design elements have inserted into The Amazing Spider-Man.

Watch the Amazing Spider-Man developer diary below, right here on The Train2Game Blog.

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

What are your thoughts on The Amazing Spider-Man?

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

Train2Game News: “I really enjoy making games, it’s just fun” – Sid Meier

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Even after 30 years in the games industry, Civilization creator and Firaxis co-founder Sid Meier still has fun making “very cool” things.

“I really enjoy making games, it’s just fun. It’s like taking a lumpy piece of clay and turning it into something very cool. Every day is part of that process. Not knowing exactly where we are going and figuring it out step by step is just a challenge. It’s almost like the “one more turn” phenomenon in Civilization.” the games industry veteran told GamesIndustry.biz, adding that the element of surprise is something he’s very fond of.

“ It’s looking to that next thing we are going to add to the game and seeing how we can just make it better. The fun for me is really not knowing from week to week what cool thing we are going to add and getting a chance to play with it and tweak it and the constant process of seeing a game grow before your eyes.” said Meier.

His enthusiasm for developing games after so long is sure to be an inspiration to Train2Game students.

Earlier this week, The Train2Game Blog reported that Meier believes the first 15 minutes are key to enjoyable game design.

Meier’s Firaxis Games are currently working on a reimagining of XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and there’s more about the studio here on The Train2Game Blog.

Is the fact that Meier is still so enthusiastic about creating games after 30 years encouraging for you?

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

Train2Game News: Nintendo Wii U supports free-to-play

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Nintendo will support free-to-play games for their upcoming Wii U console. That’s what president Satoru Iwata told an audience of analysts at a Q&A session during E3, report Digital Spy.

“With respect to the Wii U system, when we began working on it, one of our goals was to have a variety of purchase options and additional e-commerce options available at its launch,” said Iwata.

“And because of that, we have prepared a Digital Rights Management system. We have designed the system from a technical standpoint to allow developers to freely take advantage of things like free to play and micro transactions.” he added.

While free-to-play has become a popular model for PC, it isn’t as popular on consoles. Ghost Recon Online, a free-to-play version of Ubisoft’s tactical shooter is one of the game’s following the model that’ll be arriving on Nintendo Wii U.

As reported by The Train2Game Blog, One analyst believes the Wii U will be the “Swiss army knife” of gaming.

There’s more about free-to-play and its benefits here on The Train2Game Blog, while be sure to keep reading for the latest news on the Nintendo Wii U.

What are your thoughts on Nintendo introducing free-to-play to their console? Will it be a success?

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

Train2Game News: “It’s the best time to be an indie” says Introversion co-founder

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Steam, the Apple App Store and other services mean it’s a better time than ever to be an independent game developer.  That’s according to Mark Morris co-founder of Introversion Software, the studio behind Uplink, Darwinia, DEFCON, Multiwinia and the upcoming Prison Architect.

His comments echo those made by Ian Livingstone at BAFTA Games Question Time.

“I think it’s the best time to be an indie.” Morris told PostDesk in a huge interview about indie development that’s worth reading for any Train2Game student.

“The Apple App store and Steam services are mature and reliable routes to market. There is an “indie” section on most gaming review sites and journalists that understand Indie games and are willing to review them and devote time to them.” he continued.

“There are indie conferences where you can chat with other developers and pick up ideas and business tips. None of this stuff existed when we started.” the Introversion co-founder added.

One such indie conference is Rezzed which takes place in Brighton on Friday 6th and Saturday 7th July, which see Introversion Software’s Mark Morris hosting a developer session.

There’s more about indie development, including advice on how to become successful in this field, here on The Train2Game Blog.

Do you agree with Mark Morris? Is now the best time to be an indie? Would you prefer the indie route to joining a bigger studio?

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

Train2Game News: Modding is a fantastic way of ‘exploration’ says Day Z creator

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Modding is a great way to start the ball rolling with a project, one that allows you to explore ideas that it me not be possible to with full-games.  That’s the view of Bohemia Interactive game designer Dean “Rocket” Hall, who just so happens to have created the incredibly popular Day Z mod for Arma II.

“If you can cross off a few specific problems, then mods are a really fantastic way of dealing with your product.” he told Rock, Paper, Shotgun when asked about modding.

“Like, I’d tried to pitch this concept to other studios before, and people just weren’t interested in it. I’m sure [Bohemia Interactive CEO] Marek Spanel wouldn’t mind me saying that, if I came to him with the concept and without these kind of numbers, he probably would’ve thought I was a bit crazy as well. So modding allows you to do this kind of exploration.”

Hall believes the reason for Day Z’s success is almost entirely down to word of mouth via the internet.

“I think a lot of it comes down to social media. Social media has really come of age. Like, you look at all the protests going on all over the world. I think the same thing’s kind of happening with games.” he said

“It’s certainly why Day Z was successful. There was no promotion. I made one little tiny post in the Bohemia Interactive forums asking people to help me with testing. And then, all of a sudden, people began having these experiences.” he added.

The full Day Z interview with Dean Hall can be read on Rock, Paper, Shotgun.

Modding is a great way for Train2Game students to practice and show off their skills, and there’s a lot more about it here on The Train2Game Blog, including what Valve, Ubisoft and  id Software had to say to us about it.

Do you agree that modding is a good way for game developers to explore ideas that may not be possible with full games?  How important is social media? And are you playing Day Z?

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

Train2Game News: Assassin’s Creed III gameplay video features game director commentary

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Get an insight into development of Assassin’s Creed III with a gameplay video from Ubisoft, complete with commentary from game director Alexander Hutchinson.

The Frontier walkthrough shows game design elements such as tree navigation, moving through snowy terrain and new controls in action, in addition to Hutchinson telling us a bit about Assassin’s Creed III protagonist Connor who he describes as “‘most robust character in 3D action games today.”

The game director also discusses Ubisoft’s new AnvilNext engine, which you can see in action throughout the demo. Watch it below, here on The Train2Game Blog.

There’s more Assassin’s Creed news here on The Train2Game Blog, while you can also keep reading for more from Ubisoft.

What are your thoughts on Assassin’s Creed III?

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

Train2Game News: Sleeping Dogs art director on getting into the industry

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http://www.sleepingdogs.net/news/Meet-the-Team-Josh-Lee

Sleeping Dogs art director Josh Lee recently featured in a United Front Games ‘meet the team’ interview and offered his take on getting into the industry, revealing he started in fine art.

“I’m kind of old school. There are a lot of schools now that didn’t exist at the time that offer these opportunities… I was born and raised in Montreal, I studied painting and drawing at Concordia in Fine Arts.”  said Lee.

“From there, I was trying to figure out how to make a living, and I ended up moving into the Film Animation department. Subsequently, I worked in traditional animation for a number of years doing frame-by-frame animation. At the time, over 15 years ago, you could feel a shift in the industry.” he continued, adding that adding 3D skills was an important element in getting into games.

“Things were moving more digitally, so I started taking 3D courses to balance my traditional arts background with more CG tools. After a few years working in traditional animation, I ended up in a CG house in Montreal called 4-elements that was affiliated with Softimage.”

“We did trailers for games, special effects, CG for commercials, any number of things a small startup would do. That was my first exposure to the production side of games. When that company closed temporarily, I had an opportunity at EA.” Lee added.

It’s an interview that’s sure to be interesting to Train2Game students, as Lee discusses what his role as art director involves, life at United Front, and of course, Sleeping Dogs. Read it here.

Be sure to keep reading The Train2Game Blog for advice from professionals about getting into the industry, while we’ll also keep you up to date with the latest Sleeping Dogs news.

What are your thoughts on Lee’s route into the industry?

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

Train2Game News: First 15 minutes “key” to game design says Civilization creator Sid Meier

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The first fifteen minutes of a video game being enjoyable is one of the key rules of game design. That’s according to veteran game designer Sid Meier, the man behind the Civilization and the founder of Firaxis Games.

“One of the key rules of game design is the first 15 minutes. These introductory minutes have to be fun, satisfying, and exciting. You are letting players know they’re on the right track, you should reward them, and let them know cool stuff will happen later.” Meier told GamesIndustry.biz, before admitting mistakes with this when it came to his early games.

“In early Civilization games, I made Civ real-time, which meant everything happened in real-time: My first mistake was to make it real time.” he said.

“I modelled some elements of the game from SimCity, which was real-time. It was inspiring. But what we found was that in real-time gaming the player becomes the observer. Our mantra is that, “it’s good to be king.”

“When we made Civ a turn-based game, the player became the star, they made things happen.” Meier added.

The full GI.biz interview with Sid Meier on game design, his career and the industry as a whole is here.

As previously reported by Train2Game, the Civilization creator believes there are more opportunities than ever to be a game developer.

Meier’s Firaxis Games are currently working on a reimagining of XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and there’s more about the studio here on The Train2Game Blog.

Do you agree with Sid Meier that the first fifteen minutes are a key part of game design? What games gave you the most memorable first quarter of an hour?

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