Train2Game news: London studio Mediatonic to double in size, advertise 12 jobs

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Mediatonic's Monster's Probably Stole My PrincessTrain2Game students will be interested to hear that London studio Mediatonic plans to double its size, with the game developer beginning by advertising ten new positions on their job page.

These include an internship that Train2Game students might be interested in applying for.

Mediatonic, a studio who specialise in developing games for digital platforms,  has moved to larger offices in Soho ahead of their planned expansion.

“Moving into offices in the heart of Soho has given us the room to grow, with a view to doubling our headcount by Christmas to just over 50 employees.” said Mediatonic Director of Games Paul Croft.

“With the success of some of our recent projects we’re experiencing an overwhelming demand for original game designs and to provide support for live games once they hit the market.” he added.

Paul Croft discussed Mediatonic, the benefits of game jams and more in an interview with The Train2Game Blog last year.

And as previously reported by The Train2Game Blog, the studio was named as one to watch by Industry Gamers.

There’s more on Mediatonic here.

What are your thoughts on the London studio’s planned expansion?

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

Train2Game news: UK Charts – A hat-trick of No.1’s for FIFA Street

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Train2GameNews readers see FIFA Street take No.1 for the third week in a row, in a top ten that continues to be dominated by EA. As previously reported by The Train2Game Blog, FIFA Street also topped the charts for the previous two weeks.

The football title takes top spot ahead of Mass Effect 3, which moves up one to No.2, and EA Sports’ Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 which debuts in the UK charts at No.3. FIFA 12 slips one to No.5, marking the fourth EA title in the top five.

Narto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations from Namco Bandai arrives at No.6 in its first week on sale, pushing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 down one to No.7. The FPS from Activision is one spot ahead of EA shooter Battlefield 3, a non-mover at No.8.

Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games moves up one to No.9, while SSX completes the top ten.

Other new entries this week include Silent HD Collection at No.12, Silent Hill: Downpour at No.15, while Ridge Racer Unbounded only reaches No. 21 in its first week on sale.

The UKIE Gfk Chart-Track All Formats Top 10 for the week ending 31st March 2012 is therefore as follows:

1. FIFA Street (EA)
2. Mass Effect 3 (EA)
3. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 13 (EA)
4. Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City (Capcom)
5. FIFA 12 (EA)
6. Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations (Namco Bandai)
7. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Activision)
8. Battlefield 3 (EA)
9. Mario & Sonic London 2012 Olympic Games (Sega)
10. SSX (EA)

Releases this week include Devil May Cry HD Collection.

What are your thoughts on FIFA Street’s continued dominance? Or perhaps you have a view on Ridge Racer Unbounded’s low entry position?

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

Train2Game student industry experience diary: Chris Robinson at AppCrowd – Week 4

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Train2Game Game Designer Chris Robinson is on a Train2Game work placement at AppCrowd. In his latest industry experience diary, Chris discusses designing levels and carrying out all important research.

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

You can read previous entries from Chris here, while there are also plenty more industry experience diaries from other students on the Train2Game Blog.

Train2Game news: Auto Club Revolution enters open beta

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Train2Game students now have the opportunity to take part in the open beta for Auto Club Revolution, an online racing game from Gateshead based studio Eutechnyx.

Auto Club Revolution will let players be part of an online community, completing in single player challenges and allowing them to own, customise and upgrade their own officially licensed cars. The open beta will allow players to begin their permanent collection of cars and different achievements.

Train2Game students can sign up for the open beta by visiting the Auto Club Revolution official website.

The Train2Game Blog published a video interview with Eutechnyx Lead Programmer Dave Hawes in November last year, in which he offers advice on getting into the industry.

Beta testing is an excellent way for Train2Game students, especially those on the Games QA Tester course to practice their bug hunting skills. In a recent interview with The Train2Game Blog, Brawl Busters developers Rock Hippo told us that beta testing is “crucial” to the game development process.

Keep up with the latest Auto Club Revolution news here on The Train2Game Blog.

What are your initial impressions of Auto Club Revolution? Will you be taking part in the open beta?

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

Train2Game student industry experience diary: Ben Stoneman at Unity – weeks 3 &4

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Train2Game student Ben Stoneman  is on a Train2Game work placement at Unity. In his latest industry experience diaries, he writes about using the Unity engine for animation.

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

More Train2Game industry experience diaries are right here on The Train2Game Blog. 

Train2Game student industry experience diaries: James Bouckley at Unity – week 3

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Train2Game student James Bouckley  is on a Train2Game work placement at Unity. In this industry experience diary, James details how he’s been helping out at the studio.

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

More Train2Game industry experience diaries are right here on The Train2Game Blog. 

Train2Game news: EA’s advice on getting your first job in the games industry

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Train2Game students can get some useful advice on getting a job in the games industry, in the latest instalment of EA’s ‘Breaking into the industry’ feature.

It provides advice from EA University Relations Specialist Iris Lin on how to get noticed when looking for that first job, even if you don’t have any ‘real-life’ experience of working in a games development studio.

“We understand that the majority of students don’t have any real life experience so early on in their careers, so details on school projects are very important.” said Lin discussing how to get noticed as a school leaver.

“Showing an interest in the gaming industry is important as well. Activities they are involved with outside of school are important too, such as game clubs and conferences and seminars they attend.”

She added that being patient and hardworking are key to securing that all important first job in the industry.

“Start with something little and build a strong foundation of your craft. It doesn’t matter if you are a software engineer or an artist.” said Lin.

“Be patient and don’t be discouraged by the rejections. No one is great overnight. Have an open mind and be a hard-working person, and with a great attitude you will get far.” the University Relations Specialist added.

The full Breaking into the Industry feature with Iris Lin is right here on the EA website.

Kingdoms of Amular: Reckoning Producer Benjamin Smith, Dead Space 2 game designer Brian Bartram, and EA Environment Artist Phillip Simmons are among those that have previously spoken to The EA blog, providing advice on how to get into the industry.

There’s more advice from industry professionals on getting into the industry right here on The Train2Game Blog.

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

Train2Game student diaries: Will Alexander at AppCrowd – week 4

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Train2Game Artist Will Alexander is on a Train2Game work placement at AppCrowd. In this industry experience diary, Will details what he’s been up at the mobile and social game developer, including creating in-game characters.

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

You can read his previous diaries here, while there are also plenty of industry experience diaries from other students on the Train2Game Blog.

Train2Game news: Rayman Origins developer on benefits of ‘less is more’ game design

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Train2Game game designers should find Rayman Origins designer Chris McEntee’s discussion of Ubisofts ‘rational design’ interesting, as he explains how he believes its key to success in game design.

“Rational design is all about eliminating unnecessary information, making things inherently readable, understandable and apparent, introducing mechanics in an orderly and easily digestible fashion, and preserving the learning and difficulty curves of a game, known as macro flow.” McEntee told Gamasutra in a huge feature on game design.

“In principle, it is best to provide a player with significantly interesting and deep mechanics that are well explored and exploited through clever rationalized level design, rather than injecting the game full of one-shot gameplay mechanics to feign depth.”

The Rayman Origins designer added that when it comes to game design, keeping it simple with a less is more approach is a good philosophy to follow.

“We try, as designers, to overstuff our games with content, ideas and objectives because we think that makes it more clever or fun,” said McEntee.

“When we rationalize our game systems and keep things simple but deep, we can truly create a good and meaningful gameplay experience that is also efficient for the team and easy to troubleshoot through iterative play-testing.

“I feel that rationalization is one of the keys to success in the game design field.” he added

Train2Game students can read the full 8 page feature on game design over at Gamasutra.

What are your thoughts on the idea of less being more as a philosophy for game design?

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

Train2Game student industry experience diary: Craig Moore at DR Studios – week 17

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Train2Game Game Designer Craig Moore is on a Train2Game work placement at DR Studios. In his latest industry experience diary, he discusses being busy and the advantages and disadvantages of taking risks.

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