Tag Archives: BAFTA

Train2Game news: Next-gen consoles will increase “creative freedom” says Witcher 2 developer

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Train2Game students who think like The Witcher 2 lead level artist Marek Ziemak will probably support the CD Projekt developer in wanting much improved graphics and animation for next-gen consoles, in order to create better experiences.

“Sure, I’m a level artist so for me, it’s all about the visual quality, I want more creative freedom and more great graphics, that’s what really makes me want to create games.” CVG report the level artist saying at this week’s Witcher 2 developer Q&A at BAFTA.

“I’m looking for like real-life animations. It’s like pushing the limit again and again, creating bigger and greater stuff,” Ziemack continued. “I don’t know when it’s going to happen, but I want to see this, these great graphics being there on the screen.

“I hope its time comes soon and we won’t have to fight about pixels on the screen but worry more about delivering a true experience, the real emotion we can deliver through the game.” he added.

The Witcher 2 lead level artist has previously spoken to the Train2Game Blog, with our full interview with Marek Ziemak available to read here.

The Witcher 2: Assassin’s of Kings is released for Xbox 360 on Tuesday 17th April. For more news about The Witcher 2, keep reading The Train2Game Blog.

What are your thoughts on Ziemaks comments? Would better graphics bring more creative freedom?

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

Train2Game news: The Witcher 2 developers CD Projekt Red to host Q&A session at BAFTA next month

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Train2Game students have the chance to question members of The Witcher 2’s development team at a special BAFTA event next month.

The CD Projekt Red staff, in association with Official Xbox 360 Magazine, will be giving a live presentation of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings -Enhanced Edition followed by a live Q&A session which you can ask them anything about the game or game development.

CD Projekt lead QA Tester Bartek Ocham and lead combat designer Mariej Ocham will be there to “take you through the game’s intricate design, its artistic vision, and the overall development process by showing key areas of the gameplay during live demos and trailers.”

The Witcher 2 Q&A takes place at BAFTA, central London on Tuesday 11th April from 19:00. For more information, or to buy a ticket for £5, visit the BAFTA website.

As previously reported by The Train2Game Blog, CD Projekt believe that The Witcher 2 offers “The most complex and non-linear story ever told on Xbox 360.” There’s much more about The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings in The Train2Game Blog interview with Environment Artist Marek Ziemak.

Will you attend the BAFTA event? What would you like to ask The Witcher 2 development team?

As usual, 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

Train2Game news: BAFTA Game Awards live streaming tonight

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Video Game BAFTAsTrain2Game students might already be aware of this, but the BAFTA Video Game Awards take place tonight.

Comedian and gamer Dara Ó Briain will host the awards live from the London Hilton, Park Lane this evening, in which 48 different games have been nominated for awards. New award categories for this year include performer, debut game, online-browser and online-multiplayer.

A full list of nominees is available here on the BAFTA website.

The awards start at 9p.m. tonight and those interested in seeing which games and developers will walk away with awards can tune into the live stream on the BAFTA website at http://www.bafta.org/games/awards

More news involving BAFTA is here on The Train2Game Blog.

So, what are your predictions on which games will win awards?

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

Train2Game news: Question Notch in BAFTA Games live Q&A on Thursday

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Train2Game students have the chance to question Minecraft creator Markus ‘Notch’ Persson thanks to a live Twitter Q&A from BAFTA Games.

The Q&A with Notch takes place tomorrow, Thursday 15th March at 12:30. Train2Game students who wish to ask Minecraft creator a question can do so by Tweeting @BAFTAGames using the #NotchQA hashtag.

If you’re not on Twitter, tells us what you’d like to know, and we’ll submit the question on your behalf.

The Twitter Q&A comes ahead of Notch receiving the BAFTA Special Person Award at the GAME British Academy Video Games Awards on Friday night.

The Notch Q&A isn’t the only BAFTA event that happens tomorrow, with Dare to be Digital: Pitching a Prototype taking place in the evening.

Yesterday, The Train2Game Blog reported that Notch worries that his next game won’t be able to achieve the same impact as Minecraft.

For more Notch news, keep reading the Train2Game Blog.

So Train2Game, what would you ask Notch?

Leave your suggestions 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

Train2Game news: Learn how to pitch a prototype game at BAFTA event

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Train2Game students who want to know more about how to pitch a game idea may be interested in attending an event at BAFTA this week which is about just that.

Dare to be Digital: Pitching a Prototype will see this year’s Dare to be Digital finalists pitch their game ideas and receive feedback from a panel of industry experts including:

Riccardo Lenzi – a game producer with many years’ experience in managing internal, external and hybrid development teams across multiple formats.

Matt Sansam – now part of the Technology Strategy Board’s ICtomorrow management team, Matt has worked as Producer and Executive Producer at Rebellion, Core Design, Climax, Criterion, Psygnosis and SCi

Paul Durrant – representing Abertay University’s £25,000 grant for small companies developing their own interactive digital content.

Any Train2Game students who attend the BAFTA event will be able to find out more about what publishers are looking for in a prototype game and discover the lessons learned by the Dare to be Digital teams.

Dare to be Digital: Pitching a Prototype takes place at BAFTA in central London at 19:00 on Thursday 15th March. Tickets cost £5, and can be purchased here. Much more information about the event is on the official BAFTA website.

Previous BAFTA events including Games Question Time and the Games Writers Panel have been very insightful, so Dare to be Digital: Pitching a Prototype will surely be useful to any Train2Game students who attend.

More about previous BAFTA events can be found right on The Train2Game Blog.

So Train2Game, will you attend the BAFTA event on Thursday?

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

Train2Game news: What should we ask Hironobu Sakaguchi at The Last Story Q&A on Thursday?

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Train2Game students may have seen this post at the start of the month about the upcoming BAFTA Q&A session with Final Fantasy developer Hironobu Sakaguchi.

In addition to hearing the games industry veteran discuss The Last Story, the audience will be able to ask Sakaguchi almost anything and he could therefore potentially provide advice to Train2Game students about getting that first job in the industry.

Unfortunately, this unique opportunity to question Sakaguchi is now sold out.  However, The Train2Game Blog will be attending the BAFTA Q&A on Thursday.

So if you’ve got anything you’d like to ask about Final Fantasy, The Last Story, game development or the industry in general, leave your questions here on The Train2Game Blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Also, let us know if you’re actually going to be attending the event!

You can still purchase tickets to next Monday’s BAFTA Games Question Time, which gives the audience the opportunity to ask a panel of experts questions about the industry.

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

Train2Game news: Question Final Fantasy developer Hironobu Sakaguchi at BAFTA Q&A

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Train2Game students have the opportunity to question Final Fantasy series developer Hironobu Sakaguchi at a BAFTA Q&A event later this month.

The Game Developer Q&A session will see Sakaguchi discuss his upcoming Nintendo Wii RPG The Last Story which launches in Europe on February 24th. Train2Game students potentially have the opportunity to tap into his games industry knowledge with questions during the event.

The Last Story Q&A with Hironobu Sakaguchi takes place at BAFTA’s central London HQ. Train2Game students who wish to find out more, or buy tickets to the event for £5, can do so at the BAFTA website.

Previous BAFTA game developer events – such as the Games Writers Panel – have proved to be very interesting and this one is likely to be extremely useful for any Train2Game students who attend.

So Train2Game, will you attend The Last Story Q&A with Hironobu Sakaguchi? What would you ask him?

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

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: Interesting Guardian feature on women in game development

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Train2Game students should have a look at this article on the The Guardian website. Titled ‘Game changers: the women who make video games’ it features some of the best female game development talent out there and examines what can be done to get more women into the games industry.

Of course, there are plenty of women currently on Train2Game courses as we speak.

“I think young girls need to have their eyes opened to the different avenues open to them in games,” said games writer Rhianna Pratchett, who has worked on games including Heavenly Sword and Mirror’s Edge.

“They can be artists, animators, writers, designers, producers, programmers … We need to get them fired up about technology and find the Ada Lovelaces of the future. I think both the industry and the educational system have a role to play to achieve this. There are so many great female role-models within the games industry, but they rarely get the exposure they deserve.”  she added.

Rhianna Pratchett was part of BAFTA’s Games Writers Panel discussion, which recently became available to listen to via podcast. Find out how to listen to it, and see the rest of Train2Game’s BAFTA Games Writers Panel coverage, here on the Train2Game blog.

Other female game developers who feature in The Guardian article includes Deus Ex: Human Revolution co-writer Mary DeMarle, and Uncharted 3 Director Amy Hennig. The women in video games piece certainly does make interesting reading for Train2Game students.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the article? What do you think can be done to encourage more women into game development?

Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

(Source: The Guardian)

Train2Game news: BAFTA Games Writers Panel podcast now available

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Train2Game students who couldn’t attend the BAFTA Games Writers Panel at the end of October can now listen to the whole discussion via podcast.

The Games Writers Panel featured games writers Rhianna Pratchett, Jim Swallow and Ed Stern, and was chaired by Andrew Walsh. The panel discussed narrative in video games, so while it’ll be of particular interest to Train2Game Game Designers, it should provide interesting listening for anyone interested in video games.

Listen to the BAFTA writing for games panel debate podcast here. (It does contain some strong language)

When Train2Game attended the BAFTA Games Writers Panel we were fortunate to get interviews with two of the speakers, both of whom spoke in-depth about game design and offered Train2Game students advice on getting into the industry.

You can read the Train2Game blog interview with Deus Ex: Human Revolution writer Jim Swallow here.

Meanwhile, the Train2Game blog interview with Brink writer Ed Stern is here.

More recently than the Games Writers Panel, the Train2Game blog spoke to Bioware co-founders Dr. Ray Muzyka & Dr. Greg Zeschuk at the BAFTA Bioware Lecture.

As usual, 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