Train2Game NEws EGX 2015

egx2015I had the pleasure of attending EGX again this year, my fourth year in a row. This year however I took a slightly different approach.

Every other year I have just played the games at the event to see what the next big games are going to be like but as the event moved to its bigger venue at the NEC in Birmingham many of the games had a 3 hour plus wait.

All though I didn’t experience the games my self I did get to see many of them like Rainbow Six Siege which looked incredibly tactical, Tom Clancy’s: The Division which seemed more casual and accessible to casual players, Mirror’s Edge: Catalyst which seemed to be just a modernised version of the original which in my opinion is no bad thing and finally Star Wars Battlefront which looks as good and exciting as we all hope it will be.

Instead of playing these games this year I took in the atmosphere and watched more of the talks. At the PlayStation stage I listened to Charles Cecil hold a Q and A on the Broken Sword series. It was truly heart warming to hear from a man who has been in the industry since the 80’s still have an incredible passion for the industry. He also dropped a hint that he may be working with comic book artist Dave Gibbons in the future.

Over on the Xbox stage, games personality Julia Hardy hosted a number of indie and triple A games coming to Xbox in the near future. She was also very passionate about the games she was covering with numerous interesting ID@Xbox games arriving soon.

In conclusion this year was again bigger and better than before with the move to Birmingham giving more space for bigger stands and more people.

Train2Game news: £15 million fund available to Yorkshire game developers

Train2Game students will be pleased to hear that Yorkshire game developers are eligible for a slice of £15 million worth of investment thanks to a new initiative, The Yorkshire Content Fund.

The funding from Screen Yorkshire will offer cash to games, films, television and other digital content produced in the Yorkshire Area.  Revolution Software’s games industry veteran Charles Cecil is on the Screen Yorkshire board.

“The advent of ubiquitous broadband has opened up huge opportunities for video games developers to self-publish their titles and, in doing so, retain the lions’ share of the revenues – Yorkshire, in particular, has a large number of successful, independent developers who find themselves in a fantastic position to grasp these opportunities,” said Cecil, who spoke to The Train2Game Blog in a video interview at last year’s Eurogamer Expo.

“To capitalise on these opportunities upfront investment is required and can be very challenging to secure in this tough financial environment. The Yorkshire Content Fund will address this issue and also lead to significant job creation.” he added.

The Yorkshire Content Fund could create jobs in the games industry, and is therefore could potentially provide Train2Game students with future job opportunities.

“The Yorkshire Content Fund marks a new era for the region’s creative businesses and for Screen Yorkshire as an organisation,” added Screen Yorkshire CEO Sally Joynson.

“These are difficult times and access to capital is still limited so to secure such a major pot of investment for the creative industries in Yorkshire and Humber is an incredible win for the region and for Screen Yorkshire. The fund will also create hundreds of jobs across the supply chain, which is so critical at the moment.” she concluded.

Train2Game students who want more information about the Yorkshire Content fund should see the official website.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the initiative? Do you see it as a boost for the games industry?

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

[Source: GI.biz]

Train2Game at EuroGamer 2011 with Charles Cecil MBE Managing Director of Revolution Software

Train2Game at EuroGamer 2011 with Charles Cecil MBE Managing Director of Revolution Software

Charles Cecil MBE has worked in the interactive entertainment industry for 25 years. He is currently Managing Director of Revolution Software which has released such hits as Beneath a Steel Sky and the Broken Sword series. Mr. Cecil is on the advisory panel of the Edinburgh Interactive Entertainment Festival, and Develop Conference and regularly talks at events and to mainstream press about creative and commercial aspects of the video games industry. He is also a co-founder and remains a Director of Game Republic, an alliance of game developers, and is a Board member of Screen Yorkshire, a regional agency that supports film, television and interactive entertainment in Yorkshire. In 2006, Mr. Cecil was awarded the status of ‘industry legend’ by Develop, Europe’s leading development magazine