Tag Archives: Facebook

Train2Game News: Train2Game reaches over 6000 fans

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Train2Game FBTrain2Game are very proud to announce that the official Train2Game Facebook page has now over 6000 fans!

This is an excellent indication of the rise of Train2Game and its continued recognition in the gaming industry.

A Train2Game spokesman said, “It’s an incredible day for Train2Game reaching 6,000 fans on Facebook.

“The growth is testament to two things; one being the amazing student community of Train2Game and the second the great news supplied to the Facebook fan page from www.train2game-news.co.uk. “

Train2Game would like to thank all of their fans, students and staff for this great success. They look forward to welcoming many more in to the Train2Game family with the continued rise of Train2Game and the gaming industry.

Train2Game News: Mid-week round up – 24.10.12

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Steams Workshop, which is used to create content for games such as Team Fortress 2 and Skyrim, has turned one. The user created content has subsequently earned “millions of dollars” for their creators and Steam themselves.

The Greatest Video Game Music 2, the follow-up to the best-selling video game album of all time, will be released worldwide on Nov 6 and has been performed by The London Philharmonic Orchestra. The digital soundtrack album will include 17 new orchestral renditions of video game theme songs like Halo, Batman: Arkham City, Assassin’s Creed: Revelations and the ever-so classic Final Fantasy VII.

Following the success of Borderlands 2, an iOS spin-off has been confirmed with a release date of October 31. The game sees you play as the original 4 vault hunters from the first Borderlands in a wave-based survival game. Additionally, in true Borderlands style you can earn experience and level up your characters, unlocking new skills and abilities with each character having their own set of unique skills and abilities.

The first reviews of Hitman: Absolution have surface in Official Playstation Magazine UK and Official Xbox Magazine. Both magazines gave the game 9 out of 10. OPM said “This is the peak of the series so far” and OXM said “it a triumph of stealth and sandbox design that retains everything that fans have ever loved about the series”.

Wish Studios, a newly formed studio in Brighton, is working with Sony to develop a new IP. While other details about the partnership remain shrouded in secrecy, the status of Wish’s new client will likely serve as a significant help to the recently founded start-up’s presence in the industry.

A report by Google has said that over 50% of people use their tablet for gaming. The only activity performed more than gaming on a tablet is checking emails. The study, which was commissioned and published by Google, found that 51.5 per cent of its participants used their tablet for gaming in a two-week period.

The new dashboard for the Xbox was launched yesterday. It includes an internet explorer app giving the console a browser and the newly launched Xbox music which is similar to that of Spotify. The update also saw the removal of the Twitter and Facebook apps.

In an interesting collaboration, a new mod was made for the MMO World of Warcraft which sees the newly introduced pet battles become Pokemon battles. The aptly name WOWkemon sees a short tutorial by Professor Birch describing the Pokémon-ified battle screens and ability menus with the familiar sounds, screen effects, and even the font closely resembling the style of the handheld game legend.

Train2Game News: Mid-week round up – 10.5.12

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The OnLive console is not dead according to CEO Charles Jablonski and UK general manager Bruce Grove. The new plan is all about forming partnerships to provide OnLive’s service, instead of relying on PCs and its own console.

The Volus race has come to Mass Effect 3 multiplayer with the new DLC, The Retaliation Pack. The comic relief character has been put in to the online game play to show the ever expanding war according to BioWare’s Chris Schanche. The new pack also sees the return of The Collectors to battle against.

Earlier this week it was announced that Windows 8 will primarily use real world currency over Microsoft points. This had the games world speculating that the Xbox Live Arcade was going to start phasing out MS points. Microsoft have announced this is not the case. XBLA will still use the previous points system.

Rovio and LucasArts have teamed up in an interesting combination to create Angry Birds Star Wars. The game will see the birds dressed as the main Star Wars protagonists and the pigs are going to be dressed as Storm Troopers and Darth Vader. The levels will be famous Star Wars locations such as Hoth and Tattooine. The game is being released November 8 for iOS.

IGN have brought their application to Xbox in the UK. The app is already available in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the USA. The app offers content, shows and access to its pro-gaming league.

Mark Zuckerberg has announced that Facebook has now surpassed one billion users. Since Facebook’s formation in 2004, it has seen more than 140 billion friend connections made, 219 billion photos uploaded, and 1.13 trillion likes. Facebook’s director of developer products said around a quarter of its active user base, about 230 million people, play games on the site in a month. He also noted that Facebook has more than 130 apps.

A one-man company, Cryptic Sea, has created a game called A New Zero. The game has no animation and only uses physics for any movement in the first person shooter. In addition, visuals are also procedurally generated, chopping Zero’s total size below a single megabyte. You can download the game from Cryptic Sea’s website.

Train2Game news: Gaikai bringing cloud gaming to Facebook

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Train2Game students may have already experienced gaming for themselves, thanks to being able to see it at The Eurogamer Expo.

But for those unfamiliar with it, the concept of cloud gaming is being able to stream games from the internet and play them on any TV, PC or even tablet computer without the need for a console.

Now, cloud streaming service Gaikai has confirmed that it’s going to make its service even more accessible, by bringing it to Facebook, offering users the chance to play high quality titles through their internet browser.

“Our next big launch is on Facebook and we’ve been working with them for some time. Facebook already owns the category of casual gaming, we’re going to help them own core games. A click and boom, you’re playing World of Warcraft,” said Gaikai Chief Executive David Perry, while speaking at the Cloud Gaming Europe conference

He argued that the fewer steps needed to access a game, the higher the chance of somebody playing it will be.

“Bring the game to the gamer, don’t move people, move games,” said the Gaikai Chief Exec, who praised social game developer Zynga.

“Zynga has figured out that you put the customer first, very aggressively. You click once and you get to play for free, you share it with your friends and then you pay Zynga if you love it.”

“It’s as pro-consumer as you can get and that why their valuation has skyrocketed,” Perry continued.

“Some of the traditional publishers who have ignored all of this are falling off a cliff. Look at their stock prices, it’s not good.” he added.

The Train2Game Blog has previously reported on how Gaikai are combating lag for games streamed using their service.

For more news and information about cloud gaming services including Gaikai, keep reading the Train2Game Blog.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on cloud gaming coming to Facebook? Can it compete with social games?

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

[Source: Gamasutra]

Train2Game news: Insomniac Games reveal social games influencing their Triple A titles

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Train2Game students will be well aware what impact social games have had on the industry, but their influence isn’t just limited to Facebook and other networking sites.

Insomniac Games, developer of the Ratchet & Clank series , formed social games division Insomiac Click earlier this year, and believe it’s already influencing their Triple A products.

“Things are changing every day in that space. I think that is what’s so exciting about dipping our toes into that particular ocean,” Insomniac Games CEO Ted Price told GameSpot.

“We are learning lessons that we probably wouldn’t have learned if we were purely focused on our console games.”

“I think it’s opening our eyes to the necessity of more social hooks. And when I say that, I mean more focus on community, more focus on sharing within and across games. These are big topics that we discuss frequently at Insomniac when it comes to looking to the future, and we want to make sure that we are not stuck in the traditional console development set of rules.”

There is no right way to do it,” he added. “That’s what is exciting about it.”

Regular Train2Game blog readers may remember that a number of Triple A developers and publishers are planning to integrate social aspects into their games. Activision believe social is the future for consoles, and are plotting a ‘methodical’ entry into the social games sector.

Meanwhile, the Train2Game blog has also reported that Bioware are exploring the ‘experimental’ social media and mobile markets.  Could big publishers such as EA and Activision therefore be influenced by social games?

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on Triple A titles learning from social titles? Is it something that’s positive for the industry?

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

[Source: GameSpot]

Train2Game news: Zynga building own social games site

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Train2Game students will no doubt be aware that Zynga’s games are heavily tied to Facebook, with the Train2Game blog previously reporting that at its peak Cityville had over 100 million users.

Allies & Empires also reached over 50 million users within weeks of launching, thanks to the Facebook platform.

Now however, Zynga wants to reduce their reliance on the social network, after the introduction of Facebook Credits saw a 95% drop in profits during the last financial quarter, and will start delivering games directly to consumers online or on mobile phones.

The social game developer has therefore revealed ‘Project Z,’ on Zynga.com, a gaming hub that’ll allow players to connect to games such as Farmville through their own portal rather than Facebook.

Games can be played across Project Z and Facebook as players will be allowed to use the same username and will feature familiar social features.

“Project Z is a Facebook connect platform that leverages your Facebook friends to play in an environment tailored with just your friends,” said Zynga COO John Schappert said at the Zynga Unleashed event in San Francisco.

“We learn a lot more about our players, not just from stats but from talking to them, and this is what they wanted.”

“It’s a platform for a direct relationship with consumers, whether on the web or on mobile, to give you a whole sandbox and create socialness about the games and not just within the games,” Zynga chief executive Mark Pincus added.

The news comes the day after Facebook launched its iPad App, and as reported by the Train2Game blog, it means Facebook games can now be played on mobile devices.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on Zynga’s move? What does it say about Facebook gaming? And what is the future of social media games?

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

[Source:  WSJ]

Train2Game news: Facebook iPad App launches, a reminder of social media gaming’s impact

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Train2Game students will be aware that the iPad has opened doors for game developers, and now it’ll be even easier to use the Apple device for gaming.

Now, the official Facebook iPad app has finally launched which will being tighter integration of social media games and applications.

The app allows Facebook games to be played in a full screen mode, and allows access to various games available to Facebook users on laptop and desktop computers.

The growth of social media gaming means that there’s a whole new platform for game developers to publish games on.

Indeed, as reported by the Train2Game blog, Civilization creator Sid Meier believes this means it’s a great time for the industry.

“I think now is one of the most exciting times to be a Game Designer” he said earlier this year.

“With the rapid growth of social network games there are new opportunities for smaller indie developers to make and distribute games, so we’re seeing a wider variety of games on all kinds of cool devices than ever before. That’s great for the whole industry.”

Meanwhile, Zynga Game Designer Brian Reynolds – who previously worked on Civilization II means the growth of social gaming is a good thing for game designers

“A Game Designer is actually more important on a social game than on a triple-A game because on a triple-A game you spend a lot of time making technology and tools and gigabytes worth of animations and things like that.” said Reynolds earlier this year.

“I can remember whole months going by where they didn’t need me to do any game design whereas on social games it’s a game designer’s paradise.”

The official Facebook iPad app is therefore surely a good thing for aspiring game developers as it makes playing social media games more accessible to more people.

Of course, the new Facebook app means that iPad users can also stay in touch with the Official Train2Game Facebook page even when they’re out!

What are your thoughts on the Facebook App for iPad and the growth of social media gaming?

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

Train2Game news: BAFTA announces new award categories for debut, online gaming and performing talent

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Train2Game students will be aware of the increasing popularity of online brower based games, which has seen industry giants attempt to grab a piece of the action.

Now BAFTA are set to recognise the importance of browser based games from next year, with Online – Browser one of four new categories for the GAME British Academy Video Games Awards.

The other categories new for 2012 are Debut and Performer and Online – Multiplayer.  Debut will reward the best game from a new game development studio that releases its first title in 2011, with the idea of rewarding the work of new studios. Perhaps a Train2Game student could potentially win this one in future?

The Performer award will recognise “excellence in performance featured in a game,” which could include anything from voice work to motion capture.  Meanwhile, Online – Multiplayer will be awarded to “the best online multiplayer games experience,”

“BAFTA annually reviews its Awards categories to ensure they remain relevant and valued within the industry,” said Chairman of BAFTA’s Video Games Committee, Ray Maguire.

“Over the last year, we have witnessed the increased sophistication and popularity of online gaming, and so our two new Online categories will ensure the scope of creative work in this area is being properly recognised.”

“We are equally delighted to begin recognising the performance aspect within games, as we do for film and television, which further demonstrates the common ground between the industries.”

“Debut Game is another important addition this year, which reflects the changing game-development landscape and the rise of new, independent studios.” he added.

The GAME British Academy Video Games Awards will take place on Friday 16 March 2012. As reported by the Train2Game blog, Heavy Rain was the big winner at this year’s ceremony, taking three awards.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the new categories? And who do you think currently deserves to be nominated?

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

Train2Game news: Sims Social has ‘redefined’ social games say EA

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Train2Game students will be aware that social gaming has changed the industry and indeed, potentially allows them new ways to get into the business of building games.

Indeed, as the Train2Game blog reported last week, social developer Playfish believe that there hasn’t been a better time for smaller developers to be successful.

Social gaming is still growing and Playfish believe that the fact EA have brought big names like The Sims to Facebook has already fundamentally changed the sector after becoming the No.2 game on the social media platform.

“In bringing one of EA’s most popular game franchises to Facebook, Playfish and The Sims team have redefined the meaning of social in video games,” Playfish founder Kristian Segerstrale told MCV. Playfish are owned by EA.

“By combining Playfish’s expertise and passion for social play with the deep creative heritage of The Sims franchise and the insights of its creators, we feel we’ve brought something very special to life – and tens of millions of players around the world have responded with extraordinary enthusiasm over the last few weeks. “

“We’re looking forward to working with players to evolve the game and its features in new and exciting ways in the coming months and beyond.” Segerstrale added.

EA has previously brought a number of high profile names to the social media scene, including the likes of FIFA and Dragon Age.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on bringing established franchises to Facebook? Has it already fundamentally changed social media gaming? Could it encourage casual gamers to pick up more ‘hardcore’ titles?

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

[Source: MCV]

Train2Game Facebook page hits 4000 fans

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The official Train2Game Facebook page now has over 4000 fans, with this impressive milestone achieved over the weekend of 14 August.

The Train2Game Facebook page offers the 4000 fans regular updates about Train2Game, features interviews with students, work placements and offers a place for Train2Game students to see and discuss games industry news.

It features content from the Train2Game blog, the official Train2Game website and respected games industry websites around the web.

The 4000 Fan of the Train2Game Facebook fan page also offers a great hub of information for those wishing to enter the games industry.

In addition to the Train2Game forum, the Train2Game blog and the Train2Game Twitter, the Train2Game Facebook page will continue to offer the best content to Train2Game students, as it grows ever more popular.

Train2Game would like to thank every single FAN for their support.