Tag Archives: Final Fantasy

Train2Game News: Mid-week round up – 16.01.13

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Valve logoIt is that time of week for the Train2Game mid-week round up!

Valve has announced plans to to discuss a port of Team Fortress 2 to virtual reality goggles. The first talk will be programmer Joe Ludwig’s ‘What We Learned Porting Team Fortress 2 to Virtual Reality’ and it will explore the efforts of several employees over the last year to get the game to run in virtual reality goggles. In addition, Valve’s Michael Abrash will discuss the hardware challenges that lie ahead and possible solutions for virtual and augmented reality in ‘Why Virtual Reality is Hard (And Where it Might be Going).’

Square Enix have launched a new website to tease all fans of an upcoming iOS game. More information is to be released on January 17. The site has an image of what looks like a front end menu for the game which is called, Final Fantasy: All The Bravest. You can check out the website for yourself here: http://www.jp.square-enix.com/ff_atb/

Since Activision brought out Skylanders it has done very well and now Disney has seen it’s potential. They are now doing their own version with the announcement of Disney Infinity. Infinity will work in the same way as Skylanders, needing action figures and a “toy box” base to give players access to different worlds. Disney fans will recognize plenty of familiar faces, like Captain Jack Sparrow, the cast of the Incredibles, and Sully from Monsters Inc.

Surreal game creator Suda51 has revealed details of his next game, Killer is Dead. The game stars Mondo Zappa, a 35 year old American executioner that abides by a strict suit-and-tie policy and his left hand is a gun that can also transform into a drill and is used primarily to absorb an enemy’s blood for an “Adrenalin Burst” attack. The game’s antagonist is Victor, who can manipulate emotions through song. He’s appropriately styled to look like classic composer, except has a green face and glowing eyes.

Online and mobile are spearheading the game industry’s growth to a potential total valuation of $83 billion by 2016, according to new research. Conducted by Digi-Capital, the global games investment review states that online and mobile could have a revenue share of $48 billion in 2016, 55 per cent of the entire game industry. The biggest driver in mobile and tablet app revenue meanwhile will be free-to-play, which could deliver 55 per cent of revenue in the sector and account for 93 per cent of app downloads by 2016.

Train2Game News: Square Enix show off next-gen Final Fantasy tech demo

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Square Enix has used E3 to show off a tech demo of what will be powering their games on next-gen consoles, and it’s really quite impressive.

Agni’s Philosophy, the Final Fantasy real time tech demo gives us a glimpse at what Square Enix are developing behind the scenes with Luminous Studios.

“The Luminous Studio game engine aims to bring about greater productivity within game production teams, while simultaneously offering an environment to create games of fantastic quality,” said a statement from Square Enix.

“Furthermore, the Luminous Studio game engine is planned to support game consoles, PC, smartphones, and the web, encapsulating the many platforms of the next generation of quality”

Watch the Final Fantasy tech demo from Square Enix below, right here on The Train2Game Blog.

There’s more Square Enix news here on The Train2Game Blog.

What are your thoughts on the Agni’s Philosophy tech demo? Does it make you more excited for next-gen consoles?

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

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

The iPhone 4G could provide a Train2Game student with their big break.

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June 24th 2010 is a big day for mobile video games, phone applications and Apple fans in general. Why? Because on that day the iPhone 4G is released, and not only will it continue to revolutionise mobile communication, but it’ll also continue to expand the opportunity for playing quality, well developed, video games on the iPhone.

The iPhone 4G will introduce a number of enhancements over previous models, including “improved camera system and battery life, as well as an updated version of the iOS operating system, designed to provide more flexibility for developers.”

That last bit is likely to be most appealing to Train2Game students, be they a Games Designer, Games Developer or a Games Artist & Animator, as the continued advancement of the iPhone technology means it’s easier than ever to get a video game published. Apple themselves say they approve 95% of Applications within a week.

iPhone games are getting more and more popular, especially with old classics such as Final Fantasy and Monkey Island now available for the handset. Twenty years ago you would have needed a state of the art games system in your room in order to play these. Nowadays you can enjoy these almost legendary titles wherever you are, be you on the train, at the park or *ahem* in the bathroom.

The choice and quality of games available for the iPhone can only improve, as according to Apple, “4G’s gaming applications will be superior to previous models due to the addition of a three-axis gyro, which will allow for a wider array of motion control options.”

Many of the biggest gaming news websites have already taken note of the potential of iPhone games, including GamesRadar who run an ‘Iphone game of the day’ feature’ which showcases a variety of games that people can easily go onto download from the iTunes store at generally low prices.

The advantage for developers – like the Train2Game students – is  iPhone games can be developed for a relatively small amount – and bought for as little as 59p – but if the game proves popular it can really jumpstart a career in the games industry. There are a number of tales out there about iPhone game developers who have been very successful through this medium. Perhaps a Train2Game student will one day a make a name for themselves in this way.

So, who’s excited about the iPhone 4G? And who’s ready to attempt to developer a game for it?

As usual all comments are appreciated. Either leave them here or on the Train2Game Forum.

Square Enix show even struggling developers can become hugely successful

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Square Enix must be a very happy publisher. Why? Only because their sales increased by 41.7% in the fiscal year ending in March 2010 compared to 2008-2009. The Japanese giant’s sales total for the 12 month period came to £1.5 billion, or 192.3 billion yen if you think that sounds more impressive.

Of course, the release of Final Fantasy XIII – the first game in the series for current generation of consoles – was a huge boost for Square Enix as millions of copies have been sold worldwide and it’s still performing strongly in the charts. The companies’ acquisition of British publisher Eidos last year also means that Square Enix will have taken a slice of the profits from the hugely successful Batman: Arkham Asylum along with a number of other titles.

So, 2009-2010 was a highly successful year for Square Enix, who with the Final Fantasy series have a history of well selling, successful games. However, things weren’t always so rosy for Square – as the developer was known before the merger with Enix in 2003.

Back in 1987 Square was still a small developer and despite some moderate success with previous titles, the company was flirting with bankruptcy.  They thought the game they had in production would be their last, so they called it Final Fantasy. Fortunately for Square this ‘Final’ Fantasy was a massive it and went onto spawn one of the biggest franchises in gaming – big enough to help contribute to making £1.5 billion!

Train2Game students can definitely take something from this tale. After all, the games industry can be a tough environment to forge a career in – just travel back in time and ask someone from Square Enix circa 1987! But perseverance is the key, keep pushing and keep doing the right things and it’s possible to overcome even the most daunting barriers. Do you think you can help produce the next massive franchise? Does your current project have that potential? Let us know.