Tag Archives: Game Art & Animation

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: GameStick Kickstarter earns over $600k

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GameStickThe Android based GameStick has now finished its Kickstarter and it has made over 6 times more than it needed.

The GameStick is a new portable console that runs the android operating system. It is a very small stick, similar to that of a USB stick, with a HDMI connection so it can plug straight in to your HD TV. The stick can be stored inside of it’s specially made Bluetooth controller to keep it safe and compact. The GameStick will also work with other Bluetooth controllers.

GameStick´s purpose-built game store will be powered by PlayJam´s built-for-TV technology enabling users to browse, download content and interact with the wider GameStick community.

The campaign to fund the production of GameStick, which is set to ship in April 2013, closed on Friday with pledges coming in right up to the last second finishing at 648% of the original target with a total of $648k. Those that missed out on the Kickstarter campaign will be able to pre-order via the GameStick website at www.gamestick.tv.

Anthony Johnson, CMO, PlayJam said “We are overwhelmed, excited, grateful, thrilled and everything in between. The campaign has been an incredible success with support from thousands of backers worldwide but this is just the beginning. The feedback from the Kickstarter community has been invaluable in shaping the final product and we will continue to seek input from those that supported us to ensure continued innovation ahead of a global retail launch.”

Throughout the campaign the team responded to thousands of comments and suggestions from Kickstarter backers that saw the product evolve in real-time as the team scrambled to incorporate a number of requested features from additional memory capacity to support for peripheral hardware via a docking station.

GameStick, described as ‘The Most Portable TV games Console Ever Created’ has been hailed by many supporters as the console to disrupt the games industry. The device has gathered high profile supporters throughout the campaign such as; Jason Kingsley, (Founder of Rebellion), Jason Bradbury (Gadget Show host) Jermaine Dupri (Record producer) and Shaquille O’Neal (Basketball Legend).

You can download a SDK for the new device at www.gamestick.tv and start developing for a new consoling experience.

Train2Game News: Games Industry Jobs

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Train2Game is bringing you more industry jobs this week across all industry sections.

DEVELOPER

Job Title Programmers wanted for a AAA Game Studio – Multiple roles!
Job Category Programming
Skills Required Gameplay, Audio Programmer, Animation Programmer, Graduate Programmer
Location North West, UK & Europe
Job Description Do you want to work with a AAA Game studio that makes multiplatform games!?  This is your chance to work with a Studio that has been making great AAA games for the last 15 years!  It is an Award winning studio that has a great Location in the North West! The Studio is mainly looking for gameplay programmers however experience in other types of programming is a massive bonus.

They are looking for someone that has:

–          Excellent C++ programming skills
–          Must have Strong Mathematical ability
–          Familiarity with programming test code
–          Excellent oral and written communication skill in English
–          Must adhere to schedules and work well under pressure
–          Self-motivated

Team player with a very strong work ethic and cooperative attitude Previous professional experience with 3D action game development is also a big plus! The studio offers a very competitive salary with paid overtime as well as a bonus scheme!  If you or anyone you know is interested and would like further information or wish to apply please contact me Richard Balding via email: richard.balding@amiqus.com.

DESIGN

Job Title Technical Designer London – Contract until Sep’ 13
Job Category Game Design
Skills Required Game Design
Location South East
Job Description Location – London
Contract until September 2013
Day rates between £225 to £250

OPM are pleased to be offering an excellent opportunity to join one of the most successful international development and publishing houses at their London studio.
The company is looking for a Technical Designer to join their Central London studio.

The Task
To have a key role in integrating content from various disciplines creating gameplay based on design documentation and helping to improve the toolsets and pipelines.

Responsibilities
• Create gameplay based on design documentation.
• Work with creative designers and programmer to help tweak gameplay systems.
• Integrate a variety of content from various disciplines.
• Analyse and assess potential risk factors in the design documentation.
• Act as a communication point between creative designers programmers and technical artists.
• Identify bottlenecks or improvements to the tool-chain and workflow.
• Documenting technical systems

Key Skills
• Analytical skills
• Methodical working practice
• A good understanding of technical design and game structure
• Experience using Photoshop 3DS Max or Maya
• Experience using visual design editors (Unreal Unity Hammer etc)
• Experience with scripting systems and/or state machine editors
• Experience with the Lua scripting language
• Experience with motion controllers and augmented reality systems

Catherine Cope| Design Consultant
Direct Line: + 44 (0) 1206 214416 | Email: catherine@opmjobs.com | Skype: catherine.cope.opm
LinkedIn – http://uk.linkedin.com/in/catherinecopeopm
Twitter – gamesdesignjobs

ART

Job Title Environment Artist
Job Category Art / Animation
Skills Required Environment Artist
Location Brighton
Job Description We are a small talented team of game developers based in the Brighton area. Our recent work includes Monkey Slam on iOS and converting CSR Racing to the Mac.

We are growing our studio to work on an exciting AAA mobile game with a well known publisher and are looking for a talented Environment Artist to come and work with us!

If you can prove the following we’d love to hear from you:

  • An excellent understanding of form, structure and silhouette in regard to modelling and composition.
  • Easy going attitude – being flexible with new ideas and most importantly open to direction and iteration.
  • Ability to communicate and work with coders, game and audio designers in a dynamic team environment.
  • Willing to help others and ask for help where needed.
  • Prepared to learn new tools during production.
  • Proactive in sharing info and assets.
  • A keen gamer and an appreciation of the visuals and user experience on all platforms from mobile to consoles.

Experience:

  • Ideally you’ll have at least 2 years game development experience in modelling and texturing environments although we would consider graduates with outstanding portfolios.
  • Strong artistic ability to visualise entire levels and detail with minimal concept art and direction.
  • Solid technical skills to manage assets that fit memory, design, and frame rate limitations.
  • Excellent polygonal modelling skills – able to generate clean and efficient models.
  • We make AAA quality games that have to be intuitive and slick. You would need to be hungry to make them even better!

Software:

  • Super skills in any of the following 3d apps – Maya, Max, XSI, Modo.
  • Excellent Photoshop skills.

Advantageous:

  • Knowledge of ZBrush or Mudbox.
  • Knowledge of Unity.

Applying:

All applicants will be asked to produce a portfolio. This role is for a short term contract initially between 5-6 months. We offer a competitive rate and an exciting, tight-knit working environment.

You can apply here.

QA

Capcom, Beeline is currently seeking a motivated QA Tester to join our London studio.The successful candidate will work with the QA team and the development team to ensure high quality bug free releases of our market leading games.

Required Skills:

  • Excellent attention to details, highly analytical
  • Self motivated with a professional work ethic
  • An excellent communicator both orally and written
  • Excellent organisational skills
  • Flexible (in regard to hours of work)
  • Proven decision making ability under pressure
  • Good understanding of business software applications (Excel, Word, Outlook)Familiarity with bug tracking software
  • Good command of the English language
  • Interest in games is essential

    Desired Skills:

  • Previous experience in gaming QA whether console or mobile phones is desirable but not essential

    Applicants must be able to start ASAP and will work from our studio in Hammersmith.

    Please send applications with your CV to jobs@capcom.com

 

Train2Game News: Train2Game Radio talks to Dan Rutter

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Dan and Vicki RutterTrain2Game radio got the pleasure of speaking to Dan Rutter about his new studio him and his wife have started, Turret Studios. They have a great game idea and a lot of ambition to get it done.

You can listen to part one of the radio interview here: http://audioboo.fm/boos/1181723-train2game-student-dan-rutter-talks-to-mark1

and part two here: http://audioboo.fm/boos/1181705-train2game-student-dan-rutter-talks-to-mark2

Or read the transcript below:

Hello my name is Dan, I am on the Art and Animation course and I live in Teddington.

Hi Dan, how you doing?
I’m fine Mark, how are you?

I’m great thank you buddy! So, tell me a bit about yourself. What’s your story and the past experiences that have shaped your life?
OK, I went to university studying Model Making for TV and Film. I came out of that with a degree, I’ve ended up working in the model making field, I’ve done some stuff for film and TV. I then moved in to Architecture but through all of that games have been a massive passion of mine and my wife. So I looked at the Train2Game course, applied in May 2 years ago now I think it was. Entered the Game Jam competition in November where we came in the top three, ended up going to the Gadget Show Live in April where we had some pretty good success. I mean, we didn’t win but it was a fantastic experience and I met loads of great people! I’ve been plodding on with the course since then and new year, new resolutions and new goals, decided to branch out and do something different this year.

Yeah and what was that?
My Wife and I have started our own company, Turret Studios, aiming to make apps for iOS and Android platforms using the Unity 4 engine.

Is it just Unity that you’re going to be using?
At the moment yes as it is the only engine we can find that enables you to make apps for iOS and Android, giving us as large a spread of the market as possible. We obviously loved using the Unreal Engine during the Game Jam but at the moment it only supports iOS. Whether the Unreal 4 engine will be any different, and I really hope it is because I do really enjoy using that.

Yeah, so what are you working on at the minute? If you can say
Yeah, we can. Our first game is called Digital Dojo and it’s kind of cross between Pokémon and Top Trumps. It’s a collectible type of game, the idea is you go around and scan the bar-code of an object and those numbers, from a pool of robot pieces, will generate a robot which you can level up and customize and then you can challenge your friends through Facebook and if you win you get points so you can upgrade your robot further.

That sounds quite fun!
Good!

I would be interested in that one. So is it just you and your wife working on it or have you got other people as well?
At the moment it’s just myself and my wife. I have a coder friend who goes by the name of Wurley who is giving some of his spare time to help work it out which is good, but we will be looking at trying to get some other students involved if possible. We actually have two competitions that we are going to launch, one is to design a robot character for the game and the other is to design an environment for them to fight in. All the details will be up on our website and you can download templates to sketch over the top of or Photoshop files with layers if you want to work digitally and then we will put them up on our website and let people do a poll so they vote for their favourites and hopefully those designs will end up in the game.

Very nice and what’s the website?
It’s http://www.turret-studios.com

Are you a registered company yet or are you still looking in to that?
Nope, we are a registered company. That paper work has been done.

You are?
Yup, so what I have recently done now is I have switched from full time work and have gone back to Free lancing as a Model Maker. So at the minute I am doing a lot of work for other companies just doing some technical drawings and laser cutting drawings just to bring in some cash that way, which enables us in to putting as much time as possible in to this to get it up and running.

Very nice and have you seen the new forum section that has gone up as well?
I had a browse around last night, I haven’t had a good rummage but I have noticed there have been a few changes.

Yeah like there is a new student studio section that you can apply for it and its only student studios that can post on that to get advice and get people talking, so that’s where you can put things like your competition.
That sounds fantastic! I’ll be doing that straight after this.

Excellent! So did you and your wife meet through gaming or was that something before?
My wife and I met at University. I was doing Model Making and she was doing Furniture and Applied Products but we soon found we were sat in front of the Playstation 2 back then playing SSX and all kinds of games which was quite good fun. We even had Little Big Planet wedding toppers at our wedding and our wedding cupcakes had Marshmallow space invaders on the top, so that’s how heavy in to games we are.

That sounds beautiful! That sounds like the kind of wedding I would like.
It was pretty awesome. Our favour boxes had Marvel Superhero candy sticks and penny sweets in.

So is your wife more the arts type like you or does she do other things as well?
She is very good with her Admin and things. She works in a job where she isn’t doing what she wants to do but it brings in money. In terms of the company and how she fits in to things, at the moment she is looking at learning coding, so she’s got some books and signed up to some courses as a long term goal and in the short term she is running all of our social media, the website and keeping the books, making sure things balance.

Very nice, is she going to get in to Train2Game as well do you think?
It’s definitely an option. It’s just trying to get some things set up and sorted and then try and find time for her to do that. She works quite long hours and works every other Saturday and things like that. So we will be looking in to that

So finally, what is your greatest ambition?
At the moment my greatest ambition is just to get that first app out there, hopefully succesful and what I would really love is to be stood on the train, look over some ones shoulder and see them playing our game. I think that would be fantastic!

That’s a beautiful idea
It’s a great idea, it’s kind of the app equivalent of walking in to a shop and seeing it on a shelf.

Excellent. Well I wish you all the luck with everything Dan
Thank you very much

My pleasure and thank you very much for talking to us today!
No trouble at all, cheers!

Train2Game News: Rapid2D Competition

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Rapid2DRapid2D Launches TEN THOUSAND POUND App Competition!

But that’s not all; there will also be runners up prizes of Xbox 360 consoles and bundles taking the total prize fund way beyond £10,000

Windows 8, has teamed up with industry sponsor Microsoft Corp. to launch an app competition with a first prize of £10,000.

Aimed at start-ups and student studios, while being open to anyone to enter, teams will be required to submit apps to the Windows  Store. The judging will be based on overall app quality submitted by a studio/team.

Myra Smallman, of Rapid2D, also announced, “To create a level playing field for those who are just starting out in the industry, Rapid2D has produced a range of templates for use with our exciting new engine, all available for free to competition entrants.”

Anand Krishnan, Senior Director, Developer and Platform Group, Microsoft UK, added, “We are proud to support and sponsor this amazing initiative. It offers opportunities for hobby builders, students and startups to bring their ideas to life. We are excited to see what the next generation of developers, designers, artists and coders can do with the Rapid2D game engine.”

The competition will launch at 15.00pm (UK) on Wednesday 23rd January 2013 via the Rapid2D web site. The first of the 10 templates will also be made available at the same time as will the latest version of the Rapid2D engine, Rapid2D V1.2.

Registration via the Rapid2D website also opens 23rd January. The closing date for the collections of apps being published is 2nd April 2013.  All Apps which are to be considered for the competition must be submitted to the Windows Store for approval by 12 midnight on 2nd April 2013.

Rapid2D competition more

It is not a prerequisite of entry to use the Rapid2D engine – entrants can develop a Windows 8 game with any language or middleware platform, whilst we recommend the Rapid 2D engine to utilize the templates and accelerate the game app development.

Individuals can enter, but obviously teams can share the demanding workload

Full terms and conditions available via www.rapid2d.com , however entry is restricted to the UK.

Train2Game News: Student Studio forum page

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T2G ForumStudent studios invited to share experiences and advice in new group created on the Train2Game forum

Train2Game students who have created or joined indie studios are invited to join a specific student studios group and all students will be able to read contributions to this new forum page

The group has been designed for student studios to share experiences and advice on operating small independent studios. Train2Game will also work with the group to encourage discussions and pass on information about the work Train2Game does with start-up studios.

Train2Game will work to create PR for the studios based around projects they are working on, with press releases and  interviews on Train2Game Radio to coincide with when their games coming out, where it will be listened to by hundreds of thousands of listeners.

All students will be encouraged to follow the group but contributions will only be accepted after an approval process. This is to maintain the group as specifically for student studios, though all students can read and therefore benefit from the discussions.

To qualify as a student studio you will need to be a registered company, with a website. Individuals and groups are both welcome to apply. All applications will be considered, so feel free to get in touch,

If you are not in a studio and would like to create or join one, you can visit the forum groups: student project recruitment and student project showcase. Here you will be able to find others who are in similar situation, and once you are part of a studio you  can join the student studio group.

The group will be maintained by student administrator Lee Sainsbury and Train2Game PR Harry Cole. If you would like to join the group or discuss anything about the group, please feel free to contact either of the guys through the forum, contact names: Calibur and harrycole

Train2Game students invited to take part in Tamarex Beta

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TamarexStudents studying with Train2Game are invited to troubleshoot title created by student studio Icey Monty.

Remember the Tamagotchi? Well Train2Game student studio Icey Monty are inviting you to try there take on the classic virtual pet, only this time the pet isn’t so cute and cuddly. On this title which is soon to be available on iOS, you take care of a hungry T-Rex; feeding, playing and also cleaning up after it, as it grows! Train2Game students will be the first to play the game in an online version which will be available to all students who register an interest and are kind enough to give the team feedback on what they think.

The Beta

The Beta testing stage will be the final step towards releasing the game on to iOS and will be open to students for around two weeks. Those who sign up for the Beta will be asked to create their own pet dinosaur and reply to the Icey Monty team with their feedback over the period.

This is a great chance to see what students on the course are producing and also to take part in a closed preview where you can contribute to a game soon to hit the market.

To sign up to the Beta, contact: beta@iceymonty.com

Tamarex

  • Tamarex is a fresh new take on the Tamagotchi games, combining enticing 3D environments with an engaging and unique pet dinosaur.
  • Bring your Tamarex to life through feeding, various forms of play, and even cleaning up after it!
  • Customisation options! Choose the name, and unique colour of your Tamarex.
  • Your Tamarex lives persistently, even while you are offline.

Icey Monty

The team is made up of three Train2Game students: Lee Sainsbury, Nick Walker and John Esslemont.

To find out more about Tamarex go to:

Website: www.iceymonty.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/iceymonty

Tamarex will be released for iOS early in 2013

Train2Game News: Games Industry Jobs – 16.01.13

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DEVELOPER

Job Title Graduate Programmer
Job Category Programming
Skills Required Programming
Location Yorkshire, North West

Job Description
Are you looking to join a creative games studio? Then look no further…

My client offers a relaxed and creatively charged atmosphere where talent can flourish. They pride themselves above all on the games they create and their appreciation of the people who create them.

Due to their recent success they are looking to add to their talented team with the addition of a Graduate Programmer.

Responsible For:
– Writing, debugging and maintaining computer code, often in, but not limited to, C/C++.
– Writing code in a human-readable style, using descriptive and accurate class, function and variable names, and comments where necessary.
– Carrying out other technical aspects of a project (for example running and maintaining build processes, setting up installers, providing technical information)
– Clearly and accurately communicating progress on, and problems with, your assigned tasks, and the project in general, to your lead programmer and / or producer.
– Assisting in the production of project milestones and schedules
– Carrying out assigned tasks within the time scheduled for them as agreed with your lead programmer / producer.
– Ensuring that your work integrates well with the work of other team members, and functions correctly as a part of the whole project.

Standards of Performance:

– All work should be performed accurately and in a timely fashion
– Producing good quality human readable code as noted above.
– Being pro-active with regards to problem solving
– Communicating progress accurately
– Taking an active interest in a project so as to ensure a smooth and error free development process.
– The improvement of the quality of the content required for Team 17 software, including but not limited to iterative play testing, reporting problems and addressing any quality shortfalls as requested.

Key Skills:
– Having the ability to solve technical problems
– Having an excellent working knowledge of programming language(s), particularly C/C++
– Have the personal skills and the desire to work as part of a team
– Be able to communicate clearly especially when relating to technical issues

How to Apply
For more details please contact Mark at: mark@aswift.com or 01709 834777

QA

Job Title Quality Assurance Tester – London
Job Category QA / Localisation
Skills Required QA Tester
Location Hammersmith, London, UK & Europe

 
Job Description
Capcom, Beeline is currently seeking a motivated QA Tester to join our London studio.The successful candidate will work with the QA team and the development team to ensure high quality bug free releases of our market leading games.

 
Required Skills:
Excellent attention to details, highly analytical
Self motivated with a professional work ethic
An excellent communicator both orally and written
Excellent organisational skills
Flexible (in regard to hours of work)
Proven decision making ability under pressure
Good understanding of business software applications (Excel, Word, Outlook)Familiarity with bug tracking software
Good command of the English language
Interest in games is essential

Desired Skills:
Previous experience in gaming QA whether console or mobile phones is desirable but not essential

Applicants must be able to start ASAP and will work from our studio in Hammersmith.

Please send applications with your CV to jobs@capcom.com

ART

Job Title 2D Artist for Smartphone Games – London
Job Category Art / Animation
Skills Required 2D / Concept / Texture Artist
Location Hammersmith, London, UK & Europe

 
Job Description
Capcom, Beeline is currently seeking a talented 2D graphic designer and animator to join our London studio. The successful candidate will work with the Lead Graphic Designer and Producer to design, create and animate graphical content for freemium social games.

Required Skills:
Ability to design appealing and original 2D game content.
Highly skilled in 2D animation.
High proficiency with Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator (or similar software).
Experience with isometric perspective.

Desired Skills
Adobe/Macromedia Flash.
Previous experience with graphics for mobile devices.
Previous experience working with a game development team or similar.
Audio experience; proficient with audio editing software.
3D modelling/animation skills: Maya or Blender.

Profile
High creativity and attention to detail.
Strong background in sketching, drawing and illustration.
Ability to work within a schedule.
Genuine passion for the video games industry, design and animation.
Team player with strong social and communication skills.
Willing to learn, cooperate with the developers and open to feedback.
Good English language skills.

Applicants must be able to start ASAP and will work from our studio in Hammersmith.

Please send applications with your portfolio to jobs@capcom.com

DESIGN

Job Category: Games and Level Design, Graduate, Web Development
Area: South East, East Midlands
Location: Chipston-on-Stour, CV36 4BA

GRADUATE OPPORTUNITIES AT GAZOOB
Entry-Level Game and App Developer

Description
We are looking for two full-time developers, designers, and programmers with an interest in game, web or app development. If successful you will join our small team working at the Gazoob offices in Shipston-on-Stour. This is a flexible role which will involve varied tasks and the ability to learn new skills while working. This will give any graduate the perfect opportunity to start building apps, games, websites as well as a job for themselves at a growing company.

About Us
Gazoob is a UK developer and publisher of education and young person friendly digital apps, eBooks and games. Based in the small town of Shipston-on-Stour we provide non-contentious and reliable content for young people from age five upwards. We want to provide a resource where parents can be sure of getting access to content that doesn’t contain anything inappropriate, is educationally sound or just plain fun. We’ve built a team of experts in their field to develop the best products as well as continually looking for new and exciting content to add to our portfolio.

About You
• You may have an interest in game design and experience using engines such as Unity,
• You might be a keen web or graphic designer with skills in Photoshop and Dreamweaver,
• Or you may have experience building professional quality mobile applications.
• You must be confident, enthusiastic, and a positive thinker.
• You will be able to see any job through to completion independently.
• You will have a degree level qualification in any field.
• You will have good time management and communication skills.
• You must be able to travel to the offices in Shipston-on-Stour on a daily basis.
Salary and working hours are negotiable.
We are not looking to work with agencies to fill these vacancies.

To apply
Please submit a full covering letter with supporting material, and CV to:
ed.harmer@gazoob.com

Train2Game News: Games Industry jobs – 09.01.13

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It’s a brand new year with brand new jobs for Train2Game students!

DEVELOPER

Job Title Generalist Programmer
Job Category Programming
Skills Required Programming
Location Brighton, South East
Job Description  

Our Client is an independent studio that makes games, apps and interactive media for multiple platforms.

The management team have graduated from some of the industry’s elite development studios, and have a wealth of experience across multiple disciplines and platforms.

From graduate level through to lead positions our client is looking to fill a number of broad reaching roles. We are currently engaged with a number of partners with our work ranging from Mobile to Browser based games / app development.

The successful candidate will join an experienced development team and will gain industry-leading experience on various emerging platforms.

Skills Range

If you have experience in any of the following areas, please get in touch!

Lua
C#
C++
Objective-C
JavaScript and HTML5
Unity 3D
iOS / Android development
ActionScript 3.0 and Flash

Salary: Based on Experience
Attendance: Full-Time

Additional Information: This is a full-time contract role based in our Hove office, contracts range from 6 – 12 months. Permanent positions are also available to the right candidates.

If you are interested in applying, please contact Mark Hope for more details: mark@aswift.com or 01709 834 777

DESIGN

Job Title Mobile Games Designer – Midlands UK – £Neg DOE – Mobile Games
Job Category Game Design
Skills Required Game Design
Location Midlands
Job Description Location: Midlands
Salary: £Negotiable DOE
Job Type: Permanent
Project: AAA games

This Midlands based independent studio has helped create and build some of the biggest game franchises in games over the past 16 years.

Over the last three years they have developed and self-published nine games on the iOS and Android Stores all brand-new IPs achieving worldwide features and fantastic chart success Metacritic and player ratings. Their games have been downloaded by over 9 million people so far with repeated success in reaching #1 ‘All Apps’ in multiple territories.

Having recently moved to their new studio in Warwick they are in need of at least one experienced mobile games designer to work on their unannounced titles

The successful candidate will have shipped multiple game titles across all mobile platforms. You will be passionate have an excellent understanding of what makes a great game and a strong knowledge of game balancing and pacing. You will be working alongside other amazingly talented team members to create great gaming experiences aimed towards a variety of audiences.

Duties/Responsibilities:
• Define the overall creative vision and specific feature requirements to the team.
• Communicate the overall creative vision and specific feature requirements to the team.
• Write clear and concise game design documents.
• Drive the initial prototyping tuning gameplay pacing and first user experience and difficulty ramp of a mobile game.
• Research develop and design new games and features.
• Analyze and improve existing game mechanics and features based on playability user preferences and trends.
• Provide expert knowledge and implementation on social/mobile mechanics.
• Make sure the games are fun!

Skills/Experience Required:
• Must have mobile games design experience preferably ios and Android or other handheld (DS/3DS…)
• Awareness of Social Gaming and ideally have been involved in the creation of a social game using multiple purchase mentality
• Proven track record of successful game design from concept through to implementation
• Unity experience would prove an advantage

For the opportunity to be part of this team please send your cv (MS Word Format) and work examples FAO Catherine to officemanager@opmjobs.com or call +44 1206 214416

ART

Job Title Game UI Artist
Job Category Art / Animation
Skills Required 2D / Concept / Texture Artist, UI Artist
Location Warwick, Warwickshire, Midlands
Job Description Position Overview:
• This position involves designing and creating 2D Artwork and Graphics for our Games. In game and UI elements for primarily iOS and Android platforms.

Key Responsibilities:
• Working with the entire Development team to design and implement focussed, practical solutions within a realistic time frame.
• Design Icons and logos within the style constraints of the product.
• Work efficiently and at a speed representative of the platform.
• To be responsible for all 2D art aspects of any given project
• Be able to create all levels of Art from palette controlled pixel sprites up to hi Res Marketing Assets.

Skills and Experience:
• Excellent 2D background, including ideally pixel work.
• Use of Photoshop and Illustrator.
• Willing to work with Engineers to work within the technical limitations of the platform.
• Self Organised and willing to participate in team meetings.
• The ability to draught out a variety of concepts styles at speed to fit within the design constraints before game assets are created.

 

To find out more information and apply you can contact them HERE.

 

QA

Type: Permanent
Location: Edinburgh
Salary: Competitive
Company: Rockstar North
Contact: Michelle McKnight
Posted: 09/10/2012 10:12:00
Reference: GR/GR/GR/Test

 

Rockstar North is looking for enthusiastic and self-motivated individuals to join our Games Test teams in Edinburgh. You will be expected to play through our latest games looking for problems and reporting errors, to ensure game quality before release.

Responsibilities

You will be finding and reproducing bugs, errors or problems in-game as directed. The role will require accurate, detailed and complete reporting to the required standards and subsequent revision of those errors or problems.

Qualifications

Successful applicants will have excellent written and verbal communication skills and enjoy working as part of a team. You will have good general computer skills and be a confident learner working with word processing, databases and spreadsheets. You will be able to show consistent attention to detail and have the ability to remain focussed when approaching repetitive tasks. We will be looking for flexibility regarding unsociable and extended working hours to meet the demands of the role.

Additional Information

Candidates must be 18 years of age and above and provide two references. The position will be a full-time short term contract. Applicants will preferably be educated to further or higher education standards.

This is a two stage application process. You will first be asked to complete an application pack from which you may be asked to attend an interview.

PLEASE APPLY ONLINE VIA www.rockstargames.com/jobs

Train2Game News: Train2Game in 2012 – July to September

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Guinness CertificateThe third quarter was probably the biggest for Train2Game, it was in September that we got in to the Guinness World Record books.

Microsoft sponsored the third Train2Game Game Jam in September and this one was the biggest game jam in the world with just under 300 participants.

It was also here that the Students got to test out Windows 8, before its release, for its game making potential. In the lead up to the Jam, students were put in to teams and worked together to learn how the operating system worked. Once at the 48 hour event they were raring to go and put what they had learned to the test.

When the event started the Students were given a theme to work from, following the great year England has had with the Olympics and the Queen’s Jubilee it was only natural that the theme was Pride Of London. This turned out a number of great games and the majority of them have now been released on to the Windows 8 app store for all to play.

The winner of the event was a game called Royal Rush by a team known as Retro Metro. The game saw you play as a cyclist dodging the busy London traffic and picking up coins. It is a nice, fun addictive little game based on elements of the arcade classic, Frogger.

Retro Metro won quite a hefty prize including a new phone, a few games, Microsoft points and most importantly of all, a trip to Rare studios where they will be able to present their portfolio and get valuable advice.

You can relive or experience the event for the first time in the video below: