Train2Game student Fabiano’s first video blog is now available on the Official Train2Game YouTube channel
His first video blog is also available in text form! Read it below here on the Train2Game blog.
Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.
Train2Game student Fabiano Dias brings you his first video blog in which he talks about why he chose to study with Train2Game.
Watch it here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2GameUK YouTube channel.
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Train2Game students will be familiar with the impressive facial Art & Animation of L.A. Noire, with many wondering if it could be beaten in future.
Well, the facial animation of Assassin’s Creed: Revelations could surpass that later this year, thanks to the Mocam technique used to capture footage.
“One of the elements that’s really interesting about Mocam is that, while it creates a lot of high-fidelity character expression and movement, the actor doesn’t need to look like the character he’s playing.” Assassin’s Creed: Revelations Lead Game Designer Alexandre Breault told Now Gamer.
“It’s a system that’s able to interpolate the facial movements of one person and apply them to any model. That gives us a lot of flexibility with our actors.” He added.
That means the in-game character doesn’t have to look like the actor who plays them, useful for Assassin’s Creed: Revelations which features a number of historical characters.
Another way the motion capture used for Assassin’s Creed: Revelations could beat that of L.A. Noire is that it incorporates the entire body. Team Bondi’s method, while very impressive, only captured the face of the actor or actress.
“They’re also able to act with their whole body, as the system isn’t just limited to the head” explained Breault.
“ Mocam doesn’t create a clash between facial expression and body movement – it’s all integrated. It allows realistic facial expression, but not at the cost of actor expression as normal mo-cap does.”
It certainly sounds impressive, much like the fact the Train2Game blog reported earlier this year that the Ubisoft team behind Assassin’s Creed: Revelations is over 200 people strong.
And while it isn’t being used to capture facial animation, Uncharted 3 is also using advanced motion capture techniques.
So Train2Game, could Revelations surpass the tech of L.A. Noire? Would it improve the game? Is motion capture the way forward?
Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.
All Train2Game students are gamers, and they’ll all have different ideas about various games with some even voicing opinions on the Train2Game forum.
Of course, not all comments about games are positive with gamers demanding various things that for one reason or another won’t be in a particular game.
The upcoming RAGE from ID Software contains shooting, driving and RPG elements, but creative director Tim Willits believes that fans of the game will still find problems with it, things that they believe should be added.
“The worst thing is that everyone wants the kitchen sink and everything else too,” he told Xbox World 360 Magazine.
“For Rage, we’re doing all these things and yet people are like ‘Well I can’t blow up these boxes’, and I’m like ‘Are you serious? We have driving, racing and all these cool characters!’ ‘But in this other game I can blow up boxes’, and I’m like, ‘This other game doesn’t have any racing in it!’
“It’s crazy. Fans: I love them but sometimes they drive us nuts!” he concluded.
Train2Game students probably have criticised certain games, and they may even find fans demanding things from their own games in future!
As previously reported by the Train2Game blog, RAGE will be released with mod tools potentially allowing the community to add the things they believe should be in the game.
As Train2Game students will know, modding is also a great potential path to a full-time role in the games industry.
Rage is scheduled for release on October 7th for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC
So Train2Game, how important is fan input into game development? Would you accept it for your games?
Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.
[Source: CVG]
Students are taking Train2Game courses because they have aspirations of working in the games industry.
They’ll therefore be buoyed by comments from Civilization creator Sid Meier in which he states that games will ‘someday take over the world’
“I’ve always claimed that games will someday take over the world and from where things sit today, that seems to be happening” Meier told Industry Gamers.
There are so many different gaming platforms and a constant stream of new games for players to enjoy in any way they choose, which is great for gamers.”
The Civilization creator believes the growing popularity of Facebook games means there are more opportunities out there than ever before.
“I think now is one of the most exciting times to be a Game Designer” said Meier.
“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.”
Indeed, as previously reported by the Train2Game blog, a version of Civilization – Civ World – is one of the many Facebook games available to play. Meanwhile, Zynga’s Allies & Empires gained over 33 million users just three weeks after its launch.
It’s also entirely possible that if a Train2Game student ended up developing social media games in their first role in the industry, it’s entirely possible they’d get more hands on experience with that than they could with games for another platform.
“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 Zynga’s Game Designer Brian Reynolds earlier this year. Reynolds previously worked on Civilization II.
“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.”
Games are going to take over the world and social media will provide an even bigger opportunity for that to happen! Sounds good, right?
So Train2Game, is Sid Meier right? Will games ‘take over the world’? Is the growth of social media gaming good for the industry as a whole?
Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.
Train2Game students, Train2Game Game Designers in particular, know that a good story can make or break a game.
While some may not believe story is a significant factor in a shooter, Gears of War 3 writer Karen Traviss believes that it’s hugely important whatever the game type.
“Gears is a thriller, it’s a horror whodunnit set in a war. You have to keep the tension going right up to the final frame of the final cinematic and even after the credits.” Traviss told GameSmack
She explained that story telling – and therefore Game Design – is something that’s needed for a game to become iconic.
“Okay, a lot of players think they don’t care about story, but they’d notice (and gripe) if it wasn’t there, a game has to be more than good gameplay to become iconic.” said Traviss.
“That’s how I wrote it, and as far as I know, because I haven’t seen anything of the game since they started on the technical polish more than a year ago, that’s the way it still is.
“A lot of post-recording changes get made in games for technical reasons, and stuff has to be chopped or changed sometimes, but the emotional stakes are so much part of the fabric that the impact will still survive.”
Game Design and storytelling are becoming an ever more significant factor in developing top games. Indeed, back in June the Train2Game blog reported that The Darkness 2 Game Director Sheldon Carter believed that Game Design is the ‘final frontier’ game development.
“I think story is the final frontier for games” he said. “We’re kind of getting there tech-wise. Mechanics-wise it’s cool that we’re innovating but it’s still in the basic same themes. I think story is eventually where we’ll all end up going.”
Upcoming games that also focus on the Game Design Narrative include Uncharted 3 and Deus Ex: Human Revolution. For more on the writing and Game Design behind Uncharted 3, see the Train2Game blog.
Interested Train2Game students can also see a post that goes into great depth about the Game Design process behind Deus Ex: Human Revolution.
So Train2Game, how important do you believe story telling is in games? Do you care about the story of Gears of War 3?
Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.
It’s entirely possible that some Train2Game students could end up developing games for the upcoming PlayStation Vita in future.
At least that’s the case if one or more students end up working for an indie studio looking to develop on the handheld console.
Indie studio Rubicon has confirmed to Gamasutra that Sony are handing PlayStation Vita dev kits to small game developers.
“I can confirm that Sony was generous enough to loan us some kit, and that’s one of the many reasons why I big them up every opportunity I get.” said Managing Director Paul Johnson.
“They really do seem to have gotten behind smaller developers, based on my own experience and from talking with other small devs, and I think they should be saluted for it.”
“We’re entering a new era in which digital downloads can be translated into mass market sales for smaller operators – once only the preserve of the big boys.”
Johnson noted that the PlayStation Vita dev kits aren’t for keeps but “are just loaners – we have to give them back when we’re done.”
Last month the Train2Game blog reported that Sony wanted to see more support for indie developers.
As an industry, we have to support those smaller teams, and let them try out their ideas, without doing so, the whole industry will stall, in terms of innovation.” Said Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios boss Shuhei Yoshida.
The PlayStation Vita – previously known to Train2Game blog readers as the NGP – featured prominently in Sony’s E3 conference.
“PlayStation Vita will revolutionise the portable entertainment experience,” said Sony CEO and Exeuctive Vice President Kaz Hirai “It gives you the most complete entertainment package in the palm of your hands.”
For more information about the PlayStation Vita, see the full report on the Train2Game blog.
So Train2Game, is it a positive move that Sony are loaning dev kits to indies? Would you like to develop for a handheld such as the PlayStation Vita in future?
Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.
Many Train2Game students enjoy First Person Shooters such as Call of Duty or Halo, and may have desires to develop them in future.
With the FPS being arguably the most popular genre, it’s no surprise that Train2Game students may consider developing them. But be warned, by doing so you’ll be making Pokémon Black and Pokémon White director Junichi Masuda sad
Writing about E3 on his blog – in partially broken English – Masuda said:
“This year, FPS war games were trend!! A lot of splatter scenes!! Blood spread everywhere. Shooting a lot, killing a lot,”
“The game developer seems get used to ‘kill’ the target. Therefore, I felt ‘how to kill’ became a focus of developing game. For that reason, target become zombie and alien…” he continued.
“These targets’ savage attack and human counterattacks… It became savage contents and you never know. Mmm… It is the player who choose the game to play. As a game creator, it is little sad!”
Masuda concluded by lamenting the lack of originality in the games being shown at E3.
“Majority of the games look like a same game. There were little of original games. I felt a sense of crisis with above part.”
Train2Game Game Designers in particular will know that it’s quite important for games to be innovative and distinctive, and while the games on show at E3 were impressive to look at, some might agree with Masuda in them being a bit too similar to each other.
The Train2Game blog has previously reported that the team behind Pokémon are confident in their ability to design and create new, distinctive creatures for future games in the series.
The success of Pokémon, which as Train2Game students may remember, topped the UK Charts in March, demonstrates that there’s a base for various types of games out there!
So Train2Game, do you agree with Masuda? Are too many games are about killing? Is it a ‘crisis’ for game developers?
Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.
Train2Game, provider of games industry training courses, today announces details of its participation in the 2011 Develop Conference, including its first ever ‘Guru Bar’ on stand B12 – giving those interested in the games industry a forum to interact with key figures and ask questions about training, career development and the community at large.
For developers eager to wind down after a long day marching the floors of the show, Train2Game will also be teaming up with leading games business network, GameHorizon, to host an evening of drinks at Alfresco, a Brighton seafront bar. Here, developers are invited to meet future industry talent and rising stars of the course, as well as get more information on how to get involved with placement programmes.
Key facts of the placement schemes follow below:
Tony Bickley, Course Director at Train2Game sees events like Develop as the perfect place for the present and future of the games industry to collide: “While it’s easier than ever to connect online, there’s no replacement for meeting your peers face to face, both when on the hunt for new talent or considering a route into the industry. It’s the same logic which fuels our courses – substantial relationships and interaction online supported by face time wherever possible.”
Train2Game is a blended-learning organisation designed to fast track the best, most ambitious and motivated students into the games industry through comprehensive, expert-supervised courses. A big part of this is co-ordinating with the best developers in the country and providing top tier talented graduates for placements in the workplace.
Train2Game Guru Bar Details
Date: Weds 20 – Thurs 21 July
Venue: Develop Expo, Stand B12
Hilton Metropole, Brighton
Attendance is free, please RSVP at the Develop 2011 front desk
Train2Game/ Game Horizon Developer Drinks
Date: Tuesday 19th July
Time: 17:00 – 19:00
Venue: Alfresco,
The Milkmaid Pavilion,
Kings Road Arches,
Brighton,
BN1 2LN
Train2Game students looking to get their hands on modding tools for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim may have to wait for a little while after the game is released.
“We put a big premium on our editor, which we then ship with the games,” Bethesda Game Studios director Todd Howard told Gamasutra.
“It’s going to come out again with Skyrim, the Creation Kit. So when it comes to content creation, we just have so much of it that we have to put a lot of development time into the tools, because the game is so big.
“We’re hoping [the Creation Kit] will be available as a download on launch day. I don’t know if I can promise day-one, but it will be very close.”
Skyrim looks extremely impressive indeed, and it’d be interesting to see what modders can do with the Creation Kit.
You can find out a little more about Skyrim here on the Train2Game blog
In an interview published on the Train2Game blog last month, Red Faction: Armageddon Lead Level Designer Jameson Durall said that modding is an excellent way for those with desires to get into the games industry to practice their skills.
Indeed, Valve, who was reported by the Train2Game blog will be releasing the Source SDK for free have a long history of supporting modders, and as many Train2Game students will know, the popular shooter Counter-Strike begun as a mod for the original Half-Life.
Some amazing games have been made by modders for various engines, who knows what they could come up with when using the Skyrim Creation Kit.
So Train2Game, is the Skyrim Creation Kit something that interests you? Or are you just looking forward to the game itself?
Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forums.
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