Tag Archives: Game Design

Interesting BBC article on Game Jams Train2Game students should read

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The Train2Game Game Jam took place at the end of March, with many of the Train2Game students involved finding it an enjoyable and very useful experience.

You can even download the games created at the Train2Game Game Jam from the official Train2Game website.

Why is the Train2Game blog mentioning a Game Jam now? Well, there’s an extremely interesting article on the BBC News website that looks at a Game Jam in New York

It’s an interesting read for Train2Game students, both those who did and didn’t attend the Train2Game Game Jam back in March.

For more about Game Jams, and how they can be useful for game developers, see the Train2Game blog interview with Scottish Game Jam organiser Romana Khan.

A Train2Game blog interview with Mediatonic Director Paul Croft also re-enforces how taking part in a Game Jam can be useful for game developers.

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

[Source: BBC]

Story and Game Design the “final frontier” for games says Darkness II dev

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Train2Game Game Designers obviously want to make careers out of creating games and writing their stories, and according to one developer it’s this section of the industry that will grow most in future.

The Darkness was one video game that featured some emotional narrative Game Design, and developers Digital Extremes want this to continue in the upcoming sequel.

And speaking to CVG, Game Director Sheldon Carter believes Game Design and storytelling will become even more prominent in the future of video game development.

“I think it’s a progression that everyone’s going to get to eventually,” he said. “I’m not trying to say we’re ahead of the curve or anything like that, that’s just the choice we made for this game.

“I think story is the final frontier for games. 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, is Game Design the final frontier? How advanced can the stories get? And which games do you believe have particularly well written narratives?

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

[Source: CVG]

EA admit Game Design of Dragon Age 2 drove Origins fans away

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Dragon Age 2 Publishers EA have admitted that “innovations” in the game cost them fans, and therefore providing a lesson to Train2Game students about Game Design.

While innovation is key to the games industry, the admission demonstrates that Train2Game students who produce games that are too far out there may risk unpopularity.

Many fans were disappointed with a particular Game Design element of Dragon Age 2 that reused the same locations multiple times.

“We were clearly disappointed with some of the response from the fanbase, because we want them to be as excited about it as we are,” EA Games Label boss Frank Gibeau told Eurogamer.

“We’re very proud of the game. We tried to innovate and do some different things with the combat system and some of the way we told story. For some fans it worked well. In fact, we brought a lot of new fans into the Dragon Age franchise.

“But to be honest, we lost some fans as well. They were not pleased with some of the innovations and things we’d done. We understand that and we’re listening.”

It’s not the first time the Train2Game blog has reported that fan feedback will be taken into consideration with the Dragon Age franchise. As reported by the Train2Game blog last month, Bioware admitted they’d be listening to fan complaints.

Some Train2Game students will no doubt be pleased that EA say they’ll listen to this criticism when it comes to developing Dragon Age 3.

“As we think about where we take the franchise next, we’re going to take that into consideration and really engage them,” Gibeau continued.

“Ray [Muzyka] and Greg [Zeschuk] have built a long career being close to their fanbase and understanding what they want.”

“If they do something in a direction that is innovative and fresh for some but not for others, they’ll take that into consideration as we think about the next design and where the game goes from here.”

Last year, the Train2Game blog highly praised Dragon Age: Origins, particularly when it came to Game Design.

For more on why Bioware decided to take Dragon Age II in the direction they did, see extracts of an interview with Mike Laidlaw on Game Design hereon the Train2Game blog.

How important do you believe it to be for developers to listen to fans? Where is the fine line between innovation and alienating fans?

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

[Source: Eurogamer] 

Train2Game forum user favourite Minecraft passes 2.5 million sales

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Train2Game forum user favourite Minecraft has now passed over 2.5 million sales. The news was confirmed by Minecraft creator Markus “Notch” Persson via Twitter.

“2.5 million sales! That’s as much as Diablo 1 and FarCry, according to Wikipedia.” he said.

The numbers aren’t bad at all for a game that’s still in it’s BETA testing period and, as reported by the Train2Game blog, Minecraft will be getting a full release later this year.

The game will also be appearing on a variety of systems, with the Train2Game blog previously mentioning that Minecraft will be appearing on the Xbox 360 with full Kinect support. The indie smash hit is also heading to smartphones, as reported by the Train2Game blog.

Minecraft is a testament to Train2Game students that you don’t need to be working for a huge studio to be successful in the industry, and that producing indie games could be the way forward.

Yesterday, the Train2Game blog revealed that the 1.7 patch will add Game Design and modding elements to Minecraft.

So Train2Game, why do you think Minecraft has been so successful? Does it inspire you? Are you still playing?

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

Analysts “unimpressed” by Star Wars: The Old Republic Game Design

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As reported by the Train2Game blog, Bioware have previously stated that World of Warcraft is a big influence on their upcoming Star Wars: The Old Republic.

But a report from analysts Cowen and Company reports suggests the influence on Game Design may be too far reaching and in a negative way. It makes interesting reading for Train2Game students anticipating the Star Wars themed MMO.

“We got hands-on time with the game, and were largely unimpressed” reads the Cowen and Company post E3 report.

“Despite promises from EA/Bioware that the title represents a major step forward in MMO design, what we saw was essentially a World of Warcraft clone with Star Wars character skins and the Bioware RPG nice/nasty dialogue tree mechanism bolted on for non-player character conversations.”

The ‘Flashpoint’ dialogue tree mechanism is described in depth by Bioware in a Train2Game blog post from April this year.

Meanwhile, the Art & Animation of Star Wars: The Old Republic is described as “competent but hardly breathtaking.” Cowen and Company predict that the game won’t even see release this year.

As previously reported by the Train2Game blog, publishers EA state that Star Wars: The Old Republic needs 500,000 subscribers to become profitable.

Train2Game students can attempt to see Star Wars: The Old Republic for themselves by signing up to be a beta tester. More information about how to do that is available on the Train2Game forum.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the Game Design of The Old Republic? Should it stick to the WoW formula or do something new? What would you like to see in the game?

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

[Source: GamesIndustry.biz] 

Minecraft 1.7 patch to add “adventure” and modding to Train2Game forum user favourite

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The 1.7 patch for Train2Game forum user favourite Minecraft is named the adventure update in what appears to be a move towards adding goals to the cult indie game.

As previously reported by the Train2Game blog, Minecraft creator Notch suggested achievements might be introduced as a way of giving a narrative Game Design to the title. Writing on his blog, Notch says:

“We are working on Minecraft Beta 1.7, which I’m referring to as the “adventure update”. We’re keeping the details secret so people can get surprises. The idea with this update is to flesh out the game a bit, making it reward exploration and combat more.”

He also added that Mojang will be adding modding support to Minecraft in the near future.

“We’re starting the modding support on a small scale with 1.7. We’ll be giving the source code out to a very VERY small group of people before the release of 1.7. We’ll use those experiences to work out the final details, then we’ll get the modding api out as soon as possible after 1.7 has been released.”

As previously mentioned on the Train2Game blog, modding can potentially provide aspiring game developers with the hands on experience required to get into the games industry.

And in a recent Train2Game blog interview, Red Faction: Armageddon Lead Level Designer Jameson Durall also stressed the importance of modding for those who want to improve their skills.

If Minecraft modding becomes more widely available, it could be a dream for Train2Game students.

Notch also reveals the Xbox 360 and Xperia Play versions of Minecraft are both entirely new titles, which he’ll be working as a Game Designer on. He adds that he remains focused on the PC version of Minecraft.

For more information about Minecraft on the Xbox 360, see the Train2Game blog.

It’s worth remembering that despite still officially being in Beta, Minecraft has been downloaded over 2 million times.

So Train2Game, what do you want to see in the “adventure update”? Will it change the Game Design? And if given the opportunity, would you create Minecraft mods?

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

[Source:  The Word of Notch]

UK Charts: Duke Nukem Forever takes No.1

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After 14 years away, the King is back with Duke Nukem Forever taking top spot in the UK chart in its first week on sale.

As reported by the Tain2Game blog, Duke Nukem Forever finally went gold last month after all those years in development Hell. Interested Train2Game students can find out much more about the long game development process behind Duke Nukem Forever in the Train2Game blog report of a Q&A session with Gearbox Software boss Randy Pitchford.

The debut success of Duke Nukem Forever finally knocks long time No.1 LA. Noire from the top of the chart down to No.2, while another former No 1, as reported by the Train2Game blog, in the form of Zumba Fitness climbs one to No.3.

infamous 2 enters the chart at No. 4, and as reported by the Train2Game blog, it’s a game Train2Game students should take an interested in due to the user generated content tools available for creating levels.

LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean, Dirt 3 and former No.1 Brink all drop places down to No.5, No.6 and No.7 respectively. New entry Red Faction: Armageddon  enters at No.8, with much more information about the game available in a Train2Game blog interview with Lead Level Designer Jameson Durall.

He also stressed the importance of modding and user generated content to those looking to get into the games industry.

The remainder of the top ten is made up of familiar titles with Call of Duty: Black Ops at No.9 and Portal 2 at No. 10.  FIFA 11 drops out the top ten to No. 11.

The UKIE Gfk Chart-Track All Formats Top 10 for the week ending 11th June 2011 is therefore as follows:

1. Duke Nukem Forever (2K Games)
2. LA Noire (Rockstar)
3. Zumba Fitness (505 Games)
4. inFamous 2 (Sony)
5. LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean (Disney Interactive)
6. Dirt 3 (Codemasters)
7. Brink (Bethesada)
8. Red Faction: Armageddon (THQ)
9. Call of Duty: Black Ops (Activision)
10. Portal 2 (EA)

Releases this week include Child of Eden, Alice: Madness Retuns and Dungeon Siege III.

So Train2Game, is it a well deserved No.1 for Duke Nukem Forever? Is it just something that the game has been released? Have you tried the Infamous 2 level creator? And which game will be No.1 next week?

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

[Source: UKIE Games Charts©, compiled by GfK Chart-Track]

All first party Xbox 360 titles to come with Kinect support

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All first-party Xbox 360 titles will come with Kinect voice support in future.  That’s according to Microsoft Studios head Phil Spencer who was speaking about the device.

Train2Game students can remind themselves about the Kinect heavy Microsoft E3 presentation here on the Train2Game blog.

“It’s not a mandate that everything we do in first-party has to support Kinect right now,” Spencer told GameSpot.

“But I will say, specifically with voice, that there are some things that just seem to make navigating and playing games so much easier, that I would guess the answer will be yes in the end, that you’ll see all first-party games using some form of Kinect functionality.”

He added that while adding Kinect doesn’t mean making huge differences to gameplay, but would make the whole experience better.

“Whether it’s voice in Forza or head-tracking in Forza, which you wouldn’t say is somehow turning the Forza gameplay experience on it’s head,” Spencer said.

“Rather, it’s just using the advantages of what Kinect brings to make the experience better. So I think there’s some specific examples where Kinect makes everything better.”

As reported by the Train2Game blog last year, Spencer said Kinect would become core to the Xbox 360 experience.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on Spencer’s comments? Do you think Kinect support will change major Xbox 360 games? Do you think it needs to happen?

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

[Source: GameSpot]

One for the Train2Game modders: id Software to release RAGE SDK

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RAGEAs the Train2Game blog reported last week, the popular Unreal Development kit passed 800,000 downloads. And soon a new set of modding tools will be available for Train2Game students to practice their skills with in the form of the Rage SDK.

Rage is the new FPS from ID Software that’s due for release later this year, and the studios  founder John Carmack’s ‘sense of sharing’ is the main reason for SDK’s inclusion.

John is still very active in open source,” id Software creative director and Rage developer Tim Willits told Gamasutra.

“We’re the only ones that release our source now to such an extensive level, and the PC version [of Rage] will have the SDK. All that stuff will be available.

“The spirit of [Carmack’s] sense of sharing and working with the community, that’s still pretty intact. I wouldn’t stress too much about it.”

id Software are the developers behind the classic Wolfenstein, Quake, and Doom series of games that Train2Game students will no doubt be familiar with.

Other prominent PC game modding tools include Valve’s Source SDK – which is as the Train2Game blog reported is being made ‘less painful’ to use – while a Starcraft II also provides modding tools. The Train2Game blog previously revealed that one Starcraft II modders work was so impressive; it brought about attention from game development studios.

Modding is certainly a way for Train2Game students to not only gain valuable experience building games, but it could potentially get their work noticed. In an interview with the Train2Game blog, Red Faction: Armageddon Lead Level Designer also stresses the importance of modding.

So Train2Game, would you want to work with the Rage SDK? What do you expect of the game? Are you looking forward to id Software’s next release?

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

[Source: Develop]

 

 

Train2Game forum user favourite Minecraft coming to Xbox 360, Kinect compatible

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Train2Game forum user favourite, and testament to how successful indie games can now be, Minecraft is coming to the Xbox 360.

The news was confirmed at Microsoft’s E3 presentation, and you can read more about what else is coming for the Xbox 360 here on the Train2Game blog.

Meanwhile, Notch himself as confirmed some information about Minecraft on the Xbox 360. The title itself will be Kinect compatible, but as of yet there’s no specific information about how motion control will be implemented into one of Train2Game forum users favourite games. All that Notch says on the matter is:

“You will be able to play it without Kinect BUT WITH THE POWER OF KINECT YOU WILL FEEL CLOSER TO YOUR GAME THAN EVAR BEFORE AND ALSO IT SAVES KITTENS”

The Xbox 360 version of Minecraft is a separate project to the original, which Notch writes won’t be a straight port. A team of progammers from a studio separate to Mojang will be taking care of the Game Developer side of things, while Notch will be the Minecraft Xbox 360 Game Designer.

He also reaffirms his commitment to the PC, something many Train2Game students will be happy about.

Originally a PC title, as reported by the Train2Game blog Minecraft will also be heading to smartphones in future. The game – still officially in BETA testing – has been downloaded over 2 million times making developer Notch a multimillionaire.

For more information about Minecraft – as of Train2Game students need it! – see the Train2Game blog.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on Minecraft for the Xbox 360? How do you think Kinect will be implemented? Does it interest you?

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

[Source: Reddit]