Tag Archives: Game Development

Train2Game News Babcock Job Vacancies

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Babcock-logoBabcock have a numerous amount of jobs available for several different levels and areas of development.

Babcock is the UK’s leading engineering support services organisation with revenue of over £3.5bn in 2014 and an order book of circa £12 billion. They manage critically important assets that help to bring power to homes and businesses, keep trains running safely, ensure mobile phone networks stay operational and help our armed forces defend national interests.

Based in Milton Keynes they have jobs available for Developers and 3D Artists among others. What better way to end this year and begin 2015 with an exciting new career that will give you great experience readying you for heading into games development.

If this sounds like the right move for you then you can view a list of the jobs available here.

For all of those who apply I wish the very best of luck!

Train2Game News App Game Kit 2 released on STEAM

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App Game KitThe Game Creators today released App Game Kit (AGK) version 2 on STEAM, which means that the easy to use, instant coding tool for beginners, hobbyists and indies alike is now available on the largest digital store in the world.

Now anyone can easily and quickly code and build apps for cross platforms using AGKs BASIC scripting system. With just a few commands users can have demos or games up and running on mobile devices. AGK also caters for more seasoned developers, allowing them to use the AGK C++ libraries and benefit from all the features of AGKs core game engine.

AGK is available for both Windows and Mac platforms and apps can be deployed cross platform including iOS, Android, Windows, Blackberry and Mac – all at the very affordable price of just $99.

Bob Duffy, Developer Relations Intel Corporation, said “ AGK is a great cross platform development tool. It allows developers to quickly optimise and compile apps for Intels x86 powered Android devices.”

The Game Creators Development Director, Rick Vanner, said “We’ve significantly improved AGK by making the IDE cross platform, speeding up the Compiler and adding new and powerful commands. Games can be developed and instantly deployed to their chosen mobile devices for rapid prototyping.

AGK2 was funded by Kickstarter backers and many of them are already using this game maker to create and publish their own apps. Developing apps for multiple stores is still a big issue for app developers. AGK does all the heavy lifting for you – making it easy to code, compile and then export apps to each platform. All you need to focus on is your game/app idea.

Bundled with AGK2 is a retro style shooter game called Echoes+. Chris Jeffels, the author of Echoes+, coded the game once and deployed it for both Windows and Mac platforms. When asked why he chose AGK2 for his game engine he commented “AGK2 is multi-platform, powerful, feature rich and continuing to grow, it was an easy and affordable choice.”

AGK2 was used to develop Driving Test Success Theory, Hazard Perception and Highway Code apps for UK publisher Focus Multimedia. Once developed the apps were immediately deployed onto the IOS App Store, Google Play, Amazon, Mac Store and Blackberry World and quickly became the UK’s #1 ‘Learning to Drive’ apps.

The App Game Kit official website: http://www.appgamekit.com/

Train2Game News UK Top 20 Games – 24.11.14

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GTA VThree big new games released in the charts this week with the release of the next generation Grand Theft Auto V knocking Call of Duty: Advance Warfare off the top spot. Far Cry 4 hit second pushing CoD down to number three. Dragon Age: Inquisition was also released this week debuting at number five.

All formats
Week ending 22 November 2014

POS.  TITLE  PUBLISHER  LAST
WEEK 
1 GRAND THEFT AUTO V ROCKSTAR –
2 FAR CRY 4 UBISOFT –
3 CALL OF DUTY: ADVANCED WARFARE ACTIVISION 1
4 – FIFA 15 EA SPORTS 4
5 DRAGON AGE: INQUISITION EA GAMES –
6 ASSASSIN’S CREED: UNITY UBISOFT 2
7 WWE 2K15 2K SPORTS 20
8 LEGO BATMAN 3: BEYOND GOTHAM WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 5
9 MINECRAFT: PLAYSTATION EDITION SONY COMPUTER ENT. 7
10 HALO: THE MASTER CHIEF COLLECTION MICROSOFT 3
11 MIDDLE EARTH: SHADOW OF MORDOR WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 14
12 ASSASSIN’S CREED: ROGUE UBISOFT 6
13 DESTINY ACTIVISION 10
14 MINECRAFT: XBOX EDITION MICROSOFT 12
15 DISNEY INFINITY 2.0 DISNEY INFINITY 13
16 SKYLANDERS TRAP TEAM SKYLANDERS 11
17 TOMODACHI LIFE NINTENDO 19
18 ASSASSIN’S CREED IV: BLACK FLAG UBISOFT 16
19 PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2015 KONAMI 8
20 FORZA HORIZON 2 MICROSOFT 17
< previous week
Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2014 UKIE Ltd

These charts cannot be reproduced either in print or online without obtaining permission from Ukie. If you wish to reproduce the charts in print or online, please contact david.smith@ukie.org.uk for the appropriate license.

Train2Game News LxB Games hiring

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LxB GamesIndependent studio created by Train2Game student offering paid contract work to Train2Game students

In yet another Train2Game success story, a student has setup her own professional studio and is now looking to the Train2Game community to service the studio. Students are invited to apply for paid contract work creating games. At this time LXBGAMES are looking for a Programmer but have many more projects planned in the future.

Laurece Brown, CEO & Founder, LxBGAMES, is on the hunt in the Train2Game community to find suitable people to work with her independent studio. Laurece, who is set to complete the Train2Game course in January 2015, is looking for support for students who will complete work on projects for a fixed fee. The games planned are not going to be huge and each project won’t take long to complete.

LxBGAMES is currently working on Sweet Life, details can be found on the team’s website (www.lxbgames.co.uk) and social media. The team has a lead programmer and lots of artists available. They are now looking to compliment the team with a hard working programmer, who has skills in: Animation, Action Script and Flash. Budgets are not huge at this time but students will be paid to complete the work. LxBGAMES are currently looking for support on Sweet Life but any applicants interested in contract work will be kept on file for future projects.

If you are interested, contact:

Laurece Brown
lxbgames@hotmail.com
www.lxbgames.co.uk

Train2Game News Telltale Game of Thrones Trailer

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Game of ThronesTelltale Games has announced the first Look at the Six-Part Episodic Game Series Based on the Emmy Award-Winning Television Series, Game of Thrones.

Based on the award-winning HBO television drama series,  Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series tells the story of House Forrester. Caught up in the events of The War of the Five Kings, they are placed in a precarious position where members of the household must do everything they can to prevent the house from meeting its doom.

Today we can announce that some cast members of the series will reprise their roles in the game. While players will control five members of House Forrester in their story, the series will have them interacting with fan favorite characters throughout the season, including Tyrion Lannister performed by Peter Dinklage, Cersei Lannister performed by Lena Heady, Margaery Tyrell performed by Natalie Dormer, and Ramsay Snow performed by Iwan Rheon. Additional cast members will appear in later episodes.

The game series is based on the world, characters and events seen in HBO’s TV show, which in turn is based on George R. R. Martin’s books (A Song of Ice and Fire). The events in the game series begin towards the end of Season Three of the series, and end right before the beginning of Season Five. Players will visit familiar locations such as King’s Landing and The Wall, as well as unfamiliar locations such as Ironrath, the home of House Forrester.

House Forrester is a noble house from the Wolfswood in the north of Westeros. Bannermen to House Glover, they have always offered unswerving loyalty to the ruling great house of the North – the Starks. The Forresters are seated at Ironrath, an imposing stronghold surrounded by towering ironwood trees. Built over fifteen hundred years ago by Cedric Forrester and his triplet sons, Ironrath is a testament to the strength and endurance of Ironwood. The Forrester house words are ‘Iron from Ice’, which echoes their belief that – like the ironwood itself – the adverse conditions and unforgiving landscape of the North only makes them stronger.

The game will be played from five different points of view. Each is a member of House Forrester; either a direct family member, or a person in service to the House. Scattered across Westeros and Essos, each will play their part in seeking to save House Forrester from destruction.

Playing as five characters not only reflects the epic scope of Game of Thrones, but is also something that the player needs to be mindful of. This is because the actions of one character can ripple out to affect the rest of House Forrester. Multiply the actions of one character by five, and you’re truly playing the Game of Thrones… where you win, or you die.

Additional details on the series and its upcoming premiere episode, ‘Iron From Ice’ are forthcoming. Stay tuned to the Telltale Games Blog, twitter, and Facebook pages for more information as the premiere approaches, the first of six episodes, which will be arriving for download soon on PC/Mac, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and iOS, with additional platforms to be announced.

You can view the trailer by following the link below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Q1vt9BX4Eg&feature=youtu.be

Train2Game News App store no longer using word free

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AppsApple has removed the term ‘Free’ from the app download button on its App Store as it aims to comply with recent EU rules.

Previously free-to-play games had used the term ‘Free’ instead of a price like their premium counterparts. This has now been changed to the word ‘Get’.

Though no official statement has been made, the move is likely part of Apple’s plans to make it clearer that free-to-play games include in-app purchases following criticism from the European Commission in July that labelling games as free could be misleading.

Google has already made a number of changes to its service to ensure its app store is compliant with EU rules. Apps are displayed as offering in-app purchases while the download button is listed as ‘install’, rather than ‘free’.

Train2Game News Record beat to aid SpecialEffect

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SpecialEffectChris Cook, Community Manager for GamePointsNow/GameKeysNow, has officially set a new Guinness World Record for the Longest Video Game Marathon on a Football Game by smashing the previous record by a whole 44 minutes to set a new time of 48 hours 49 minutes 41 seconds

The event took place at the Loading Bar, London from Nov 5th until the 7th and saw Chris play over 120 matches of FIFA 15, both online and offline . So far, the event has raised over £580 on behalf of its charity, Special Effect, with donations still being made.

‘I’m so glad to have raised so much for an incredible cause; but none of this would have been possible without the incredible support team of volunteers. They really kept me going throughout and I’m eternally grateful for all of their help and energy, especially when things got tough’

The event was streamed live via Twitch.tv and featured giveaways from companies like QWERTEE, Hauppauge, Boomerang Rentals, Insert Coin tees, NiftyMods and Campo Retro.

SpecialEffect is an award-winning charity that helps people with disabilities to benefit from the fun, rehabilitation and therapy of video games. They support people of all ages through assessments, equipment loans and equipment modifications.

Train2Game News Franco Jam

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Franco JamUK studio Creative Assembly is hosting a game jam this weekend in honour of Simon Franco, a member of the team that passed away earlier this year.

Franco was a senior programmer on Alien Isolation, and worked on multiple Total War games during his 10 years at the Surrey studio.

This weekend, small teams of Creative Assembly staff will compete to create a whole game in two days, with proceeds raised and donations going to Royal Surrey County Hospital, which cared for Franco.

The judges panel for the contest will consist of Franco’s friends and family, plus Sprungdigi ambassador Darius.

A live stream will run throughout the event, which will also include a charity auction of Steam keys and signed goodies from Creative Assembly’s various games.

“Simon Franco was a dear friend and colleague to many here at CA,” the studio wrote on its blog.

“Simon was a big Magic the Gathering enthusiast, with a passion for creating retro games in his spare time, as well as being a dedicated father who sadly didn’t get to meet his youngest daughter before he passed. He was positive, kind and always had a time for anyone that asked for it.

“We were all deeply saddened by his sudden passing earlier this year and to commemorate his life, work and passion for retro gaming, we’re hosting a weekend-long GameJam in his honour.”

Creative Assembly is also inviting people to donate to their cause by clicking here.

Train2Game News Unity Sound Plugins

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unity-logoAstound Holdings is proud to announce its new suite of gaming plugins are now available on the Unity Asset Store for game developers.

The highly immersive AstoundSound 3D spatial audio technology software core powers the plugins with two solutions made available: AstoundSound 3D RTI and AstoundSound Expander available for Windows, OS X, iOS, Android, and Linux platforms. The plugins provide superior 3D audio spatialization for all types of games (2D and 3D) including VR, First Person Shooters, Third Person, and more.

The 3D audio technology powering AstoundSound goes far beyond Head-Related Transfer Functions (HRTFs) which are based only on the anatomy of the ear and skull or traditional dummy head recording devices. The unique psychoacoustic approach used for AstoundSound is based on how the actual human brain perceives sounds, called Brain-Response Transfer Functions (BRTFs). Where conventional HRTFs work only with headphones, BRTFs allow for the most immersive and natural 3D spatial audio experience with headphones AND speakers.

AstoundSound 3D RTI brings true 3D audio spatialization to any sound emitting object. AstoundSound 3D RTI processes any mono source in real-time during gameplay and creates a stereo output spherical sound field experience. For more information about the AstoundSound 3D RTI for Unity plugin please visit the AstoundSound 3D RTI product page on the Unity Asset Store:
https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/en/#!/content/24064

AstoundSound Expander greatly enhances pre-mixed stereo background music and ambience tracks to produce an incredibly immersive stereo experience. The AstoundSound Expander plugin can also be used to significantly enhance the master stereo audio output for 2D games. For more information about the AstoundSound Expander for Unity plugin please visit the AstoundSound Expander product page in the Unity Asset Store:
https://www.assetstore.unity3d.com/en/#!/content/24658

“After enormous demand from game developers worldwide, we are excited to launch our 3D game audio plugins for Unity” said Jerry Mahabub, CEO of Astound Holdings. “AstoundSound has established itself as the leading 3D positional audio technology for the top professional game audio engines. We are very pleased to bring our AstoundSound technology to the indie game development community.”

With AstoundSound, game developers can dramatically enhance their games’ audio soundscape allowing players to hear sound coming from all directions, including height and depth perception. This enables game players to improve their game reaction times and response to enemies/threats by knowing where critical sound cues are coming from during gameplay.

For more information on current and upcoming AstoundSound gaming products visit: www.astoundgaming.com

Train2Game News Try before you buy on PC

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Game SessionsGameSessions today announced additional investment for its free PC trial game service, taking the total raised to $5m, and the release of Crytek’s ‘Ryse – Son of Rome’ trial among the first batch of titles released on the service as it enters Beta 2.

GameSessions offers a fresh option for gamers and publishers – with this new PC game trial service users can play a range of games for free before deciding whether to purchase, opening up a broader audience for publishers.

The Beta 2 phase of GameSessions begins today with the free trial of ‘Ryse – Son of Rome’, now players can experience the glorious action of this Ancient Roman historical fantasy for free. During the trial users can purchase the full game instantly and continue playing straight away, keeping their progress through the game.

Ed French, CEO of GameSessions said, “We passionately believe that people will buy more games if they can try them first. With our free trial service our mission is to deliver more great game experiences to more players.”

GameSessions’ proprietary technology ensures publishers’ content is secure, so ensuring the best content can be available, and typically downloads games 3x* faster. The service also helps to avoid downloading games that won’t run well on users’ hardware, and final peace-of-mind comes from the guarantee of always playing a game before purchase.

Users can now download and play the free trial of the stunning ‘Ryse – Son of Rome’ on PC as part of the Beta 2 phase. More exciting titles will be added in the run up to the full launch of the service in early 2015.

What is GameSessions?

• GameSessions’ proprietary technology enables publishers to efficiently and securely deliver trials of PC games to consumers
• It’s FREE for publishers
• It’s FREE for consumers
How does GameSessions work?
• Users download the game and play the trial; the full
game is unlocked by simply purchasing in-game (retaining progress) and added to their Steam library.
• The proprietary technology checks the user’s PC for compatibility prior to download
• Game Sessions is Steam compatible – fitting into the existing publisher framework.

Unique remote-control DRM means publishers’ content is safe

Rental options allow new audiences to be reached, and pricing can better match emerging markets.