From now until Thursday you can help SpecialEffect and GamesAid simply by purchasing a game by Redkite games.
Red Kite Games are proudly supporting GamesAid and SpecialEffect with Firefly Runner and will be donating 15% of the revenue share equally into each charity.
Firefly Runner is an action packed, free-running adventure set on the stunningly beautiful yet treacherous Firefly Island. Join Switch as he takes flight in search of treasured light orbs and magical keys. After lift-off avoid obstacles, collect cherries and perform acrobatic loop-de-loops to gain extra points.
The studio has the following to say about the project; “We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has played Firefly Runner and we hope that you are enjoying the game as much as we have enjoyed making it. GamesAid and SpecialEffect do amazing work helping disadvantaged and disabled children and young people, but without your support and the support of the wider games industry this would not be possible.”
Firefly Runner is available now on iOS and Android devices. Download the game now to help SpecialEffect and GamesAid!
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment have announced Mortal Kombat X, NetherRealm Studios’ next highly anticipated installment in its legendary, critically acclaimed fighting game franchise that propels the iconic franchise into a new generation.
Mortal Kombat X is scheduled for release in 2015 for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 computer entertainment systems, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, the Xbox 360 games and entertainment system from Microsoft and PC. Mortal Kombat X will make its first public appearance at Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2014 in Los Angeles.
“Mortal Kombat is our acclaimed, world-renowned franchise and we are now advancing the fighting genre with Mortal Kombat X,” said Martin Tremblay, President, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “NetherRealm Studios is best in class at delivering games fans love and they are taking their iconic brand to the next level with Mortal Kombat X.”
“Mortal Kombat has always been about over-the-top, visceral fighting and with Mortal Kombat X we wanted to utilise the power of new-gen consoles to give players our most intense game yet,” said Ed Boon, Creative Director, NetherRealm Studios. “The team has worked hard to make sure Mortal Kombat X delivers everything fans expect along with new characters, new game modes and an all new graphics engine.”
Mortal Kombat X combines cinematic presentation with all new gameplay to deliver the most brutal Kombat experience ever, offering a new fully-connected experience that launches players into a persistent online contest where every fight matters in a global battle for supremacy.
For the first time, Mortal Kombat X gives players the ability to choose from multiple variations of each character impacting both strategy and fighting style. Players step into an original story showcasing some of the game’s most prolific characters including Scorpion and Sub-Zero, while introducing new challengers that represent the forces of good and evil and tie the tale together.
Samsung and Oculus, the firm behind the Rift virtual reality headset, are working together on a new headset, rumours have claimed.
Engadget, citing “sources close to both companies”, reports that the deal will benefit both companies – Oculus will provide Samsung with early access to its mobile software development kit and will help develop the user interface for the headset, while Samsung will provide Oculus with early access to its upcoming high-resolution OLED screens, which the latter firm plans to integrate into its future headset models.
The screens, which provide a resolution higher than that of Full HD 1080p, will also be used in Samsung’s future smartphone models, the sources added.
The sources also teased some details of Samsung’s rumoured VR headset.
The headset is said to require a connection to a smartphone, which doubles as the display for the device.
The device also includes multiple sensors, including an accelerometer, with the processing power for motion tracking provided by the connected smartphone. The headset is said to support use with a game controller, or can be controlled instead using motion tacking and voice recognition. Physical control buttons are included on the outside of the device.
The sources added that the headset’s rear-facing camera supports for video pass-through, meaning that the user can choose to “see through the phone using the rear camera, which shows a video feed of the outside world to your eyes”.
Unlike the Oculus Rift, Samsung’s VR headset is said to be focused on media experiences rather than gaming, but some games are reportedly in development for the platform.
A battle for the top spots was held this week as two highly anticipated games were released. Mario Kart 8 reached number two being held off by Watch_Dogs which had the seventeenth biggest game launch in UK history.
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.
Our friends at Roll7 have asked for Train2Game students to visit them and test their port of their hit PSVita game OlliOlli.
The studio are currently porting OlliOlli to PC, Mac, PS3 and PS4. They are interested in finding students at Train2Game to attend and give feedback regarding how it plays on the new platforms.
The details for the testing are as follows:
Location: New Cross, London
Dates: Between June 9th and June 20th , Monday to Friday
Duration: 2-3 hours
Times: Slots of: 9:30am-12:30pm or 2pm to 5pm
We are ideally looking for students who are relatively close to New Cross, London
Any students coming in to test from London can claim their travel expenses back from us
Anybody who wishes to travel further is welcome to but travel cost will not be provided.
Anyone who has an interest in signing up with us should email: sam@roll7.co.uk with the Subject: OlliOlli testing. Leaving their name, location, current college course, preferred gaming platform and contact number so we can get back to them on available days/slots.
Commemorating the 10th anniversary of the initial Japanese launch on the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, SQUARE ENIX’s DRAGON QUEST VIII: Journey of the Cursed King is now available on iOS and Android devices.
The game lets players take on the role of the “Hero,” the last survivor of King Trode’s army. “Hero” must track down the evil jester who stole a powerful sceptre and caused this tragedy.
“Following its PlayStation 2 system launch in 2004, DRAGON QUEST VIII: Journey of the Cursed King saw immense success and became an instant cult classic,” said Noriyoshi Fujimoto, producer of the mobile version of DRAGON QUEST VIII: Journey of the Cursed King. “The game is perfectly suited as a tremendous value for mobile and tablet as a full 60-plus hour console game with an epic tale of friendship, bravery and adventure. We’ve put in extra effort for the controls to be intuitive and easy to play. Its 10th anniversary is the ideal milestone to re-release the game for fans and new players alike.”
DRAGON QUEST VIII: Journey of the Cursed King lets mobile players explore the game’s vast grassy fields, snow-capped mountains, daunting dungeons and restless seas. Players can slide their screens to pan the camera in a full 360 degrees around the character. In addition, DRAGON QUEST VIII: Journey of the Cursed King also features the original title’s revolutionary synthesizer score, orchestrated by the series’ long time music composer Koichi Sugiyama.
Additional Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King features include:
Controls: Players have access to smooth, intuitive touch-panel controls and a customizable user interface. The in-game directional button is also customizable, allowing one-handed (or two-hand) play.
Battle: Reworked combat system allows for one-tap turn-based battles as well as more complex play. Players can choose an in-game battle strategy to move their character and parties automatically during battles; players also have direct control of their characters and parties during battles.
Auto Run Mode: As the fields are vast, players now have the option to auto-run through boundless environments.
Monster Recruit: Monsters inhabiting the game can be recruited into the player’s party.
Alchemy Pot: This pot allows players to mix various products in order to create new, stronger items.
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King is now available for $19.99 on iOS and Android devices which I find a particularly steep price for a mobile game but you may think differently!
GameDev Market has just launched the full ‘beta’ version of its site, with almost 2000 members already signed up to the community site during their ‘alpha’ pre launch.
A small team of aspiring game developers have looked to exploit what they see as a gap in the global Indie Game Dev scene. Frustrated by the lack of community and quality assets available for ‘new to the industry’ aspiring developers, brothers Adam and Liam McElroy set about researching whether this was an issue for others in the community.
“We used Twitter to reach out globally as well as visiting indie game devs, small studios and content creators to see if other people felt the same about the current options for game ready assets. We were overwhelmed by the response and and many people commented on the inconsistency and lack of quality in many of the assets currently available.”
The site launched with its almost 2000 strong prelaunch member group and with 100’s of assets submitted, Liam McElroy, in charge of quality control as well as software development said, “We have a real commitment to quality so not all of the assets submitted have made it through, we have been working with industry professionals from the area to make sure we are hitting the right notes when it comes to quality. This has ben especially true with 3D and music.”
Nick Davies co-founder of respected studio Lucid Games, formed by former employees of Bizarre Creations, commented, “We are looking forward to seeing what will happen with the site, the team definitely seem to have been working with the right people locally and online in 3D, 2D and music to give it a good chance of success. We have already listed some assets and if the sales figures are right, we will be interested in incorporating listing assets into our process of finishing titles.”
GDM would like to be more than just a marketplace. The founders say their aim is a community in which indie developers can help each other. To incentivise this kind of interaction they have developed an XP system, whereby making a positive contribution to the marketplace and community earns members XP. Whether that’s buying or selling assets, writing reviews, creating assets to meet the needs of the community or helping someone out on the forums, members can boost themselves up the XP levels quicker. The team at GDM ensure us they have some exciting plans around the levelling up system to be announced in the coming months.
Vinny Parisi, Editor-in-Chief of Indie Game Magazine said, “The vision for GameDev Market appealed to me the moment I heard about it. A quality controlled, community-driven ecosystem is exactly what development teams need to create better experiences, and improve the indie sector as a whole. With GDM, we can come together as a community and resolve longstanding issues of misinformation and erratic quality.”
Bohemia Interactive and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) today shared a new video to raise awareness for the topic of ‘Health Care in Danger’.
In the video, Christian Rouffaer – head of the ICRC’s international humanitarian law and video games project – discusses his role at the ICRC, the ICRC’s Health Care in Danger campaign, and the connection with Bohemia Interactive’s €500,000 Make Arma Not War contest.
The ICRC’s Health Care in Danger campaign, which is part of the organization’s many efforts to protect victims of war, aims to address the current violence against the health care sector – ranging from direct attacks to patients, medical staff and health-care facilities and medical transports, to denial of access to and forced entry and looting of health care facilities. The campaign was launched as a response to an uprising of illegal and violent acts that impede or prevent health care delivery.
Aside from developing practical solutions to improve the safety of health care, the ICRC is also committed to raising public awareness for the problem. This led to the unique collaboration with video game developer Bohemia Interactive, who is well-known for its award-winning Arma military game series. Looking to create a change in virtual reality which can hopefully be carried into the real world, the two parties set up the Health Care in Danger Special Award as part of Bohemia Interactive’s €500,000 content creation contest for Arma 3. Given to the entry which covers the topic of ‘health care in danger’ the best, the winner(s) of the award will go on a one-week trip to an ICRC mission in a foreign country, organized by the ICRC.
“We’re looking for game content where medevac procedures are more complex. For example, a game mod where providing first-aid to a wounded enemy would be rewarded – or new hospital, ambulance, medical personnel and equipment models, which other players and mission builders can use to enrich their gameplay. We believe that you can get inspiration from many real-life stories from past and present conflicts”, said Christian Rouffaer, who also represents the ICRC in the Make Arma Not War jury.
The winners of the Make Arma Not War contest, including the winner(s) of the Health Care in Danger Special Award, will be announced on January 15th, 2015. More information about the Make Arma Not War contest, the rules, prizes, and categories is available on www.makearma.com.
The latest update for the Unity game engine has been released featuring a makeover of its 2D physics tools.
Unity 4.5 includes more than 450 bug fixes and a new module manager to help bring platform-specific hotfixes across mobile platforms.
The update also features improvements to 2D physics, a major update to the shader compiler, improved MonoBehaviour serialisation and added iOS support for Open GL ES 3.0.
Other additions and enhancements include faster scene loading, sparse textures and stereoscopic rendering for DirectX 11.
Unity has also teased new additions for version 4.6, which will include the new GUI.
Games Britannia Live! have announced that applications for its game development workshops featuring development tools GameMaker:Studio, Unity3D and Sumo Digital’s exclusive Moshi Monster Platform Engine are now open. For Minecraft fans, GlowInTheDark’s Printcraft workshops are also available to book.
Tom Kenyon, Programme Director of Education at NESTA, and a key sponsor said “Games Britannia Live! is an inspirational event that offers young people the chance not just to play games, but to make their own alongside some of Britain’s best games talent. It’s a unique way to learn about the UK games industry and pick up new skills.”
The following are the available workshops at the event;
Katsuma Unleashed – designed and delivered by Sumo Digital, this workshop will allow younger children to learn the secrets of level design and create their own side-scrolling platform adventure based upon the hit Nintendo title developed by the Sheffield studio. Ages 5 upwards.
GameMaker: Studio – an introduction to creating games for mobile and desktop platforms lead by ambassadors from Sheffield Hallam University. Ages 10 upwards.
Unity 3D – led by industry veteran and indie developer Byron Atkinson-Jones, learn how to utilise the Unity fully integrated game development engine and create your own game. Ages 15 upwards.
PrintCraft – the world’s first 3D printing server for Minecraft. A Use the game to create 3D objects and then make them real with a 3D printer. Ages 5 upwards.
Workshops will run the entire weekend of 28-29 June 2014, between 10am and 4pm in the iconic Millennium Galleries in Sheffield. All places are free, but tickets are very limited and early booking in advance is strongly advised.
Alongside the workshop, tickets are still available for a very special screening of the eagerly anticipated From Bedrooms to Billions film-documentary, and the dramatic chiptune and 8-bit music micro “Gig in the Garden” with headline acts The Curious Machine, Harley Likes Music and more.
To book tickets for all events, and to find out more about the festival visit the Games Britannia Live! website http://live.gamesbritannia.com/
From now until Thursday you can help SpecialEffect and GamesAid simply by purchasing a game by Redkite games.
The Train2Game Blog 