Tag Archives: Game Development

Train2Game News: Affordable eye tracking technology

Posted on by

MyGazeA new affordable myGaze eye tracking technology offers developers a robust platform to make video games more accessible and exciting for disabled and non-disabled gamers.

The new myGaze eye tracker is a mainstream product that offers high performance at a low cost. It was used at EuroGamer Expo 2013 and illustrated the potential of the new myGaze eye tracking technology to enhance the enjoyment of many disabled as well as non-disabled gamers.

Many people with a range of disabilities find themselves unable to use their hands to control technology as well as they would like to, due to conditions such as multiple sclerosis, spinal injury and muscular dystrophy and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), with 30,000 people estimated as having the latter condition in America alone. According to professionals in the assistive field, a long-time challenge for using gaze interaction for many potential beneficiaries has been its cost.

The German company Visual Interaction has now offered a solution to this problem: It makes its myGaze eye tracker, which can be used with various 3rd party applications, including video games, available in its online store for as low as €499.

Recently, SpecialEffect, acquired the myGaze Developer Edition in order to consider the feasibility of using this gaze interaction system with videogames such as DiRT3, Peggle and Fruit Ninja for people with disabilities. The myGaze system was one of the gaze interaction systems available for the public to try for themselves on the SpecialEffect stand at the EuroGamer Expo 2013 in London.

Dr Mick Donegan, Founder and CEO of SpecialEffect, an independent charity, talks about his experience:

“…While the myGaze isn’t designed to offer the range of features available on systems specially designed for the assistive market, it can nonetheless offer a level of performance that can enhance the enjoyment of people with a wide range of abilities, if it is used with carefully selected and modified games.”

The big question however remains – will eye tracking become a mass-market product with wide variety of applications available?

“Game changers like Google or Amazon have now accelerated the patenting and integration of eye trackers into their upcoming products,” says Daniel Trifonov, Head of Business Development & Partnerships at Visual Interaction, “With our state of the art technology made affordable and the growing popularity of our online application store, 3rd party developers have in myGaze a robust platform to build a variety of applications for the future of gaze interaction in gaming, the assistive market and other application fields.”

Visual Interaction (VI) has taken on the mission to provide easy to use and affordable gaze tracking and gaze based interaction solutions for broad professional, educational and consumer audiences and developers. VI collaborates with leaders around the world to create best in class solutions. For its superior performance VI myGaze trackers rely on eye tracking technology by SensoMotoric Instruments (SMI) from Germany, for more than 20 years a leader in eye tracking solutions.

Train2Game News: Help for Heroes mobile game

Posted on by

Hero BearsHelp for Heroes launched a new game on mobile devices to help aid their charity featuring the voices of Jeremy Clarkson and Lorraine Kelly.

The game, Hero Bears was launched today and Help for Heroes is aiming to break the record for the fastest downloaded charity game app to help raise money so it can provide support for Service personnel and veterans who have suffered life-changing injuries and illnesses. The previous record holder, Comic Relief in 2013 had 75,000 downloads in three months.

Players of the game will guide two Help for Heroes bear mascots as they hold a stretcher carrying a third bear across an obstacle course. With the nostalgic military tune The Colonel Bogey March playing in the background, the aim of the app is to collect as many tokens along the route while jumping over gaps, changing levels and squeezing through gaps.

The game also has videos featuring patrons of the charity Jeremy Clarkson and Lorraine Kelly. Clarkson gives scathing put-downs to players with low scores while Kelly offers positive encouragement to help spur them on. As fans of the charity, both Kelly and Clarkson thank the public for downloading the app.

The app is the brain-child of Bryn Parry, Co-Founder of Help for Heroes. A former professional cartoonist, Bryn drew the iconic hero bear characters which are used in the app. A rolling water-colour styled background creates a unique gameplay theme.

Hero Bears is available now on iOS and Android and costs £1.99 with £1 of every sale going to Help For Heroes

Train2Game News: Borderlands 2 Game of the Year Edition

Posted on by

borderlands 22K and Gearbox Software announced that the Borderlands 2 Game of the Year Edition is now available on all platforms in North America, and will be available internationally on October 11, 2013.

Boasting over $100 of gameplay content for only $59.99, players have never had a better opportunity to get their hands on the critically acclaimed Borderlands 2, all of the Season Pass content, two additional character classes, plus more for such an outstanding value.

The Borderlands 2 Game of the Year Edition gives players the ability to take each of the six playable Vault Hunters to new levels, enjoy hundreds of hours of shoot-and-loot mayhem, and play each of the four highly popular add-on campaigns, all in one action-packed bundle. The Game of the Year Edition includes:

  • Borderlands 2 main game;
  • Captain Scarlett and her Pirate’s Booty;
  • Mr. Torgue’s Campaign of Carnage;
  • Sir Hammerlock’s Big Game Hunt;
  • Tiny Tina’s Assault on Dragon Keep;
  • Creature Slaughter Dome;
  • Premiere Club Content:
    • Gaige, the Mechromancer Character Class;
    • Gearbox Gun Pack;
    • Golden Key;
    • Vault Hunter’s Relic;
  • Krieg, the Psycho Character Class;
  • Collector’s Edition Heads and Skins;
  • Contraband Sky Rocket Grenade;
  • Ultimate Vault Hunter Upgrade Pack 1.

“The passionate support from Borderlands 2 fans continues to blow us away and allows us to offer the most value-packed Game of the Year Edition we have ever published,” said Christoph Hartman, president of 2K. “Our friends at Gearbox Software continue expanding the world of Pandora, and together we will continue bringing gamers the best shoot-and-loot mayhem possible.”

This is one of the most entertaining games I have played and if you liked the first one you will love this one, including all the DLC.

Train2Game News: Grand Theft Auto V breaks several world records

Posted on by

GTA VGrand Theft Auto V has managed to break a total of seven world record all with in a week of the game being launched.

Rockstar North’s epic crime adventure previously earned the Guinness World Record for ‘most viewed trailer for an action-adventure videogame’.

Now its massive first-day sales figures have earned the game a further six awards. The full list of awards now currently held by Grand Theft Auto V are as follows:

  • Best-selling action-adventure videogame in 24 hours
  • Best-selling videogame in 24 hours
  • Fastest entertainment property to gross $1 billion
  • Fastest videogame to gross $1 billion
  • Highest grossing videogame in 24 hours
  • Highest revenue generated by an entertainment product in 24 hours
  • Most viewed trailer for an action-adventure videogame

According to official figures, GTA 5 sold 11.21 million units in its first 24 hours and generated revenue of $815.7 million (£511.8 million), eventually reaching $1 billion (£624.45 million) in sales after just three days.

Sales of the game in the UK led to a 45 per cent year-on-year increase in game sales for September, marking the first time the British games retail sector recorded an increase in spending since December 2008.

A week after its release, Cowen & Company analyst Doug Creutz stated that sales had likely exceeded 15 million worldwide and were predicted to surpass 25 million within the game’s first year of release.

After completing the main story line last night there is no doubt in my mind that it deserves all the attention and accolades it has been getting. I could not recommend this game more.

Train2Game News: Google Glass Gaming

Posted on by

Google GlassSince Google’s Glass was unveiled in 2011, the impact it may have on gaming has been the subject of much imaginative speculation.

The public’s thirst for wearable gadgetry has been fuelled by concept videos showing a walk to work reimagined as a first-person shooter and commentators predicting bold new AR-based genres.

One studio that is closer than most to knowing the answer is AMA, the French developer of Glass game Escape, which enjoyed much attention at this year’s GDC Europe and Gamescom.

The game is by necessity a simple creation; something of a hybrid of arcade icon Frogger and tabletop classic peg solitaire. Escape is controlled through Glass’ touch sensitive side panel, and offers just a glimpse of what might be possible with hardware you can wear.

Escape’s status as the first Google Glass game is difficult to establish when the hardware is yet to enjoy a true consumer release; BrickSimple’s GlassBattle, for example, was shown before Escape, but ‘release date’ rarely means much on tech still in development.

What does matter is that AMA has made a Glass game, and that puts them in extremely limited company. Indeed, their unit is one of only a handful in Europe outside of Google’s laboratories. What’s more, along with Escape, they have another three Glass games and app prototypes underway.

“Wearable technology is by itself very exciting,” offers AMA’s head of production Guillaume Campion. “And this is just the beginning. Google Glass is a great platform to start with. Even if the design and the interface are very new and innovative, the hardware and the fact that it runs on Ice Cream Sandwich are pretty common.

“This is really a key point that allows us to focus on what is major, [for example], the user interface display. As a games developer, we love to brainstorm about new gameplay, new game mechanics, so working on such a new device is definitely the kind of challenge we look forward to when choosing to work in this industry.”

The future of Google Glass could revolutionise the gaming industry as we know it depending on how widely accepted it becomes.

Train2Game News: Dungeon Defenders 2

Posted on by

Dungeon Defenders 2Trendy Entertainment, creators of the critically acclaimed tower defense title Dungeon Defenders, today announced it has hit the reset button in the development of its highly anticipated sequel, Dungeon Defenders II, removing the MOBA-elements and instead focusing on what fans really want to see-the evolution of the action tower defense genre.

Scheduled for soft launch this spring, Dungeon Defenders II is a roleplaying and tower defense title that vastly improves upon the foundations of the first game. A core pillar of Trendy’s new project is getting fans directly involved in how they evolve and develop the sequel. This recent shift in direction is just one example of how Trendy plans to incorporate their community’s feedback into Dungeon Defenders II.

“We’ve been listening very closely to our community, getting feedback from fans of the first game on what they want to see in a sequel, and we realized we needed a shift in our development focus,” said Philip Asher, Marketing Director at Trendy Entertainment. “We had strayed from making the kind of game fans wanted and the kind of game we wanted to develop. So, we’ve nixed the MOBA-style of gameplay and other ‘extra’ features we were talking about and instead are making the sequel we all want to play. We’re improving everything we loved about Dungeon Defenders, one step at a time. First we’re going through the core gameplay experience; injecting more meaningful decisions and moments into the minute to minute gameplay that you’ll want to share with your friends. Then, in late October we’re going to kick off our first major community initiative to get fans involved in the development of the game, and start working with them to make the roleplaying and item systems as satisfying as possible.”

In Dungeon Defenders II, the land of Etheria has been invaded by the Old Ones and players must rally, alone or with friends, against the invasion.. The game features brand new combat and tower placement systems that synchronize the roleplaying, action, and tower defense elements of the first game for more visceral and strategic gameplay. New defense and ability interactions make for exciting, emergent gameplay and new environmental traps increase variety and strategic planning throughout each level in the game. The team is also working on a completely new mission structure and content release strategy which will revolve around the way the community wants to play.

“Imagine dousing a crowd of enemies with oil and then the Apprentice’s flameburst tower hitting one of them with a flame bolt, lighting them all up! Or a trap launching an orc into the sky, only to be frozen and then shatter after crashing to the ground. We’re creating these synergistic systems as a way to allow players to discover and share new ways to play the game: whether it’s finding a new piece of gear that creates a whole new defensive strategy to a map or improving defenses in a way that makes you completely rethink your entire setup, we want the combat and roleplaying elements to shape how you defend Etheria.” said Daniel Haddad, Lead Content Designer.

Dungeon Defenders II is currently in development for PC, Mac & Linux, and scheduled for soft launch as a free-to-play title next Spring.

You can enjoy a teaser trailer below

For more information, visit www.dungeondefenders2.com

Train2Game News: Valve Steam Machine specs

Posted on by

ValveValve has confirmed the specifications of its Steam Machine prototype boxes, which will be sent out later this year.

300 of the devices will be sent to testers in a closed hardware beta, and will include the also-announced Steam Controller.

“The prototype machine is a high-end, high-performance box, built out of off-the-shelf PC parts,” said Valve in a statement.

“It is also fully upgradable, allowing any user to swap out the GPU, hard drive, CPU, even the motherboard if you really want to.”

“Apart from the custom enclosure, anyone can go and build exactly the same machine by shopping for components and assembling it themselves. And we expect that at least a few people will do just that.”

All of the “high-end, high-performance” boxes will run Valve’s Linux-based SteamOS operating system, but the cases will be made by a variety of manufacturers.

Valve’s list of the internal components of the Machines is as follows:

•    GPU: Some units with NVidia Titan, some GTX780, some GTX760, and some GTX660

•    CPU: Some boxes with Intel i7-4770, some i5-4570, and some i3

•    RAM: 16GB DDR3-1600 (CPU), 3GB DDR5 (GPU)

•    Storage: 1TB/8GB Hybrid SSHD

•    Power Supply: Internal 450w 80Plus Gold

•    Dimensions: Approx. 12×12.4×2.9-inches high

“This design is not meant to serve the needs of all of the tens of millions of Steam users,” added Valve on the details.

“It may, however, be the kind of machine that a significant percentage of Steam users would actually want to purchase – those who want plenty of performance in a high-end living room package”

“Many others would opt for machines that have been more carefully designed to cost less, or to be tiny, or super quiet, and there will be Steam Machines that fit those descriptions.”

Train2Game News: Scottish Games Network launched

Posted on by

Brian BaglowScotland’s video games industry, was transformed yesterday, with the launch of the Scottish Games Network, as the official industry body for the entire sector in Scotland.

The Scottish Games Network now offers a single unified and strategic contact point for Scotland’s diverse games sector, as well as opening the sector up to the wider cultural and creative industries, both nationally and globally.

The Scottish Games Network is open to every company and organisation involved in the video games and interactive industries. Not simply developers, but technology companies, animation specialists, audio companies, publishers, retailers, media, freelance staff, contractors, academic institutions and the government.

The organisation pro-actively identifies new projects and opportunities to enable the games sector to grow, evolve and prosper, moving beyond advocacy and representation to pull together the individuals, companies and organisations across the country, providing strategic insight, research, create new opportunities and organise incredibly cool events…

The Scottish Games Network was established in 2005 as a grass roots sector-specific community. It has grown and evolved rapidly to become the recognised organisation and focal point for the country’s video games industry, with over 90 game development studios, more than 130 games-related companies and around 5,000 individual members across multiple channels.

Scotland has a unique infrastructure, differing from the rest of the UK. There are over 35 commercial, cultural, educational and academic organisations across the public and private sectors in this country, which are actively involved in the games and interactive sector.

The Scottish Games Network is keen to work with all of these organisations and companies, building greater collaboration, communication, understanding and opportunities for Scotland as a whole. The SGN will also work closely with the existing video games industry bodies, creating links, affiliations and memberships, sharing information and ensuring collaboration wherever possible.

Scotland’s games industry has been a pioneer since the late 1980s, when it boasted six studios producing titles including Lemmings, Grand Theft Auto, Crackdown, HEDZ, Formula 1, Braveheart, Midnight Pool, Harry Potter Quidditch and many more.

Since then the industry has grown to nearly 100 independent studios, producing titles for every platform and device from smartphones and tablets to the next generation of games consoles. This includes, Rockstar North, the creator of GTA V, the largest entertainment product in the world, which generated over $1Bn in sales in its first three days on sale in September 2013. In 2012 there was at least one game released every week by development studios in Scotland – and that number is growing.

Founded by Brian Baglow, the network is now an officially incorporated organisation, with Brian as Director. Brian has worked in the games industry in Scotland since 1994, has been a constant advocate and media presence in the sector, and has worked with almost each and every company, organisation, educational institution and industry-relevant event in the country.

Baglow says, “The original Scottishgames.net was founded as a community to enable the growing games industry in Scotland to ask questions, discuss the industry and meet peers and colleagues. It has grown since then to become the focal point for the industry as a whole.”

We are now in the position where there are multiple organisations interacting with the games sector, from government, parliament and the public sector, to the wider digital, screen and creative industries. To enable and support this, the Scottish Games Network has become an official and committed full-time company.”

Our goal is, very simply, to help the country’s games industry grow and prosper. We will be working with government, the public sector and other trade bodies to provide data, expertise and insight into the games industry, as well as helping the industry open itself up to the wider creative world, fostering new partnerships, collaboration, diversity, funding; and encouraging entirely new experiences.”

Train2Game News: SpecialEffect raising money for futuristic eye control technology

Posted on by

SpecialEffect Gaming charity, SpecialEffect, need your help in raising money to afford some futuristic equipment to help change deserving gamers lives.

The charity has setup a Gambitious page to help receive funding to purchase a very special eye control gaming system. There are a range of different eye-control devices available, but your donations would help purchase a product designed specifically to suit a range of needs for disabled people, such as those with locked-in syndrome, motor neurone disease, muscular dystrophy and cerebral palsy.

Everyone’s needs are different, and making eye-control work successfully, especially in the cases of complex disability, is rarely a simple task. SpecialEffect has been working with eye-control technology and complex disability since the charity was founded in 2007. Founder, Dr Mick Donegan, is an acknowledged world leader in the development and application of eye-controlled technology. Thanks to the charity’s expertise and experience, it’s in a strong position to be able to use this technology successfully with a range of different people.

SpecialEffect has already had great success in using the eye-control technology like with young Henry. His parents contacted the charity after hearing about eye-controlled computers and wondered if the technology could benefit their son. Henry and his family were invited to the SpecialEffect GamesRoom in Oxford and they had a wonderful afternoon being introduced to simple eye-controlled activities.

“The look on Henry’s face when he first used the eye-gaze to control something on a screen was indescribable,” said Henry’s father Rob. “For the first time he could play with something completely ‘on his own’. It was a landmark moment for us as a family.”

Soon afterwards, SpecialEffect visited Henry at home and set up an eye-controlled computer for him to borrow, and before long he was enjoying a range of eye-control games as well as playing with a toy train set, just by moving his eyes.

It is a very worth while charity to help out and if you want to donate you can do so at https://gambitious.com/projects/3576-playing-with-your-eyes

Train2Game News: UK Top 20 Games – 07.10.13

Posted on by

FIFA 14FIFA 14 remains at number one, holding off GTA V for a second week as the gap between the two closes to around 31K units.  GTA V has to settle for second place, but can content itself with the knowledge that after just three weeks on sale it has already eclipsed GTA IV’s lifetime total to become the 12th biggest selling game of all time.  It’s even more impressive in terms of revenue, as GTA V now occupies the number five spot behind 4 Call of Dutys, almost equalling the total of Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Despite 4 new releases in the Top 10 there is still a large sales gap between the Top two and the rest of the chasing pack.  Codemasters/Namco Bandai have this week’s highest new entry with the multi-format F1 2013 debuting one place ahead of Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker which re-appears at number four thanks to an enhanced HD version for Wii U.  The other newcomers are NBA 2K14 at seventh and Just Dance 2014 at nine.  Half the Top 10 this week is made up of sequels to games that were in the Top 10 the same week last year.

All formats

Week ending 5 October 2013

POS.  TITLE  PUBLISHER  LAST 
 WEEK 
1  –  FIFA 14 EA SPORTS 1
2  –  GRAND THEFT AUTO V ROCKSTAR 2
3    F1 2013 CODEMASTERS –
4    THE LEGEND OF ZELDA: THE WIND WAKER NINTENDO –
5    MINECRAFT: XBOX 360 EDITION MICROSOFT 3
6  –  DISNEY INFINITY DISNEY INFINITY 6
7    NBA 2K14 2K SPORTS –
8    TOM CLANCY’S SPLINTER CELL: BLACKLIST UBISOFT 7
9    JUST DANCE 2014 UBISOFT –
10    PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 2014 KONAMI 4
11    SAINTS ROW IV DEEP SILVER 8
12    THE LAST OF US SONY COMPUTER ENT. 5
13  –  LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 13
14    MAX PAYNE 3 ROCKSTAR 15
15    DIABLO III BLIZZARD 9
16    CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II ACTIVISION 11
17    RAYMAN LEGENDS UBISOFT 10
18    ANIMAL CROSSING: NEW LEAF NINTENDO 20
19  –  TOMB RAIDER SQUARE ENIX 19
20    MEDAL OF HONOR: WARFIGHTER EA GAMES –
< previous week  
Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2013 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.