Tag Archives: Games design

Train2Game News WoW Legion sells 3.3 million

Posted on by


Blizzard’s new expansion for World of Warcraft matches launch-day record with 3.3 million sold.
Heroes of the Horde and the Alliance from around the globe unite as World of Warcraft achieves the highest launch-week player concurrency since Cataclysm®.

With Azeroth on the brink of destruction, heroes from around the world were summoned to drive back the Burning Legion’s armies last week with the launch of World of Warcraft®:  Legion™, the sixth expansion to Blizzard Entertainment’s acclaimed massively multiplayer online role-playing game. 

Today, Blizzard announced that players have forged a truly formidable defensive front—as of the expansion’s first full day of launch on August 30, more than 3.3 million copies of Legion had sold through, matching the all-time record achieved by previous expansions and making it one of the fastest-selling PC games ever. In addition, World of Warcraft’s launch-week player concurrency climbed to its highest point since the 2010 launch of the Cataclysm ® expansion, as champions from around the world united to strike a mighty first blow against the fel invaders. But the battle has only just begun.
“It’s been a thrill to see players hunting demons, powering up Artifacts, and freely exploring all the new zones in Legion,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “We worked hard to make this the best World of Warcraft expansion yet, and we look forward to providing players with even more content as Legion’s epic story unfolds in the months ahead.”

While players are currently entrenched against the first wave of demonic invaders, Legion’s next exciting chapter is already in the works. Last weekend at PAX West, Blizzard unveiled new details on the expansion’s upcoming first major content update, Patch 7.1: Return to Karazhan, featuring a reimagined version of one of World of Warcraft’s most popular raids. Players will explore a sprawling five-player Mythic dungeon, facing familiar foes from Karazhan’s past—and encountering plenty of surprises and twists along the way. The update also features a new set of quests unfolding over multiple weeks in the fallen night elf city of Suramar, as well as a brand-new raid: the Trial of Valor, which sends players deep into the vrykul underworld of Helheim.

WoW Legion Companion App Now Available

On Tuesday, Blizzard released the free WoW Legion Companion app, a new way for players to stay connected to their adventures on the Broken Isles, even from outside of Azeroth. With the app, players can manage their Order Hall missions and track World Quest availability, making it easy to plan out their adventures from afar. Available free now on iOS and Android™ mobile devices, the WoW Legion Companion App can help heroes keep the Burning Legion’s fel fire at bay even while on the go.

Train2Game News Simplygon

Posted on by

Simplygon, the leading provider of automatic 3D optimization solutions for digital content creation, and Uppercut Games announced that Submerged for iOS fully relied on Simplygon optimization. 
The Unreal® Engine 4 game is a third-person exploration, post-apocalyptic indie game, originally developed for PC and console. The initial manual optimization on the city buildings and landmarks left the team with thousands of individual objects to draw, and this was too taxing on the most mobile GPUs. Simplygon and the HLOD feature allowed the studio to easily add Level of Detail at a series of different aspects of the open world game.

“Without Simplygon’s tool we would never have been able to release Submerged on iOS” said Andrew James, co-Founder of Uppercut Games. “We were pleasantly surprised to see how seem-less the transitions to HLOD mesh looked on device, even when swapped out to the LOD at a close distance. The Simplygon HLOD optimization allowed us to keep most of the original PC / console high poly art for the detail areas of the game where the player explores, walks and climbs.”

“Mobile is becoming increasingly powerful and talented developers as Uppercut can deliver really high-fidelity graphics on these devices. Obviously though, there are restrictions and limitations so optimization is key to a good game experience. It feels great to be able to provide UE4 developers with a robust and easy-to-use integration and an efficient way of optimizing original content, making games both look great and run smoothly across platforms. We are thrilled that Uppercut chose Simplygon for Submerged and are happy with their results.”, explained Martin Ekdal, co-Founder of Simplygon.

Simplygon was used in different manners to maintain the art quality while reaching a good frame rate. The HLOD feature combines hundreds of small individual detail meshes and reduces them to single draw call LOD meshes. This had a dramatic improvement on the game’s frame rate on iOS devices. A meaningful example is the reduction percentage done in Submerged. HLOD reduced 4176 meshes (many with multiple materials) down to 30 LOD meshes (99% reduction), and 1.38 million polygons down to 183,000 polygons (87% reduction). Simplygon replaced an optimization task that would have taken months to do manually to only a week of work.

Simplygon is the de facto standard optimization solution for large AAA PC and console games; mobile games; and MMOs, and is applicable to any medium where 3D art assets are created or utilized. By automating the optimization process required to make games run smooth, Simplygon helps digital content creators save important resources where artists would otherwise need to manually re-create large amounts of content.

Train2Game News RealTimeVFX

Posted on by

VFX Luminaries have announced the launch of a brand new industry-driven community platform, RealTimeVFX.

Developed to open up the knowledge base, support, best practices and resources to a previously underserviced group, the VFX community will throw a spotlight of discussion and education for artists working with video games, VR, AR, mobile, hologram, theme park and upcoming technologies. 

RealTimeVFX.com is available and free to sign up for VFX professionals today.

With a focus of giving back to the community, the platform is spearheaded by some of the most acclaimed names in interactive VFX including Keith Guerrette (Uncharted Series, The Last of Us), Jason Keyser (League of Legends), Drew Skillman (Tiltbrush Creator, Google VR) and Seth Hall (Star Wars, Battlefield Hardline), all of whom are highly proactive and are breaking new ground within this space.  RealTimeVFX will also provide online and offline events, as well as partner with market-leading companies and products as part of the platform.  

RealTimeVFX co-Founder Keith Guerrette commented: “As VFX continues to be in high-demand across video games and VR/AR studios, each with their own bespoke technologies and challenges, there’s been a growing need to solidify our insights and efforts.  Our hope is that the platform will help unify our community long-term and facilitate a more positive and collaborative approach to support VFX artists and technology at both an indie and big studio level.”

Train2Game News Dishonored 2 at EGX

Posted on by

EGX, the UK’s biggest games event, is delighted to announce that Bethesda Softworks’® Dishonored® 2, the highly-anticipated first-person action game from Arkane® Studios, will be playable for the public for the first time anywhere in the world at EGX 2016, taking place at the National Exhibition Centre on the 22nd to 25th September.
In addition, Sebastien Mitton, Art Director at Arkane Studios, will be hosting a developer session at EGX on 22nd September at 4pm BST. During his developer session, which will also be live streamed on the EGX Twitch channel, Mitton will discuss his artistic approach for Dishonored 2.

Dishonored 2, the latest blockbuster title to be unveiled for EGX 2016, is the follow up to Dishonored, which won over 100 ‘Game of The Year’ awards, including the 2012 BAFTA award for Best Game. Dishonored 2, is set for release worldwide on 11th November for the Xbox One, PlayStation® 4 computer entertainment system and PC.

Play your way in a world where mysticism and industry collide. Will you choose to play as Empress Emily Kaldwin or the Royal Protector, Corvo Attano? Will you stalk your way through the game unseen, make full use of its brutal combat system, or use a blend of both? How will you combine your character’s unique set of powers, weapons and gadgets to eliminate your enemies? The story responds to your choices, leading to intriguing outcomes, as you play through each of the game’s hand-crafted missions.

“We’re thrilled that Bethesda has chosen EGX as the venue to bring Dishonored 2 to consumers for the very first time”, said David Lilley, EGX Managing Director. “It’s a further demonstration of the growing importance of EGX on the global stage”.

With Saturday day tickets now sold out, EGX 2016 is expected to be the biggest event in EGX history. For more information and to purchase tickets please visit – egx.net/egx/tickets

For more information about Dishonored 2 please visit https://dishonored.bethesda.net/

Train2Game News Facebook partner with Unity

Posted on by

​

Recently Facebook have said that over 550 million people play games that are connected with Facebook every month on desktop, mobile and console, now it’s hoping to grow that number with a new partnership with Unity.
“Our mission is to give people the power to discover, play and share the games they love with the people they care about,” said Facebook’s Leo Olebe.

“Unity is the world’s leading game development platform. It’s great to be working with them to help developers find new audiences for the games they pour their hearts into.”

The alliance will include Facebook integration within Unity and a new PC gaming platform. Developers can apply now to be involved.

“Developers channel their talent and passion into creating amazing games, but development is only part of the challenge,” added Elliot Solomon, VP of Business Development at Unity.

“Integrating tools that provide effortless access to Facebook’s network is a key part of helping developers find the success they deserve.”

Source: GamesIndustry.biz

Train2Game News Catch up with Ben Stoneman

Posted on by

Ben Stoneman now at Unity talks to Train2Game about his time with T2G, Game Jams, One Game A Month, Unity and his ongoing games making journey 
Ben is a favourite of Train2Game and studied with T2G for a number of years, taking part in game jams is a strong part of the wider community. It’s always great to speak with this young man who has a passion for games and is extremely well driven. Since finishing with Train2Game he’s gone on to a career in games and we caught up with him to hear how he’s getting on.

Ben enjoyed Train2Game and it was a catalyst in his gaming career.  He found he learnt on the course but experience in making games and having good mentors are essential to developing as a games maker and therefore a career in the games industry. Taking part in Train2Game Game Jams taught him about the development process. He’s gone on to mentor at Game Jams and be part of the judging process. Ben still regularly attends game jams and sees it as essential to becoming a better game developer. 

Ben now takes part in one game a month, a collective of games makers that share their projects in creating a title a month. Creating nice simple games and he encourages players to first make the first ever game: Pong.  He sees it as a way to train yourself as a developer which highly recommends. Through the experience he’s learnt a great deal and made a huge variety of games. He’s not going to release any games as yet as he is still aware that he is growing as a developer.

Ben works in the support team at Unity providing answers to any enquiry from any Unity user. He’s enjoying it a great deal, providing assistance by day and making games by night. He’s found that his skills as a rounded developer have continued to grow.

Ben Stoneman, Unity Support Team: ‘Train2Game is a catalyst in your game development career. However, I do believe that if you are not honing your skills without T2G’s help (in your personal/free time) then you will not make it in the industry. You need to want to do it, like an alcoholic wants to go to the pub.’

‘In my first T2G game jam, I learnt about the development process. Most of what I know now, the skills that make me a good game developer come from mentors and personal projects (make an inventory system that looks cool). The learning material helps only a small amount but having mentors is very important in life.’

‘I did go on to judge at a game jam, only a small game jam at “Insomnia” Games Festival. It was okay, but the fun was not in judging but in helping people with their Unity and general game development questions.’

‘One Game a Month, well it is exactly as it sounds. Starting from now, you begin making a game and the deadline is the last day of the month. The game does not need to be “call of duty” it can be as simple as pong, in fact I recommend that you make pong to start.’

‘After a year you will find that you have made 12 games and you have experience in making different games. It is a good way to train yourself. A body builder goes to the gym every week to get bigger muscles, a game developer makes a game every week/month to become better.’

‘I’m keeping to it. I never really show off the games as they are for my own personal learning. It’s taught me a lot. Through it I’ve made boss battles, memory games, inventory systems, quest logs, networking/multiplayer systems, graphical shaders, dialogue systems and so much more!’

‘I’m not currently looking to develop the games further, there are game ideas that I love and hold in my mind, but I’m not really looking to make a game to sell yet. Rovio (makers of angry birds) made over 40 games before angry birds, I’m getting my first 40 games done now and out of the way 😉 I would encourage Train2Game to help its students to achieve it!’

‘I am attending plenty of Game Jams. Game jams are the staple diet of any game developer. If you are not making games, then you are doing it wrong. Game jams are a really good way to practice; they prompt you by giving your ideas (the theme) and a deadline (T -48hours). It is surprisingly hard to give yourself a deadline in the same way.’

‘I work in the Support team at Unity. I’m currently a support specialist; I deal with any question that anyone wants to ask. I help users that do not pay for premium support with technical questions or other general questions. It is going great, I’m the happiest I’ve been. I get to help game developers all day and make and play games in my spare time.’

‘I’m learning all the time. I went from someone who could only design games to someone who can make games all by myself. It is easy to stop learning and just settle but if games are your passion then even if you are a billionaire, you would still make games. I feel like I can make any game that is presented to me. The key to this is not in knowing all the answers already but in knowing how to find the answers by myself when I need them.’

‘In the future I plan to progress in Unity and ensure that Unity stays strong and helps anyone who wants to make games. I also like to mentor and teach others C#, blender3d and the Unity editor itself.’

Train2Game, bringing City & Guilds to the Games Industry

Read the Train2Game blog at www.train2game-news.co.uk Train2Game is a proud supporter of www.gamatier.com

Train2Game News 3DS Nintendo Direct

Posted on by

Nintendo announced today that a Nintendo 3DS Direct will air at 16:00 CEST, Thursday 1st September (15:00 for viewers in the UK), focused exclusively on upcoming Nintendo 3DS games. 
The broadcast will be hosted by Nintendo of Europe President Satoru Shibata and Ed Valiente of Nintendo of Europe’s European Publisher Business department.

To tune in, check out Twitch or the Nintendo Direct website at 16:00 CEST on 1st September (15:00 UK time), where the broadcast will be streamed.

Please note that the presentation will not feature any updates on NX and mobile.

Train2Game News Career Fair returns to EGX

Posted on by

​

Ukie, the trade body for the UK games and wider interactive entertainment industry, and GamesIndustry.biz, the world’s leading video games trade website, have today announced a renewed partnership to inspire and educate the next generation of games industry talent about how to build a successful career in the sector.The GamesIndustry.biz Career Fair, running throughout EGX on 22-25 September, is the unique careers and education area at EGX. Featuring a range of careers and education exhibitors, accessible advice from developers and educators, and unique networking opportunities, the Career Fair gives everyone a chance to get closer to the games industry.

Ukie will once again bring its popular Ukie Careers Bar to EGX, featuring talks by Video Games Ambassadors from some of the biggest names in the UK games business. The talks will deliver expert advice from all disciplines in the games industry, from programming and design to publishing careers in PR, marketing and community management.

Over 30 of Ukie’s Video Games Ambassadors will also be at the Careers Bar throughout the fair to meet future games industry stars to talk about their games industry experiences and career histories. The industry volunteers will also give one-to-one advice on study choices or career paths, and give personalised job application and portfolio advice. Visitors to the stand are encouraged to bring CVs and work portfolios to the Careers Bar to make the most out of this one-to-one opportunity.

Dr Jo Twist OBE, CEO of Ukie, said, “The Ukie Careers Bar is an unique opportunity for the next generation of games talent to meet and pick the brains of games industry experts about building a fulfilling career in the sector. The Video Games Ambassadors can provide one-to-one advice which is invaluable to those just starting out in their career or those considering a career change. We’ve seen huge success from the Careers Bar in the past few years and so we’re delighted to be bringing it back to EGX, sharing the expertise of our network, and inspiring the games stars of the future.”

David Lilley, Event Director of EGX, said “EGX has really benefited from the contribution Ukie has made by running the popular Careers Bar at our GamesIndustry.biz Career Fair. At EGX, it’s not just about playing games, but also exploring games culture and inspiring the next generation of games makers. The feedback we get from schools, colleges and universities alike, who all bring coach loads of students in their thousands to EGX, is that the GamesIndustry.biz Career Fair featuring the Ukie Careers Bar is a vital part of their enjoyment of the show. We look forward to welcoming Ukie and another great lineup of games industry experts to EGX this year.”

Announcement of the speakers and VGAs on the Careers Bar will follow.

For more information about the Ukie Careers Bar, the GamesIndustry.biz Career Fair and the EGX event, please visit: www.egx.net/egx

Train2Game News Student Studios Secret Project

Posted on by

Appatier’s new top secret project is going well… don’t tell anyone!
Train2Game student studio Appatier is working on yet another paid contract. The team is creating a new mobile game, but they’re not allowed to talk about it.

A Train2Game success story, Appatier is now working on its second major project of 2016. The small and diverse studio staffed by a group of friends is working on a new title.  But the studio can’t give out the details as it has been sworn to secrecy. The project is under NDA but they can say, it’s a mobile game…

According to John Esslemont MD of Appatier the project is going really well. They are working hard, there’s a great Producer onboard who’s giving them excellent leadership and direction. The nameless Producer has kept an eye on the team, helping them to overcome many obstacles.

This is by far the largest project the team has undertaken and they have learnt a great deal. Appatier is working to deadlines and milestones in the project. Overcoming bugs has been a key obstacle as has tinkering with the original code as the design changes.

They did not think they would get the project, it’s a huge step up for them and they are now working with professionals at the top tier of games development. John says the project was easy to staff as he chose friends that have a similar ethic to him.

The team has done some ludicrous hours to deliver what the client wants but learnt a great deal along the way. For John he’s learnt to be prepared and earnt even more respect for Designers. His advice for others is to ‘’work smarter’’ and to make sure you are spending time on the right things.

John Esslemont, Managing Director, Appatier: ‘The project is going really well at the moment three days away from a deadline which I only just realised but we are on track apart from one little bug. There have certainly been times where I think “Ok we have gone and messed up now”. But it has always turned out to be really good in the end. We have Stephen our producer to thank for that, the guy is so down to earth and understands development which from my previous experience is a hard thing to come by.’ 

‘I have learned so much I feel like I have forgotten more. The one thing I have learnt is to design everything before a single line of code gets written. We went ahead and carried on development after we passed a milestone, when we delivered it was not what the client wanted, so crunch time it was, 16 hours days became the norm, all the way through to 36 hour days and nights to make sure we got what they wanted done and we got it done fast. They trusted us to get something done so we made sure we delivered on it.’ 

‘It is actually awesome working with a Producer! He knows about development so it’s really good as he understands the hurdles you go through and little things that crop up. Not only that but when he found out we were working stupid hours he told us to stop and get rest he doesn’t want us getting ill. Now I have never had this before so that too me by surprise. He is so relaxed about stuff, you know when he wants something done by talking to him, Also the guy is like a mind reader he can just tell if you are thinking something or if something is up does it with Edd all the time haha.’ 

‘This is by far the biggest project I have even done, Financially, Professionally, and everything else in-between. When we put in our pitch I truly didn’t think we would get it, I mean we have the skills and experience we were not fazed by anything. But to go from freelancing to working with top tier people in games is a huge level up for all of us.’ 

‘It was easy to choose who to work with. I have worked with Domm for about 3 years, I knew he didn’t like his job and wanted to offer him something better so with us being mates it was a no brainer. I worked with Edd over the last year and his work ethic and attention to detail is insane! Not only that but a UI Artist, Designer, Web Developer, and musician all in one, is a no brainer.’

‘We have hit a fair share of problems while working on the game, infact I’m busy fixing one now. Essentially we wrote a system that would do what we needed it too at the time, but as the design changes we need to go back and change it to accommodate for the new changes.’

‘As for design, well let’s just say I now know what a designer does and I’m not into that! I help a lot with these things but it is so time consuming and you really need to break the idea down to will it work or not, do we think it is good or not, if not why if yes why. It’s all theoretical of course but the amount of work that goes into it I never even knew. So yeah respect to all game designers!’ 

‘Recommends for others, well with design just send a lot more to client and see what is said, have more meetings about things. One thing that the producer did say to us which we are still using right now is “Work Smarter”. If we need to know something and no one is say online or your waiting for a reply just do what you think until they are available. Do not leave it and go work on something else finish your task as best you can until you really cannot do any more on it then move on. Or if you are starting to get code block or your mind is fried take a break and go chill for a bit. A fresh mind is always better than a foggy one.’ 

‘What’s next? Well we need to finish this current deadline so we can move onto our server side stuff and social integrations.’

Train2Game, bringing City & Guilds to the Games Industry

Read the Train2Game blog at www.train2game-news.co.uk Train2Game is a proud supporter of www.gamatier.com

Train2Game News Guinness World Record Bat Suit

Posted on by


GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS, the global authority on record-breaking achievement, reveals an incredible Batman cosplay suit adorned with 23 functioning gadgets. 
The innovative creation has earned the world record for the Most functional gadgets on a cosplay suit and appears in the new Guinness World Records: Gamer’s Edition 2017, out on 8 September.

Created by special creature effects expert Julian Checkley, the ingenious gadgets are concealed and attached to the Batman suit. Devices include smoke bombs, a grapnel gun and ‘bat tracker’, UV lamp, NBC (nuclear, bacterial, chemical) bat respirator and even a bat sign projector for the night sky. A full list is available below. 

The suit, which is based on that from the Batman: Arkham Origins videogame was 3D printed and then moulded and cast in a flexible urethane rubber. The parts were then trimmed, detailed and painted and then mounted on an specially designed undersuit. It was then applied to Julian Chekley’s bodycast, suitably weathered using dirty earthy colours and was then ready to fight crime on the streets of Gotham City.

When fully kitted out, Julian strikes an imposing figure, towering over 6”10’ (208cm), the bat ears make a difference! The 23 gadgets increased in complexity as his project progressed and Julian enlisted the help of an electrical engineer to create the most challenging gadget – the 2000watt EMP Stun Gun.

Julian Checkley said: “There were many long hours trying devising the gadgets and finding ways to store them on the suit. They are classic gadgets but also some are specific to Batman: Arkham Origins. I am immensely proud of my Guinness World Records title and to be part of the Gamer’s Edition is just the next level.”

Stephen Daultrey, Editor of the Guinness World Records 2017: Gamer’s Edition, said: “This incredible cosplay suit is a great example of the eclectic records that appear in this year’s Gamer’s Edition 2017. The detail and imagination behind the gadgets take the meaning of cosplay to a whole new level.”

Batman cosplay suit gadgets include:

1. Fireball Shooter

2. Gauntlet Video Screens x 2

3. Bat Tracking Beacon

4. Bat Sign Projector

5. Folding Batarang

6. Grapnel Gun

7. Cowl Respirator

8. Pneumatic Tranquilliser Gun

9. Ultrasonic Anti Dog Device.

10. Bat Shuriken x 4

11. UV Lamp

12. Ball Bearing Grenades x 2

13. Gauntlet Flashlight

14. Medi-kit.

15. Battery Pack.

16. Laser Designator.

17. Bat-cam.

18. Strobe Stun Gun.

19. Gas Dispenser

20. Smoke Bombs x 2

21. The Bat Flask.

22. Concealed Laryngeal Microphone.

23. Two-way Radio.

The Guinness World Records 2017: Gamer’s Edition is packed with new records, feats and fascinating features. You Tube gamer, Ali-A, highlights the books phenomenal content in his exclusive forward and fellow gamers Dan TDM and Twitch star OMGitsfirefoxx show off their record title achievements in  stunning photo-shoots.

Headlining the 10th-anniversary edition is a special chapter on Star Wars and the records it has amassed over the past 30 plus years, plus there is a detailed look at the e-sports phenomenon and in-depth features on the world of gaming.

The Gamer’s Edition 2017 reveals incredible gaming accomplishments such as programming expert Benjamin Gwin’s record for ‘Most alternative control method’s used to complete Dark Souls’. Nine unique controls including a dance mat, a guitar and his voice were used to complete the classic action-RPG. 

‘PangaeaPanga’ aka Alex Tan,  achievement  for ‘Most difficult level created in Super Mario Maker’ is featured as his challenging level has been beaten just 49 times out of astounding 1,550,870 attempts.