Tag Archives: Games Industry Jobs

Train2Game News: Craig Moore Student diaries: week 43

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Craig Moore

Student Diary

Week 43

So, I must apologise for the radio silence as of late. With the combination of the upcoming Game Jam, my heavy concentration on Train2Game coursework and a consistently frantic day at work, occasionally things will slip my mind.

I blame my age, since I am now the oh-so lofty age of 30! I collect my pension soon …

So last time I left you I was heavy in to UI work and really learning Unity and getting to grips with the tech. Not much has changed to be honest; there is simply so much UI work that needs to go into games of this type that it’s a lofty job for anyone. That being said it is coming along very well, elements of the game are fully implemented with just some polish required and it’s actually becoming a product!

I was able to get a build on my phone, which is one of my favourite moments, to see it actually on device and I was very pleased. Taking all I had learnt from my work on Sea Park and how I feel I have naturally grown; really shows. It has made a much cleaner UI and it just generally feels much more accomplished. Each little icon I have been doing has become a little art piece in its self, it makes me incredibly proud whenever I can see these little things and how they look in the game. It’s those moments that remind you why you are doing this in the first place and why you have made the decision to follow this path!

As the first submission draws ever closer there is no let down on the work that needs doing, as each task generally leads to more tasks it often balloons before it gets completed. I foresee a few late nights as we go forward but it should make for a much better game and something I am genuinely excited to play myself!.

Hopefully I should be back rolling with proper updates after this weekend’s Game Jam, without that on my plate and my recent submission of coursework for Train2Game I have a little extra free time so things won’t slip.

Until next time!

Craig

Train2Game News: Against all the odds brave Oliver soldiers on to bridge the age gap

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Oliver Smith only has one lung, half a heart and is 7 foot 3 but like Master Chief from Halo, against all odds he is out to help the world.

Oliver, 19, has a plan to get young people interacting with the elderly through the medium of video games.

His idea is to get the older generation playing games and using instant messaging services like Skype. This way they can stay in contact and have common interests with their young relatives.

Oliver said “I wanted to do something to help elderly people communicate with young members of their families

“It just seemed a good idea, youngsters spend a lot of time gaming and their grandparents can become isolated because of health reasons and end up in homes. If they know how to use computers and things like Skype it can bring families together.”

He has always found video games have helped him through life. They were always there to cheer him up in some of his darker moments. He is now a student of Train2Game on the QA course and most recently took part in the world record winning Game Jam. He joined the course so he has a chance to be a part of the industry that has helped him.

Unconventional Oliver is not what you would think of when you imagine someone who helps the elderly however. He is what is known as, a Goth.

Talking about his lifestyle he said “I love the statement being a Goth makes and I’m what you’d call ‘steam punk’ – but a lot of people, particularly older folk, are a bit prejudice when they see the way I dress in leather and eyeliner, with my coat held together with safety pins.

“I’ve always been a bit of a rebel and I know my parents were afraid I might go that far off the rails with drink, loud music and late nights that I might never come back.

“I was born with heart and respiratory problems which nearly killed me me when I was younger… I think that made me feel a bit alienated and after all I’m seven feet three inches tall and look different.

“I guess I fitted into the Goth world pretty easily after all that.”

He contacted Exeter council with his idea and they happily helped Oliver by putting his business on there website.

Good luck with everything you do Oliver!

Train2Game students on top of the world

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THEY trained, they gamed and they conquered the world!

More than 295 students stayed awake for 48 hours over the weekend in a bid to create video games from scratch with a pledge from one of the world’s biggest software company, Microsoft, to publish them.

Microsoft has teamed up with the UK’s leading distance-learning college in an attempt to get into the Guinness Book of World Records with the biggest Games Jam held at the University of Bedfordshire in Luton.

Dr Jan Telensky, majority owner of Train2Game, said: “It’s a gruelling 48 hours for the students, most of them stay awake but if they need to sleep they catch a nap at their desks or even under them.

“But the dedication and determination they show at creating brand new and exciting games from nothing is impressive – they work as teams under tremendous pressure often with team-mates they’ve never met before. For a student it is an incredible experience they have and it stands them in good stead for getting jobs in the industry in the future.”

Microsoft came up with the theme for the Games – Pride of London after the success of the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympics in the UK.

The teams had a field-day creating games using cartoons of Boris Johnson, London buses and all sorts of iconic images from the capital.

As the gamers worked through the night local MPs Gavin Shuker and Kelvin Hopkins paid a visit.

Mr Hopkins said: “Going for a world record attempt in Luton, particularly when it is to do with the burgeoning games industry, it will really help to put the area on the map.”

Mr Shuker agreed with him saying that “Train2Game was making a major contribution in the battle to get Britain back to work.”

And work was the name of the game as the students huddled in classrooms and labs at the university to create their games which ultimately could be released as apps world-wide by Microsoft.

Craig Moore, aged 30, from Milton Keynes, a member of team 32, said: “This was a massive learning curve but we hit the floor running. It’s been a fantastic experience.”

Chris Ledger, in his mid-twenties, from Cheltenham, said: “I was getting texts from my family and girlfriend – and my mates – in the middle of the night, it was great to have their support. I’m a wreck now but it was all worth it.”

Microsoft representatives at the ‘jam’ were impressed by the dedication shown by the gamers. Scott Henson, Senior director of Microsoft studios said “These students are going to be the heart beat of the industry in a few years. Events like this are incredibly helpful for young developers to flex their creative muscles.”

Train2Game News: Train2Game student gets big chance

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James Valaitis, a Train2Game student taking part in the Game Jam was rewarded with an apprenticeship at 22Cans following his hard work at The Gadget Show Live earlier this year.

James, 19, lives in Essex and has been a student on the developer course from Train2Game for just over 2 years. He has been involved in every Game Jam that Train2Game have hosted and his hard work is now paying off.

At last years Game Jam he was a part of Team Gandalf which went on to become Digital Mage. The team would go on to be one of the winning teams that year. Winning that Game Jam meant James and his team had 6 months to design and develop a game based on the Fighting Fantasy game books written by Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson. The end goal was to display the games at The Gadget Show Live at the Birmingham NEC to several industry icons. It was here that James met Peter Molyneux, CEO of 22Cans.

James was the presenter for Digital Mage, as well as one of the developers. He would show the game to an audience and a games industry icon. Mr Molyneux was one of these icons. James did an incredible job of presenting to him and Mr Molyneux immediately saw his potential.

James said “Without Train2Game I would of never been in an opportunity where I got to meet so many legends at last years game jam.

“Going to the studio was an experience I’ll never forget and I think the best decision I have ever made is signing up for Train2Game.”

22Cans are soon to release there first product, the social experiment app, Curiosity – What’s in the cube?.

Good Luck to James in everything he does. I have no doubts that he will go very far indeed.

Train2game News: Valve opens up to hardware in boost for games industry

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Valve LogoVALVE is looking for more staff to work on something which could confirm rumours about them moving into computer hardware.

It emerged today that speculation about Valve starting to create hardware appears to be true following adverts for staff on there site. Valve, which makes games such as Half-Life, certainly are no strangers to experimenting with new ventures.

This attitude has led to them creating highly inventive games such as Portal, the versatile Source Engine and the online game platform Steam.

Valve has always been about making things better in the gaming world, whether it’s for gamers or games developers, veteran and student alike. They have always encouraged modding for budding games developers and often employ talented, promising students. Now it seems they want to take it further with creating new hardware for PC, opening up more ideas for games developers.

Valve said: “Open platforms like the PC and Mac are important to us, as they enable us and our partners to have a robust and direct relationship with customers.

“We’re frustrated by the lack of innovation in the computer hardware space though”

“Even basic input, the keyboard and mouse, haven’t really changed in any meaningful way over the years. There’s a real void in the marketplace, and opportunities to create compelling user experiences are being overlooked.”

What is being created still remains to be seen but there are rumours of a “Steam Box” which could be some sort of console. However, from what Valve says about input methods it sounds like they are looking in to peripherals for PCs.

This is one to watch to see how it develops.

Train2Game News for students

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There are many notes on the forum with a number of views as to how to apply for a work placement. The reality is THIS is how the placement scheme is operated.

First you should visit student world and look at the openings available. The information within Student World explains you should apply in writing saying why you think you should be considered for the opening. Your application should include a CV.

More here on the Forum

GOOD LUCK

Train2Game News A Warm Welcome to Mark Kington

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Our very own Mark Kington is joining the Train2Game Online Team replacing Danny as our team blogger.

We would like to thank the amazing number of people that applied for the position. With so many GREAT candidates it was a really tough process, but after being grilled by three of us at the Luton Office. Mark, also a T2G Student, is the victor.

After a period of training, so don’t bug him for now, Mark will take charge of Train2Game News, Facebook and other social media, plus Train2Game Student Radio. Mark will also become an Admin of the T2G Forum and work with the Forum Admin Team.

If you fancy being one of his first victims, I mean guests, on Train2Game Student radio drop a note to suggestionbox@train2game.com giving a little detail about things you would like to talk about.

Again congrats to Mark and WELCOME aboard.

Train2Game Student Diaries Ezekiel Morris Week 11

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Jonny and Ben had a leaving do on Friday so went out with them for a drink.

At work we had a meeting talking about the characters and texture for the characters in our new project, commonly the characters are bill boarded. We also discussed the characters having eyes instead of no eyes which I thought that was the style we were going for so change of plan. So that will be my next task to do sketching up character eyes

Conveniently I’m getting use to using Maya  but I still prefer 3ds Max  but people do say Maya is best  for animation, if it does the job and it works for the game engine  then go for it, particularly it’s straight forward with 3ds Max but it’s still good to learn other programs as well.

The programs I’m learning are Unity and Maya and I’m getting better every time I use them. This week I’ve been animating so there’s hasn’t  be anything different from the last task, since doing this work placement I’ve learned so much,  it’s starts off complicated  for a while and then you get used to the work system, now it’s as easy as pie.

www.train2game.com

 

Train2Game Student Diaries Craig Moore Weeks 37 and 38

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Week 37 – It’s all kicking off now!

This week we really have started on the new title full swing. Art is doing arty things, development is doing developy things and I’m getting to do a little bit of everything; which is lovely and just what I want to be doing.

Most the week I have been assisting Rory in just concreting a load of the design functionality and, particularly, social aspects of the game. We learnt so many things from My Sea Park that going in to this next project we feel much more confident as to what we are doing and it’s making the process much more concise.

I have also had to do some more changes and updates to a pitch document which has gone off to yet another magical destination in the ether! It’s very exciting seeing my documents go off to people, so far the feedback has generally been positive so I must be doing something right.

Other than that the next Game Jam is coming out of the wood work, and teams are being assigned. I got myself in the nice and high Team 32. It’s been a bit of a quiet reception so far and fingers crossed some coders will come out the woodwork as we won’t get very far in Metro without them.

Craig

Week 38 – Properly back in to the fray.

This week has been the first proper return to agile development and scrums for the team. Poor Rory has been neck deep in planning and attempting to foretell his way through a large project which is no simple feat considering everything that has to be taken into account.

In saying that, it is great to have a concrete list of things that need doing for the week and targets to aim for, despite working hard, there is something about a task list that pushes you towards the goal for the week so much stronger than simply having “stuff to do”.

Using new tech we do have a lot of unknowns, which do contribute to the uncertainty of time scales, but as a team we have overcome them successfully. It is Friday afternoon and I am 99% done on my tasks. The general idea is not to ever return to these once they are ticked off, but I think we might just pop our heads in to tweak from time to time as the project goes on, when things don’t quite match up or look slightly wrong. I’m not sure if that’s just because it’s possible to do or because it fits the nature of the project, but I like the ability to go back to things if they simply no-longer work/look good or I feel that there is a better way to do the task.

More next week I guess, it’s about to get a bit crazy in here!

Craig

www.train2game.com

Train2Game Student Diaries James Bouckley EMPLOYED BY UNITY!

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Train2game student James Bouckley has been on the T2G Work Placement scheme and has now found FULL TIME EMPLOYMENT – Well Done James!!!

James picks up the story:

Week 20 w/e 20/7/12

Why leave the good news until the end, I got a full time job at Unity!

This means my diary entries will be coming to a close soon but I’ll keep anyone who reads them updated until the end.  So apart from the amazing news had a fairly good week in terms of work done too.

In the game there was a bug where if all the spawn points for the enemies were on the camera at once then it threw and exception.  I fixed this by, if all of them were on the screen at once, the enemies spawn from the one furthest from the player.

Previously we had a system where power packs needed to be put on a dispensing machine whilst you fought off enemies.  When the energy of the machine was full it would dispense items.  I’ve changed it now so that instead there are waves of enemies and the last one you kill dispenses items.  There was also a fairly major memory leak in the script that made items between you and the camera invisible which I have now fixed and also made it so that multiple things at once can become invisible.

Aside from the game Graham has asked me to write a beginners guide to asset bundles.  I finished the first draft on Friday but I am yet to hear people’s opinions on it.

To sum up: new job! YES!

www.train2game.com