Tag Archives: iOS

Train2Game News: Games Industry News – 30.08.13

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unity-logoIt’s the end of the week so it’s time for the games industry news round up.

Unity Technologies unveiled new 2D tools and workflow for the Unity engine and editor to meet increased demand for features designed to address the specific challenges of creating 2D games. Now in beta, the first iteration of the 2D tools, many of which are included in the free version of Unity, will be released with the Unity 4.3 update this fall. The charge to improve workflow begins with the introduction of a dedicated scene view, which includes specialized 2D scene manipulation tools. Scene view can be toggled between the traditional view or set as the default when creating a project. Importing, manipulating, and working with 2D assets are made easier with the addition of a new sprite texture importer type, automated atlasing, and dedicated 2D renderer component. Adding 2D art to a scene is as easy as dragging a sprite from the asset library into the scene where Unity will then automatically create an object. If you are a fan of 2D games and work with Unity you now have no excuses to get a game out there!

Wizards of the Coast announced that the Magic 2014 – Duels of the Planeswalkers Expansion will release on September 18, 2013. Adding depth to the latest installment of the wildly popular Duels of the Planeswalkers franchise, the Magic 2014 Expansion will give players the opportunity to explore new planes, fight new enemies and face new challenges. Just like the full game the expansion will be available on Xbox LIVE Arcade, PC via Steam, PlayStation Network, iPad, and Android via Google Play and the Amazon App Store. The new expansions includes; five new decks, new campaign levels, five new challenges and more persona portraits.

Activision Publishing, Inc., in association with Nickelodeon and developer Red Fly Studio, announced, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows – a new, team-based, third-person action-brawler debuting on the Xbox Live online entertainment network from Microsoft for Xbox 360 as a part of the Xbox Live Summer of Arcade 2013, and on Windows PC via Steam. Starring Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows puts the focus on combat, characters, and co-op. Its swift and tactile fighting system affords players dynamic choices on the battlefield, rewarding successful combo flourishes, expert counterattacks, and brutal takedowns. The Turtles’ full range of personalities are on display throughout this original story in the TMNT universe, bringing humour and attitude to the unfolding narrative and influencing each character’s unique fighting style. The game will be released on September 25.

NEXON Europe had the pleasure to announce that global pop sensation, media personality and all-round gentleman, PSY, is appearing in the enormously successful online free-to-play games MapleStory and Combat Arms. PSY took the world by storm with his hit single Gangnam Style, inspiring everyone from news readers to the UN Secretary General to join in with his unique brand of K-pop humour. Over a billion YouTube views and global chart domination is not enough for the dance phenomenon however; starting this month and following another huge hit single, Gentleman, PSY will be bringing his outrageous personality to NEXON Europe’s most popular titles.

Steve Ballmer is to retire as Microsoft CEO within the next year, the company revealed, adding credence to the rumours of a management reshuffle which accompanied Don Mattrick’s departure earlier this year. Ballmer will oversee the choice of his successor before taking retirement and remain as CEO during that process. The Microsoft board has appointed a special committee chaired by lead independent director John Thompson and including chairman of the Board Bill Gates, chairman of the Audit Committee Chuck Noski and chairman of the Compensation Committee Steve Luczo. Microsoft has said that it will be looking both internally and externally for candidates.

Train2Game News: Years of board game history available with DICE+

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DICE+Game Technologies Brings the Social Back to Digital Gaming with Revolutionary Board Game Controller.

Developed in Poland by Game Technologies, DICE+, the universal board game controller that brings real-world social interaction back to digital gaming, launched at Gamescom 2013. DICE+ can be purchased for £34.99 via http://dicepl.us.

The revolutionary DICE+ controller interacts with Bluetooth-enabled smart devices and combines the physical touch and feel of a game die with the potential for unlimited digital game and toy ideas. DICE+ has the power to make board games appealing to a new generation of players: “Powered board games” will enable you to get together with friends around the same device and experience a wealth of new gaming opportunities that combine the power and visual excitement of tablet gaming with the joy of playing games in a group.

From digital renditions of classic board games to new gaming experiences that leverage the built-in gyroscopic motion control, DICE+ comes with a host of free games to show off its capabilities. Also coming 2013 and early 2014 are a wide range of titles based on popular franchises, including family-friendly fare, top-quality edutainment titles and intense classics that are sure to please even the most hardened board game aficionado. Developers can also unleash their creativity with the DICE+ development kit, dreaming up new ways to utilize this versatile controller for a wide range of games.

You can learn more about Game Technologies and its exceptional new product at http://www.game-technologies.com.

Train2Game News: Games Industry News – 23.08.13

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Batman Arkham OriginsIt’s the end of the week which means it’s time for the industry news round up!

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment unveiled a new trailer for Batman: Arkham Origins titled “Nowhere to Run.” The trailer showcases the indomitable super villains hell-bent on taking down the Bat and gives a first look at Firefly, one of the eight assassins featured in Batman: Arkham Origins, capable of raining fire from above. You can watch the Batman: Arkham Origins – Nowhere to Run – gameplay trailer here: http://youtu.be/gTQQaZm5Mzc

Continuing the superhero game theme, LEGO® Marvel™ Super Heroes are back, this time revealing the brick-building plot of the game, with an all-new new trailerAm! Do you have what it takes to destroy Dr. Doom and his Dr. Doom Doomray of Doom? Check out the awesome trailer (with a huge villain reveal) here: http://youtu.be/Nvpug0_-xAQ

It’s time to step back into the darkness. Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, the follow-up to the genre-defining horror game, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, is now available for pre-order with a 20-percent discount. From the creators of Amnesia: The Dark Descent and Dear Esther comes a new first-person horror game that will drag you to the depths of greed, power and madness. It will bury its snout into your ribs and it will eat your heart. Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs is survival–horror at its most unsettling; helpless and alone, no weapons to soothe your nerves, and the dim light of your lantern to offer any comfort.

Broken Sword: The Serpent’s Curse is the fifth instalment in the adventure game franchise. It was kickstarted to give Revolution Software full control, giving them total freedom over the games look and feel. It is also the first Kickstarter project to be picked up by Sony to put on the Vita. The Serpent’s Curse will also be available on iOS, PC, Mac, Android and Linux and you can see an early trailer for the game, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3jQu1riTcYg

After years of Comic Book Movies, Publishers are really making a play for videogames to muscle in. EA have a Need for Speed movie starring Aaron Paul of Breaking Bad, and Ubsioft already have Michael Fassbender attached to Assassin’s Creed and Splinter Cell with Tom Hardy. Now they’re taking upcoming Watch_Dogs onto the big screen too, forming a partnership with Sony Pictures and New Regency. Video Games have a very hit and miss track record with going to movies and some are only good because they are so bad. With all these games going to Hollywood though, it shows games are being accepted more and more.

Train2Game News: Games Industry news – 15.08.13

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Jason HoltmanIt’s the end of the week which means it is time for the industry news round up!

Jason Holtman, who spearheaded Valve’s Steam business for eight years before leaving the company in February, has a new job at Microsoft with a focus on PC gaming and entertainment strategy. At Valve, Holtman was the primary point of contact for developers that distributed games on Steam – and, to many in the gaming world, was the service’s driving force. While he certainly wasn’t the sole reason for its success, he was its biggest cheerleader and an even bigger proponent of digital distribution. What this means for Microsoft is yet to be seen.

The Call of Duty: Ghosts multiplayer trailer was revealed yesterday and the franchise has finally introduced female characters to play as! You can enjoy the trailer on YouTube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2lJcbeBerQ

Dishonored: The Brigmore Witches, the final add-on pack for Arkane Studios’ critically-acclaimed first-person action game, is now available worldwide via Xbox LIVE (800 Microsoft Points), Steam (£7.99 / €9.99 / AU$14.45) and on PlayStation Store. Additionally, a new gameplay trailer for the add-on was released which you can watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLEfvTkYHeE

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced it has released Zatanna, the latest downloadable content (DLC) character to be added to the DC Comics fighting game Injustice: Gods Among Us. Based on NetherRealm Studios’ interpretation of the famed DC Comics character, Zatanna is available now on Xbox LIVE Marketplace for 400 Microsoft Points and will be available on the PlayStation Network at a price of £3.99 soon. A second generation magician and a master of trickery known for her clever escapes and summons executed by speaking backwards, Zatanna is certainly a force to be reckoned with in the futuristic world of Injustice: Gods Among Us. If my geek memory serves me well I believe her and her father helped teach a young Bruce Wayne that art of escape in one of the Batman story lines.

Finally Little Orbit, a worldwide video game publisher, today announced a partnership with TNT to bring the epic alien-invasion television series Falling Skies to multiple video game consoles. Depicting a world gone mad after an alien invasion, the Falling Skies video games will grab a foothold in the gaming world with a mobile game due out this holiday and multiple consoles launching in 2014. Falling Skies is based on the popular TNT show of the same name and will tie directly into the television series, with a scenario that will weave itself into the existing universe and feature voice work by the show’s actors. This has worked incredibly well for The Walking Dead but time will tell how this one will do!

Train2Game News: Train2Game Radio talks to Richard Hoffman

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Game_Jam_T2GI had the pleasure of talking to Richard Hoffman who has recently released his game, Man Alive on iOS and Android. Richard spoke to me about his career history and where the idea for the game came from.

You can listen to part one here: https://audioboo.fm/boos/1544558-train2game-student-richard-hoffman-talks-to-t2g-radio-part-1

and part two here: https://audioboo.fm/boos/1544556-train2game-student-richard-hoffman-talks-to-t2g-radio-part-2

Or you can read the transcript below:

Hello, my name is Richard Hoffman, I am an indie game developer and I am on theGame Designer course with the Train2Game programme. I have my own indie company and we are doing cool indie games, developing and publishing on different platforms including Apple’s iOS and the Google Play Store.

Hi Richard, how you doing mate?

I’m alright thank, yourself?

I’m good cheers buddy. So tell us a bit about yourself, what’ve you been up too lately?

We have just finalised our game Man Alive which is now out for two platforms, iOS and Android. We also intend to publish it on Windows 8, so that will be out quite soon with a little bit of help with Microsoft’s tech team.

Yeah and how was it working on Man Alive?

It took a long time actually because we are working full time and doing this in our spare time. We started two years ago at the Global Gamejam and we saw it’s a really cool game which emerged after those two days and we just continued working and getting it to the stage it’s at now and we are quite proud of it.

Yeah, I’ve had a bit of a play of it myself on my tablet and it is quite a good different idea. Where did the idea come from?

The idea came from the Global Gamejam that we were in two years ago where we had a theme set and we had to do something around an ancient symbol of a snake that eats its own tail. This round shaped form, I’ve forgotten the name of it.

The Ouroboros.

That’s the one! My Greek or Latin is a bit limited! So with that theme in mind, we just bounced a few ideas off of each other and that’s basically what came out of it. We thought, we like playing Mario Brothers and platform games like Limbo for instance and we saw that every game has the same pattern; it’s all about survival and you have your set lives and that’s it. We were kind of bored with this, I’ve played games for about thirty years now, and it’s always the same pattern so we thought we’d do something different. With this theme we just twisted the whole platform game paradigm on it’s head, so it’s not about surviving but you have to die at least once in each level to get to the next level or the next stage. It’s an encouragement to throw yourself in to a river and jump up over your corpses which is kind of fun because it has a cute quirky graphic style which doesn’t look too serious at all because if I explain it to people sometimes they kind of get a bit anxious about the subject but it is quite funny.

Yeah it is quite good. It’s along the same sort of line is Limbo where it doesn’t look so bad to die, it doesn’t shock you or anything, it’s just something that happens.

Exactly except that in Limbo, the first time I played it my friends didn’t tell me you could die so I had a kind of shock moment, I thought it was forever and my friends were just laughing at me for not knowing that!

So what is the company your working with to create Man Alive?

It’s my own company called Global Empire Soft which I created three years ago and just started creating apps and games during that time.

Yeah, is it all Train2Game people working with you now or have you got a mixture?

I have a mixture actually, I have people I know from other universities plus Train2Game students. We work on different game projects whenever they have time as well.

So do you work in one place or are you a virtual team?

We are a virtual team but we come together occasionally but mostly we do everything over Skype and organise everything over Skype.

So whilst you are doing that in your spare time, what do you do for a living?

I’m an apps and games developer so usually I work on projects whether it be contract or a permanent position. My last contract or my last employer was Penguin Books which is quite a big publisher. We worked on some games and did occasional apps as well.

Excellent. So you’ve had quite a lot of experience already then?

Yeah I’ve had fifteen years working in the IT industry and working on apps and games on all different platforms. So I probably know most programming languages and in the last thirty years I’ve played a lot of games on all platforms, whatever came out at the time, from home computers to consoles and PC’s, now Mac as well.

So what brought you to Train2Game?

I was just curious to know more about game design because I never learnt it from Start to finish. I did a degree in Computer Science and before that I already was a programmer so it seems to be like I jumped in to the river and start swimming and then I am trying to understand where it starts and where it ends and what the whole spectrum of an education is. So because I am very passionate about game design and very creative and have a lot of ideas, I want to learn more about that the proper way and I thought the best way of doing that is with Train2Game.

So have you found Train2Game has helped you along in this then?

Definitely it’s a really good guide and has a good curriculum to starting from the simple mechanics of game design and platforms and game design and everything so I already got a good idea ready about the game design part. I am still in the middle of it but I am still keen to do the exercises at the end and just finish the TMA’s and just get to the next one.

Perfect. So finally then what are you working on next?

Next we are working on a few title, something called AVA which is an archaic flight simulator. So we are quite excited about that as we are all fans of Top Gun in our team and good old flight movies! We want to create something with a similar feel of the whole subject from landing, to starting from the Aircraft carrier and having all kinds of Airplanes and also using 3D instead of 2D. Our last game was quite an interesting and challenging approach.

Excellent, sounds like it’s going to be fun!

Definitely

Well I think that’s all we’ve got time for today Richard so thank you very much for your time!

You’re welcome, Thanks for having me.

My pleasure Richard, talk to you again

Train2Game News: Games Industry News – 09.08.13

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Call of Duty Black Ops IIIt’s the end of the week and time for the industry news round up!

The epic climax of Activision and Treyarch’s Call of Duty: Black Ops II Downloadable Content (DLC) Season Pass culminates with Apocalypse. Available first on the Xbox Live online entertainment network from Microsoft on August 27, the game’s fourth and final DLC Pack delivers four thrilling, diverse multiplayer maps and the all-new wildly creative Zombies experience – “Origins”. In addition one of my favourite bands, Avenged Sevenfold, will be again lending their musical talent to the game with their song, Shepherd of Fire, from their upcoming album Hail to the King, featuring in the opening cinematic.

Marvelous Games, the European division of the Harvest Moon publisher MarvelousAQL, has today unveiled more details on RunBot – the first title to emerge from the recently announced five-game publishing agreement with Touch Racing Nitro developer Bravo Game Studios. Due for release worldwide on iOS on August 22nd, RunBot is a brilliant Parkour/freerunning twist on the endless runner genre, offering phenomenal 3D visuals across a constantly evolving course.

Sources say that Amazon is working on producing its own android based games console, for release later this year possibly around the US thanksgiving season. There’s no real news about what the console will consist of, other than ‘it’s coming’, but given that Amazon has a pretty healthy stock of games and a download service already in place, it could already be one up on the Ouya, whose exclusive developers have been struggling to turn a profit on the system.

The Suikoden Revival Movement has launched the next phase of its campaign entitled ‘Operation Blinking Mirror.’ Between December 10 and December 12, 2013, the Suikoden Revival Movement will be inundating Konami Japan with Suikoden-related paraphernalia such as letters, artwork, cosplay photographs and sculptures. Operation Blinking Mirror – an ode to a teleportation device found throughout the series – has launched its own Facebook page where fans can find out more.

Finally videos have surfaced from Microsoft and Sony unboxing the Xbox One and PlayStation 4. You can view the Xbox One – here and the PlayStation 4 – here.

Train2Game News: Google Play downloads surpass App Store

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Google PlayThe number of downloads on Google Play was ten per cent higher than on iOS during the last quarter, according to research.

Stats from analytics firm App Annie claimed that India, Russia and Brazil were helping drive increased downloads on Android devices.

Despite getting more downloads however, the iOS App Store was generating over twice as much revenue as its Google Play counterpart. Games were said to dominate revenue share for both app stores, representing 75 per cent of revenue on iOS, and 80 per cent on Google Play.

The UK, along with the USA and Japan, were ranked as the top countries by revenue on iOS during Q2 2013. Japan, South Korea and the USA meanwhile drove revenue on Google Play, accounting for 70 per cent of total spend. The UK ranked fifth behind Germany.

This information may help influence a mobile game any Train2Game student studio is currently creating. It also does show that the games industry is still constantly growing and has taken over the mobile market.

Train2Game News: Imp Paired getting good attention

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Imp PairedTrain2Game would like to congratulate Nicholas Lister, a young man who has just released Imp Paired on his own.

Imp Paired is a memory game released for iOS devices. The game is a bold, modern reinterpretation of a classic memory game mechanic. You’ll find yourself trying to match up patterns under packages on a production line overseen by a pair of maniacal imps.

It has a charming art style and catchy music whilst you use the best of your memory to complete the levels.

The game has just been featured in The Sun newspaper with an excellent four out of five score, highly impressive for a young man who created this game on his own.

You can enjoy a play through of the game by Nicholas himself in the video below

This is a perfect example that anyone can create a good game, no matter what there circumstances. Congratulations Nicholas from Train2Game, we look forward to seeing what you create in the future!

Train2Game News: Games Industry News – 02.08.13

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Batman It’s the end of the week so is is time for the Train2Game news round up.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment today confirmed that Batman: Arkham Origins will ship with a mode that allows players to take the franchise’s award-winning gameplay online to play with friends and foes.  The online component blends the traditional Arkham gameplay with third-person shooter mechanics and is in development by Splash Damage. The multiplayer will be available on all platforms except the Wii U. You can enjoy the trailer for it here: http://youtu.be/CFx82wX3NE8

Continuing the hero game theme, Deadpool has had it’s first DLC announced. The “Merc with a map pack” will introduce two new challenge maps; GRT Plaza and Inside the Tower. You will also get two new costumes for Infinite Mode: a D-Pooly and Uncanny X-Force suit. The DLC is available now for 240 Microsoft points. You can also now purchase the game from the On Demand market.

In celebration of the highly anticipated launch of Pokémon X and Pokémon Y for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems, the first of three legendary character distribution events begins August 30 at participating Game stores across the UK. Players can get their hands on Shiny versions of the Legendary Pokémon —Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina—starting with, Dialga, which was featured on the cover of the Pokémon Diamond video game. What makes this event extraordinary is that each of the distributed Legendary Pokémon, which are already difficult to get during gameplay, will be Shiny, meaning they have unusual colouring that is extremely rare. Each Shiny Pokémon will be available, one at a time, for only two weeks each, so Trainers will need to plan accordingly and head to a participating Game store if they want to add these extremely rare Legendary Pokémon to their Pokémon Black, Pokémon White, Pokémon Black 2, or Pokémon White 2 game.

A new character has been announced for the hit mobile game, Temple Run 2. You can now pay for and download Gold medal olympian, Usain Bolt to run from the dangerous in the game. As the first branded character in Temple Run history, Usain Bolt’s worldwide recognition demonstrates the global and cultural reach of the original endless runner game. “I am a big fan of Temple Run. I travel all over the world and travel time gives me lots of opportunity to play Temple Run at airports or on car journeys,” said Usain Bolt. “It’s exciting to see myself represented within a game I already play.”  The Usain Bolt character is available now as an in-app purchase in Temple Run 2 for $0.99, for a limited time only.

Finally in the lead up to the realease of The Elder Scrolls Online, Bethesda have announced The Elder Scrolls Anthology for PC.  The game arrives on retail shelves in Europe on September 13, 2013 for £49.99/€59.99, The Elder Scrolls Anthology features all five critically-acclaimed games, plus official add-ons – packaged together in an exclusive premium collector’s set.

 

Train2Game News: Games Industry News – 25.07.13

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FEAR OnlineIt’s the end of the week so it is time for the industry news round up!

Face your fear together with friends in F.E.A.R. Online! Aeria Games, a leading global publisher of free-to-play online games, announced today the upcoming brand-new installment in the popular horror FPS series. Developed by Korean company Inplay Interactive and being brought to the United States by Aeria Games, the new chapter in the F.E.A.R. saga will deliver hardcore multiplayer shooting action while furthering the dark and ominous story surrounding Alma Wade.

Electronic Arts Inc. announced that EA SPORTs FIFA 14 is allowing fans to bring their FIFA 14 Ultimate Team experiences with them to the new generation of consoles this year. Fans will be able to access their FIFA 14 Ultimate Team full roster, in-game items and in-game currency (coins) from either console: between Xbox 360 and Xbox One, and between PlayStation3 and PlayStation4. All changes made in FIFA 14 Ultimate Team will be reflected in both consoles so fans will be able to compete with their squads on either console throughout the season.

Fully revealed is The Sims 3 Into the Future Expansion Pack, the latest title from The Sims Studio shipping this Fall. It’s a brave new world for the Sims as they go where they have never gone before – into the future and back. In The Sims 3 Into the Future, Sims can transport themselves hundreds of years forward where they can explore the world of tomorrow, meet their descendants, master the technology of the future, like hoverboards, jetpacks and food synthesizers and more. Have your fun, but be prepared for the consequences. Your Sims actions in the present will have surprising effects on the future.

Get behind the wheel of the most powerful stock cars in the world as leading independent racing game developer Eutechnyx today announced that NASCAR The Game: 2013 has fully launched on Windows PC. NASCAR The Game: 2013 allows players and diehard NASCAR fans everywhere, to take to the track and race against the world’s most elite competition.The game features the top drivers, teams, and Gen 6 cars from the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series.

Finally, Ubisoft announced that the legendary saga Prince of Persia continues with the new mobile episode Prince of Persia The Shadow and the Flame, available now on iPad, iPhone and iPod touch as well as on Android devices, through Google Play and Amazon, at a price of £1.99. Developed by Ubisoft Pune, Prince of Persia The Shadow and the Flame follows the storyline of the original game, released 20 years ago. It is set after the events of Prince of Persia Classic, successful mobile title also developed by Ubisoft Pune. The game’s experience can still be extended through social connectivity, allowing to unlock achievements and ascend the leaderboards or to share scores with Facebook integration.