Tag Archives: iOS

Train2Game News The Princess Bride game

Posted on by

image

Gameblend Studios today announced the launch of  The Princess Bride – The Official Game for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. Prepare to play!

Based on William Goldman’s romantic fantasy-comedy, famously brought to life in Rob Reiner’s 1987 film, The Princess Bride – The Official Game takes players into this classic story to experience its best and boldest moments firsthand. There are four games to play within the adventure:

    Survive the Shrieking Eels!
    Scale the Cliffs of Insanity!
    Cross swords and duel with Inigo!
    Wrestle against a Giant!

Each mode features its own unique leaderboard, challenges and rewards, including genuine images and audio clips to unlock from the film. The game is designed with Retina-display art crafted to pop vividly on iPhone 6 and iPad devices.  Future free updates will test the players’ wits and have them running through the dreaded Fire Swamp.

Mars Williams from English rock band The Psychedelic Furs composed the music for the game.

The Princess Bride – The Official Game is available for $3.99 on the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch

Train2Game News Telltale Game of Thrones Trailer

Posted on by

Game of ThronesTelltale Games has announced the first Look at the Six-Part Episodic Game Series Based on the Emmy Award-Winning Television Series, Game of Thrones.

Based on the award-winning HBO television drama series,  Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series tells the story of House Forrester. Caught up in the events of The War of the Five Kings, they are placed in a precarious position where members of the household must do everything they can to prevent the house from meeting its doom.

Today we can announce that some cast members of the series will reprise their roles in the game. While players will control five members of House Forrester in their story, the series will have them interacting with fan favorite characters throughout the season, including Tyrion Lannister performed by Peter Dinklage, Cersei Lannister performed by Lena Heady, Margaery Tyrell performed by Natalie Dormer, and Ramsay Snow performed by Iwan Rheon. Additional cast members will appear in later episodes.

The game series is based on the world, characters and events seen in HBO’s TV show, which in turn is based on George R. R. Martin’s books (A Song of Ice and Fire). The events in the game series begin towards the end of Season Three of the series, and end right before the beginning of Season Five. Players will visit familiar locations such as King’s Landing and The Wall, as well as unfamiliar locations such as Ironrath, the home of House Forrester.

House Forrester is a noble house from the Wolfswood in the north of Westeros. Bannermen to House Glover, they have always offered unswerving loyalty to the ruling great house of the North – the Starks. The Forresters are seated at Ironrath, an imposing stronghold surrounded by towering ironwood trees. Built over fifteen hundred years ago by Cedric Forrester and his triplet sons, Ironrath is a testament to the strength and endurance of Ironwood. The Forrester house words are ‘Iron from Ice’, which echoes their belief that – like the ironwood itself – the adverse conditions and unforgiving landscape of the North only makes them stronger.

The game will be played from five different points of view. Each is a member of House Forrester; either a direct family member, or a person in service to the House. Scattered across Westeros and Essos, each will play their part in seeking to save House Forrester from destruction.

Playing as five characters not only reflects the epic scope of Game of Thrones, but is also something that the player needs to be mindful of. This is because the actions of one character can ripple out to affect the rest of House Forrester. Multiply the actions of one character by five, and you’re truly playing the Game of Thrones… where you win, or you die.

Additional details on the series and its upcoming premiere episode, ‘Iron From Ice’ are forthcoming. Stay tuned to the Telltale Games Blog, twitter, and Facebook pages for more information as the premiere approaches, the first of six episodes, which will be arriving for download soon on PC/Mac, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and iOS, with additional platforms to be announced.

You can view the trailer by following the link below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Q1vt9BX4Eg&feature=youtu.be

Train2Game News App store no longer using word free

Posted on by

AppsApple has removed the term ‘Free’ from the app download button on its App Store as it aims to comply with recent EU rules.

Previously free-to-play games had used the term ‘Free’ instead of a price like their premium counterparts. This has now been changed to the word ‘Get’.

Though no official statement has been made, the move is likely part of Apple’s plans to make it clearer that free-to-play games include in-app purchases following criticism from the European Commission in July that labelling games as free could be misleading.

Google has already made a number of changes to its service to ensure its app store is compliant with EU rules. Apps are displayed as offering in-app purchases while the download button is listed as ‘install’, rather than ‘free’.

Train2Game News Clan of the Cloud

Posted on by

image

Clan Of The Cloud has today unveiled its new ‘platform agnostic’ CloudBuilder framework for any developer to incorporate social elements into their app, game or any program they are working on, whether for corporate content to social gaming.

The company is already partnered with and speaking to many indie game developers, medium sized studios and healthcare companies including Pastagames, The Game Bakers, Astraware & Advanced Mobile Applications.

The launch of this new version for the framework sees these libraries come out of Beta and phased into general release and can be accessed here:

https://account.clanofthecloud.com

Clan of Cloud is truly disrupting the social experience – with only one line of code you can add many features such as:

    Social Features – Chat, Twitter & Facebook sharing, Leaderboards, Challenges, Push Notifications, Offer Rewards/Gifts and more.

    Monetisation – IAP, Set your own virtual currency, view sales/ROI, Virtual items on the fly, Rewards & promotions all in real-time.

There’s also a full CRM system, which gives developers complete data collection & control per user in real-time including data export/bulk push notifications.

Whether you’re working on Mobile (Android, iPhone, BB, Windows Phone), web (HTML5) or desktop to third- party middleware including STEAM, Unity3D, Marmalade, all these features are available and cross pollinated seamlessly with all of these platforms.

The features the cloud-based framework offers would usually take developers a minimum of four months to create via dedicated programmers – Clan of the Cloud are already there.

The latest version of the framework is online from today via http://cloudbuilder.clanofthecloud.mobi/

Train2Game News Commando Kiwi Update

Posted on by

Commando KiwiTrain2Game Student Studio, Commando Kiwi, the winners of the 2012 Make Something Unreal Live competition are back and under new management!

Train2Game Student Adam Sherratt is now the head of Commando Kiwi and they have been working hard since we last heard from them.

After deciding that the project they had started following the Make Something Unreal Live contest was slightly more ambitious than they first anticipated they made the executive decision to start a new IP using the framework they had already created for there winning game at MSUL.

However, with life getting in the way, a few of the original Commando Kiwi members left on to new ventures which left the team struggling until Adam came up with a plan to revitalise the studio. Several of the team volunteered to be mentors at the recent Train2Game Game Jam which put them in excellent position to scout for new team members.

The studio was back up to eight members and ready to get to work on their next game.

When asked about the studios new project Adam said “The game is a 3rd person action adventure RPG style game with cinematic combat sequences that play very similarly to battles in final fantasy 7, 8 and 10. Our aim is to bring a console quality gaming experience to mobile. By using the unreal engine 3 we will be able to offer incredible visuals, a strong sound track and a great story to produce a truly immersive game world on mobile. Initially the game would be released on iOS for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch but if things go well we will port it over to Android too. If you follow Commando Kiwi on Facebook you will see we have just started to leak information and concept art and we have a new company logo.”

Now the next stage for Commando Kiwi is they will be displaying their game at Appsworld and Platform Expo this year to spread the word and receive feedback from the public to make the game as best as it can be. So if you are attending either event go and say hello and give them your support!

The studio is intending to start a Kickstarter campaign in the future as currently everything they are doing is having to come out of their own pockets and they want this game to be the best that it can be.

You can follow Commando Kiwi on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/comkiwi

Train2Game News Big Huge Games returns

Posted on by

DomiNationsBig Huge Games is back from the dead, once again under the helm of its original co-founder Brian Reynolds and on course to publish its first mobile game next year.

In its first life, Big Huge Games faced a series of troubles. The PC developer was acquired by THQ back in 2008 but the publisher decided to sell the studio just over a year later when it first began experiencing financial difficulties.

Big Huge Games was saved by Kingdoms of Amalur dev 38 Studios. Sadly the latter also went bankrupt last year, with its assets – and Big Huge Games – being sold in an auction last November.

It was in that auction that Reynolds purchased the rights to the Big Huge Games name, now revealing that his previously announced studio SecretNewCo is a revival of the fallen developer, according to GameSpot.

Headed up by Reynolds and his fellow Big Huge Games co-founder Tim Train, the new studio will focus on mobile games starting with strategy title DomiNations, due on 2015 for iPhone, iPad and Android. The game marks a return for Big Huge to the strategy genre and will be released through a partnership with Nexon.

“I have had a history of going where I perceive the biggest market to be,” Reynolds told Gamespot. “I certainly perceive mobile, free-to-play as being the biggest market; the opportunity to reach the largest number of players. And so, that’s exciting to me.

“It’s the same reason I went to Facebook games – boy, were a lot of people playing Facebook games. And then even more started playing. It was certainly interesting when I was at Zynga – it really opened my eyes to ‘Wow, how many different kinds of players play games than used to play them when I started in 1991’. I never would have dreamed both the kinds of players and the numbers of players that are out there.”

You can check out the launch trailer for Dominations below:

This story just goes to show there may be set backs but you are never down and out!

Source: Develop

Train2Game News Google Play Games adds multiplayer

Posted on by

Google Play GamesGoogle has rolled out an update to its Google Play Games development toolkit that allows for local multiplayer matchmaking. Prior to that, the service supported only online multiplayer.

The toolkit, which offers a raft of services to devs, and to players functions as a game network similar to Xbox Live or Apple’s Game Center, can be implemented in iOS, PC, and Android titles. More info is available at Google’s developer portal, here.

Google Play Games’ Greg Hartrell said earlier this year about the company’s aspirations for the service and tools.

“Our game services are there, and our game network is there, to bring together this concentrated network of people who love playing games — to make it easier for someone who is a game creator to reach that highly valuable audience,”

The Google Play Games service is designed to help developers create mobile games for both Android and iOS devices, as well as browser games.

You can find out more information at Google’s developer page.

Train2Game News Avenged Sevenfold game out now

Posted on by

Avenged SevenfoldMulti-platinum hard rock superstars Avenged Sevenfold are pleased to announce their action adventure role-playing game, Hail to the King: Deathbat, is available now on the App Store and Google Play.

“After over 2 years in development, we are proud to present you with Hail to the King: Deathbat,” noted Avenged Sevenfold lead singer M. Shadows, a lifelong gamer who oversaw production and design. “After watching all of the members of this band play mobile games on tour over the years we decided to create one of our own. A game for our fans who love games as well. We decided to create this adventure with a nod to our favorite games growing up. No hand holding here, no fluff, just a hard, bad ass game that lets you discover the story of the Deathbat. How many of you out there can beat this game? Only time will tell. We are excited to share this story with you now.”

As you battle through seven beautiful hellish landscapes inspired by the band’s iconic discography and artwork, you’ll interact with other characters to uncover more of the game’s deep and engaging mythos. Hail to the King: Deathbat features classic Avenged Sevenfold tracks along with a new and original score, composed by the band in the immortal tradition of 8-bit masterpieces like Castlevania.

Hail to the King: Deathbat’s epic story follows the Deathbat, the resurrected King of the Underworld, who must reclaim the lands of Haides from the despotic Dark Andronikos. The game is massive in the totality of its scope, with hours of robust gameplay. But it is not for the faint of heart – players will need to traverse sprawling environments, combat skillful undead, and best unforgiving bosses, combining brutal melee attacks with powerful projectile magic to survive.

Hail to the King: Deathbat is available now for $4.99 on the App Store and Google Play.

Train2Game News Mobile Chatter

Posted on by

image

Fresvii, the one-stop platform service for smartphone game developers, today announced Open Beta for APPSTEROID, a Mobile Game Cloud Platform.

APPSTEROID features Chatter, the first in game mobile voice chat, providing mobile developers a feature never before available for mobile games. Chatter allows players on iOS and Android devices to talk with each other while playing a game together, and developers can integrate the voice chat feature seamlessly using Fresvii’s APPSTEROID platform.

“We are excited to introduce the ability for in game chat for mobile gaming. No other platform provides the breadth of community features. APPSTEROID encourages player loyalty which helps mobile developers acquire and retain players,” said Hiro Nakagawa, CEO of Fresvii.

Fresvii also announced that the company has raised $1.8 million funding led by Nissay Capital Co., Ltd. a VC firm based in Japan and other angel investors.

The APPSTEROID Open Beta introduces new features in addition to Chatter:

In-Game Texting: Developers can easily integrate in-game texting into their mobile games.  Players can text to friends while playing their mobile game.

Leaderboards: Quickly integrate Leaderboards that display across both iOS and Android devices. Developers can change the Leaderboards user interface to match their games’ aesthetics.

Matchmaking: APPSTEROID will automatically find opponents across both iOS and Android devices. Developers can setup and define filtering conditions to create the ideal matchmaking systems for their games. The initial release supports turn-based games with up to 16 players.

APPSTEROID services range from community management, game forums, social network integration, and push notifications.  Developers can integrate these features easily via the SDKs, which are specifically designed for developers to add components as needed. The APPSTEROID SDK is cross-platform and supports Unity, Android, and iOS.

Fresvii already has game developers creating games using the APPSTEROID platform:

“APPSTEROID’s suite of game community tools lets me bypass the costly process of building social network infrastructure and focus on great game play instead,” said Chris Pruett, CEO of Robot Invader, a game development studio based in the Silicon Valley.

“Developers can easily wrap other APPSTEROID community features around Chatter such as forums, group and friend management,” said Sherman Luong, Chief Strategist at GameCo, a game development studio based in Newport Beach, CA.

Fresvii also provides a robust platform for 3D avatar automation called Frenbee that allows developers to create avatars easily with Unity.

The Open Beta Release is free and now available for mobile game developers to download at  http://www.fresvii.com.

Train2Game News Ms PAC-MAN Pink Ribbon Campaign

Posted on by

image

BANDAI NAMCO Games America Inc. has joined forces with the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NBCF) in the fight against the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women with the launch today of its Ms. PAC-MAN Pink Ribbon Campaign.

Headlined by BANDAI NAMCO’s iconic Ms. PAC-MAN mascot and anchored with new gameplay incentives across the video game publisher’s range of mobile titles, this new effort will raise funds for NBCF to help women now and inspire hope to those affected by breast cancer through early detection, education and support services.

“Awareness and early diagnosis are critical in the fight against breast cancer,” said James Kucera, head of Mobile at BANDAI NAMCO Games America Inc. “We are proud to lend our voice to the fight with Ms. PAC-MAN and BANDAI NAMCO’s Pink Ribbon Campaign.”

“While video games often bring amusement and joy to our lives, this is a chance to bring hope as well.” Senior Producer Ben Acevedo said. “Breast cancer has directly affected my immediate family and it’s a fantastic opportunity for gamers and the industry to get involved. While the mazes we are offering in October are fun, the real challenge is to raise awareness and get players, producers, artists, programmers across the mobile industry to join us and Join the Pac.”

“We are very excited about our new partnership with Bandai Namco and the Ms. PAC-MAN Pink Ribbon Campaign,” says NBCF Founder & CEO, Janelle Hail. “By encouraging their gamers to Join the Pac, we can reach more women than ever with our message of hope. The funds they raise will allow us to provide early detection services for women in need.”

The heart of the Ms. PAC-MAN Pink Ribbon Campaign is an exclusive new maze for sale across a multitude of Ms. PAC-MAN and PAC-MAN iOS and Android titles for $0.99 through October. All proceeds from purchases of this new level will go directly to support the National Breast Cancer Foundation. The in-game user interface and artwork for these products will change to a new pink ribbon theme for October alongside this new content. In addition, players can share their scores via Facebook and Twitter, inviting friends to meet the challenge with a donation and high score of their own.

The full list of titles the new Ms. PAC-MAN Pink Ribbon Campaign content can be downloaded on includes:

iOS

    PAC-MAN/Ms. PAC-MAN
    PAC-MAN Lite/Ms. PAC-MAN Lite
    Ms. PAC-MAN for iPad/Ms.PAC-MAN for iPad Lite

Android

    Ms. PAC-MAN
    PAC-MAN + Tournaments

Ms. PAC-MAN and PAC-MAN are two of gaming’s most historic characters, the stars of a long series of high score-fueled retro arcade experiences. Players navigate either character through labyrinths of tight corridors, dodging dangerous ghosts while gobbling up points, fruits, power-ups and extra lives.

The Ms. PAC-MAN Pink Ribbon Campaign will run from now until October 31.