Tag Archives: iPhone

Minecraft heading to iPhone & iPad

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Some Train2Game forum users can’t seem to get enough of Minecraft, but they’ll be ale to get an even bigger fix by playing it on the iPhone and iPad later this year.

The port is being developed by Aron Neiminen, a new recruit to the Mojang team, and will be available some time later this year. Markus ‘Notch’ Persson – who Train2Game students have the chance to question– said the iOS Minecraft won’t get all of the updates the original version receives but will be given those that “make sense” for the touchscreen devices.

Minecraft has proven to be extremely popular, passing 1 million sales despite still being in beta. The game is something Train2Game students can look to when it comes to what a small development can achieve.

Train2Game blog readers can find out more about the history of Minecraft on the Thoughts of Train2Game blog.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on Minecraft coming to iOS systems? Is it something you welcome? Will it work? Will you lose your entire life to Minecraft?

As usual, you can leave your thoughts here on the Train2Game blog or on the Train2Game forum. You can also Tweet us on the Train2Game Twitter account.

[Source: Gamasutra]

Train2Game, in association with DR Studios and the University of Bedfordshire, will be holding a Game Jam at the end of March. For more information, see the official Train2Game Game Jam website or the Train2Game Game Jam Facebook page. Alternatively, keep an eye on the Train2Game Game Jam Twitter account.

iPhone game Angry Birds merchandise heading to High Street

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Angry Birds Train2Game blog image

In recent weeks the Train2Game blog has been reporting on the rise of social media and casual games, and all evidence does point to the genre becoming more and more successful in future.

When it comes to the realm of Facebook, Cityville is currently the most popular standalone game with over 100 million users playing in the less than two months since it was released. However, when it comes to casual games for mobile phones Angry Birds is King.

Angry Birds is the most popular game on the iPhone, with over 50 million downloads and is an almost permanent fixture in the top paid software chart in the Apple App store. Now this success looks like it could lead to even more revenue for developers Rovio, with Angry Birds merchandise now seemingly set to invade the High Street. It’s something that Train2Game students may dream of seeing happen with their own games!

Speaking to MCV, Rovio spokesperson Ville Heijari said:

“We have licensing agents in North America and Europe going through various opportunities. We want to address fans of all ages with fun and inspiring Angry Birds merchandise – solid products that will contribute to building a strong brand.”

“The full console games will be available later in 2011. We’re looking at digital distribution as our main channel at the moment, but have not ruled out boxed games.”

Yes, you read that correctly Train2Game blog reader, later this year it may be entirely possible to walk into a High Street retailer and buy a game that first appeared on the iPhone.

Cuddly toys and mobile phone covers are already available, while Rovio say stationary, board games and clothing are also on the way.

Game PR boss Neil Ashurst says Angry Birds “will become like Harry Potter in terms of the enthusiasm around it.”

There is certainly a lot of enthusiasm around the casual mobile game, with the New York Post reporting that a TV series could be on the way! Would any Train2Game students like to see games they create made into a broadcast series?

Whatever happens with Angry Birds in future, it’s already clear that mobile gaming could be a very lucrative market for a Train2Game student development team.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the ever rising success of Angry Birds? Have you played it? Is it worth the hype? And would you like to see games you develop end up with merchandise including pencil cases and board games!?

As usual, you can leave your thoughts here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

[Souce: MCV Online]

iOS owners download an average of 60 apps per device

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Train2Game blog App Store Image

Apple device owners have downloaded an average total of 60 apps each according to analyst group Asymco.

The news is sure to please any Train2Game students who are thinking of developing game applications for likes of the iPad and iPhone in the future, with over 30 million apps being downloaded everyday.

The study by Aysmco was conducted through measuring iOSdevice sales against actual Apple App store data.

And with re-downloads not being taken into account, it’s likely that the there are in fact more iPhone and iPad app sales everyday.

Many ‘casual’ games on Apple devices will also make extra revenue through in-App sales. Both these in-app sales, and the downloading of games themselves, means research group eMarketer predict that social media gaming will be worth more than $1 billion in revenue by the end of this year.

The prediction is made even more likely given that another report suggests that one in five consumers now play social games.

It’s also likely that the number of apps being downloaded as the market for iPhone’s and iPad’s gets larger, will only increase.  Last month the Train2Game blog spoke with industry consultant Nicholas Lovell , who discussed the concept of in-game purchases as part of the interview.

30 million apps downloaded a day, and Ios users owning 60 each on average, what are your thoughts on this Train2Game? Do you own an iPhone or an iPad, how often do you download apps and games?

As usual, you can leave your thoughts here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

[Source: Develop Online]

‘Stagnating’ handheld consoles losing market to smartphones

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Angry Birds Android Train2Game blog

Yet more evidence has emerged that shows Train2Game designers, developers and artists would do well to work on mobile games in the future.

A report from market research firm Interpret shows that consumers playing games on their phone has increased dramatically, while gamers appear to be abandoning their DS and PSP devices.

“The proliferation of highly multifunctional smartphones and messaging phones is a very real threat to the dominance by the DS and PSP of the handheld gaming market,” said Interpret research and analysis manager Courtney Johnson

The report, which is based on a survey of 9000 people, says that 43.8% of the phone, Nintendo DS and DS PSP gaming market plays games on phones—a significant 53.2% increase over the past year—while the proportion of those who play on the DS or PSP has fallen by 13%. In fact 27% of people who own both a smart phone and a PSP or Nintendo DS, say that they don’t even use their handheld console anymore, preferring to play games on their smartphones.

The ever increasing library of mobile games for both iPhone and Android means that there’s more and more choice when it comes to choosing a game to play on the go. It also means that there’s a chance that Train2Game students could help develop a mobile game that could eventually fall into the hands of millions of people.

Evidence of this can be seen in a post on the Train2Game blog last month which shows that over three million people have downloaded Cut the Rope from the iPhone App store since it was released at the beginning of October. Of course, the increase in mobile gaming isn’t just limited to the iPhone, with plenty being available for Google’s Android phones.

Google recently revealed Android 2.3 which they say will take mobile gaming to the next level. Interested Train2Game students – especially game developers who’d like to produce games for the OS nicknamed gingerbread – can find out more about Android 2.3 in this post on the Train2Game blog, which comes complete with video.

Gaming giants Nintendo and Sony will be hoping new developments with their handhelds can help them fend off the increasing popularity of mobile gaming.  The Nintendo 3DS is set for release early next year, with a large number of exclusive games being developed in 3D as you can see in this Train2Game blog post from earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Sony will be hoping to attract consumers to the PSP with Square Enix bringing four exclusive games to the handheld console next year. Of course, if you’ve read the Thoughts of Train2Game blog recently, you’ll know that there are increasing rumours of a PlayStation phone which could encourage PlayStation fans to ditch their iPhones.

Any Train2Game students interested in the full report can see it here.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the increasing number of people playing games on their smartphones? Is it really that big a threat to the PSP and the Nintendo DS? What systems do you use for handheld games?

As usual, you can leave your thoughts here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Android 2.3 ‘optimised for game development’

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Android 2.3

Google has revealed how its latest smartphone operating system, Android 2.3 , has been optimised for game development. It’s therefore something that many Train2Game students – who will be looking to develop mobile games in future – will be interested in.

The new Android OS, nicknamed Gingerbread, has been produced with “optimised tools and performance for game development.” Explaining the new features Android Technical Lead David Turner said:

“In Android 2.3 we’re taking gaming to the next level. Game developers always want the best performance so we’ve given them what they’ve asked for in Android 2.3”

New features that Train2Game game developers will be interested in include Concurrent Garbage Collection, which minimises application pauses, smoothes animations and provides increased responsiveness.

Turner also said that the new OS has received tweaked input processing which lowers CPU processing and therefore allows game developers to produce higher performing games for smartphones running the OS.

Google has also “broadened the native APIs exposed by the platform, meaning developers now have direct access to audio, input and sensor events, assets and the OpenGL ES API” according to the Technical Lead in the video.

Android 2.3 will launch with the Samsung Galaxy S in 2011 and it’s rumoured to be the operating system of the rumoured PlayStation Phone.  (If you check out the Thoughts of Train2Game blog, you can see videos that show the PlayStation phone in action.

Train2Game students can see the new features of Android 2.3, and how it could benefit game development, in the video below.


Train2Game students will no doubt be extremely aware of how important games on smartphones are becoming and how developing a great one can provide massive success for even a small team of game developers. Last month we reported on the Train2Game blog that game Cut the Rope has been downloaded from the App store over three million times, which has most likely brought developers Zeptolab a healthy little income.

Meanwhile earlier today, it was revealed that iPhone game Game Dev Story has been named one of the biggest gaming surprises of 2010. You can join in the discussion about your top surprise games of the year on the Train2Game forum.

If any Train2Game blog readers want more of an indication of how important the mobile gaming market is becoming to game developers, check out the Train2Game interview with games industry consultant Nicholas Lovell.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the new Android operating system? Could it tempt you away from an iPhone? And do you see yourself using the skills you’ve developed with Train2Game to make games for the Google smartphone OS?

As usual, you can leave your thoughts here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood named biggest gaming surprised of 2010. What’s yours Train2Game?

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Assassin's Creed Brotherhood

Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood has topped a poll of 20,000 gamers by IGN UK to be named the ‘biggest gaming surprise’ of 2010.

Train2Game students who’ve read the previous Train2Game blog coverage of Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood – a game that reached Number 2 in the UK Charts – may not see as a surprise hit but it’s what IGN readers voted for out of the choices available.

UK Editor–in-Chief of IGN, Alex Simmons, explained the process:

“After the IGN UK team picked their ten biggest surprises of 2010, our readers wanted to have their say, and voted in their thousands.  With so many games, formats and ways to play, it’s increasingly easy to miss some potentially classic titles, eclipsed by hyped games with massive marketing budgets.

“Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood has taken both IGN’s experts and our readers by surprise.  We all shared a concern about its rapid development period, but it’s expertly honed and refined, with a fantastic multiplayer option.  This is an exceptionally crafted package, which deserves to feature highly on 2010 Christmas lists.”

So rest assured Train2Game students, people haven’t voted for Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood as a surprise in itself, but more about the impressively short time in which the game was developed following Assassin’s Creed 2.

Other titles that made the list of biggest gaming surprises of 2010 include Vanquish and Joe Danger – which was released digitally by independent developers Hello Games. An iPhone game that every Train2Game student should really play was also named as one the biggest surprises of the year, with Game Dev Story making the top ten.

Of course, Train2Game students are already aware of how important iPhone games can be, and developing and publishing a game on Apple’s platform was discussed in the Train2Game interview with games industry consultant Nicholas Lovell.

So that’s IGN’s biggest surprises of the year, but how about yours? What games do Train2Game students believe are the best surprise games of the year? Which game impressed you when you really had no idea that it would?

Train2Game forum users are also voting in their own poll to decide the best games of 2010. You can find out how to get involved here.

You can leave your thoughts here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Could Train2Game students develop games for an Apple console in future?

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Apple Train2Game

Train2Game students are very aware that Apple’s iPhone is one of the best platforms to start in the games industry. The App store provides a portal for small independent developers to distribute games to a very wide audience, and some like Cut The Rope go on to be very, very successful indeed.

(Games Industry consultant Nicholas Lovell recently told Train2Game about how indie games developers can distribute their games)

There was a time where nobody would have expected a mobile phone produced by Apple to become such a force in the world of mobile gaming, so what else could the company try their hand at? Well, according to EA Senior Vice President Patrick Soderlund Apple could develop a games console and challenge Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s PlayStation.

CVG asked Soderlund if Apple were to move from mobile gaming into mainstream gaming, if they could challenge the established giants. The EA Vice President replied:

If it was anyone but Apple, I’d say that’s going to be very hard,”

“I still think it’s going to be extremely hard for them but they’ve surprised many people before.

“Look at what they did with the iPhone, right? They are a truly brilliant company so I would give them a relatively good chance to succeed if they tried.”

In October, there were rumours that Apple were going to purchase one of the giant games companies, while Nintendo boss Reggie Fils-Aime is on the record saying that Apple are the biggest threat to Nintendo.

Naturally, if Apple did decide to produce a games console of their own in the future, it could eventually provide another platform for Train2Game students to develop games for.

So Train2Game, do you think Apple will attempt a move into mainstream gaming in future? If so, do you agree with the VP of EA that they could actually succeed?

As usual, you can leave your thoughts here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Cut the Rope sales reach 3 million

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Cut the Rope

Indie iPhone game ‘Cut the Rope’ has sold more than three million units through the Apple App Store since being released at the beginning of October.

The relatively simple game costs just 59p and blends physics orientated gameplay as players’ feed dangling candy to a little green creature called Om Nom. The cute graphics, the simple but addictive gameplay and its low price have all helped Cut the Rope achieve the very impressive three million sales world wide in a short space of time.

Developers Zeptolab have used the landmark sales number to announce that Cut the Rope will soon be getting a free update:

“We thank all of the amazing fans who have shared the joyful fun Cut the Rope offers with friends and family to make it a phenomenal success,” said Efim Voinov, CTO of ZeptoLab.

“The 1.1 update is just the beginning; we hope to release an additional update just in time for the holidays and bring even more action-packed, Om Nom excitement to your fingertips!”

You can check out the Cut the Rope 1.1 update teaser trailer below.

Cut the Rope is a brilliant example of how a simple game developed for a smart phone, can go a long way and bring success to a small indie developer. iPhone games like Cut the Rope and Angry Birds are getting more and more popular, and have even recently been recognised as part of BAFTA.

The low price of games such as Cut the Rope also plays a part in the success, but you don’t need to be a mathematician to realise that 59p multiplied by three million means a lot of money!

Developing a game for an iPhone – or indeed any other smartphone – could provide a group of Train2Game students with a great start in the games industry. Indeed, during last months Train2Game webinar, veteran video games developer Jon Hare pointed out that a small team could build a simple game from scratch in as little as four months, and that simple games like Angry Birds sell very well. Dave Sharp added that successful iPhone games – such as Cut the Rope – can be quite basic, are very well produced, which adds to appeal.

If you’ve yet to try out Cut the Rope, you can buy it for just 59p at the iPhone App Store.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the success of Cut the Rope? Have you played it? If so why do you think it has been so successful? And do you think that developing a simple iPhone game could provide you with your first big break in the video games development industry?

You can leave your thoughts about Cut the Rope, iPhone games and breaking into the games industry here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

iPhone 4G out today

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With the much anticipated iPhone 4G having been released today, we’ve had the seemingly usual scene of hundreds of Apple fans queuing up in order to get their hands on a shiny new product as soon as possible.

Seeing as the iPhone 4G is at the forefront of technological minds right now,  it makes sense to point Train2Game students in the direction of a previous blog: The iPhone 4G could provide a Train2Game student with their big break.

You can read it, I’m not going anywhere…

On the Train2Game forum, students reacted very positively to the iPhone 4G blog and many Games Developers, Games Designers and Games Artist and Animators do see it as a way into the industry.

So then, which one of you is going to produce the first one then?

The future of gaming, according to Stan Lee

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Video games are not only one of the greatest forms of entertainment, but will in future, become a key part of a single system – That’s the opinion of Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee.

Speaking to a BBC reporter at Activision’s impressive E3 event, the veteran comics publisher spoke very positively of video games.

“I love games, I’m no good at them myself, but I love to watch people play them and I love to watch people play the games.

And I think it’s one of the greatest methods of entertainment, and I think it’s only at the beginning now, it’s burgeoning, growing.

….There was a survey and it said the average age of game players now is mid 20s to mid 30s, it’s no longer just a kids thing and it’s a wonderful form of entertainment.

Because you’re seeing the story, but you’re participating in the story and what can be better than that?”

Stan Lee is certainly right about the growth of the games industry. It’s amazing to think how far it’s come in such a relatively short space of time – just compare how Super Mario Galaxy 2 on the Nintendo Wii looks compared to the first ever Super Mario Bros, released on the NES just over 20 years ago!

And with new innovations in recent years like motion controllers – including PlayStation Move and Microsoft’s Kinect –  and 3D gaming, in addition to ever  more photo-realistic graphics, who knows where the games industry will be in another 20 years time! The big name Games Designers, Games Developers, and Games Artist and Animators of the future – who could very well be current Train2Game students – could be revealing absolutely mind blowing new innovations at E3 2030! (In case you’ve somehow managed to miss the key events from the current E3 2010, you can catch up with developments here)

When asked about the future of video games by BBC reporter Daniel Emery, Stan Lee only sees great things:

“I think they’ll get better and better. I think the whole of entertainment is coming together, sort of homogenising.

You’re going to have comic books, you’re going to have cartoons, movies, television, video games and music.

They’re all becoming one thing and you’ll be able to watch it on your little telephone screen when you’re travelling, then everybody’s going to want the biggest TV set, bigger than his neighbour.

It’s incredible. Everybody wants the biggest TV set and the smallest little thing to watch it on, but everything will be on one screen eventually, including video games and everything else.”

If Stan Lee’s predictions do come to pass, it’s entirely possible that Train2Game course graduates could be designing games that will be accessible to anyone through a single multi-purpose entertainment system.  Are the first steps towards this already happening? Possibly, with OnLive going live tomorrow (Thursday 17th June) we could be seeing the future of gaming, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Of course, smart phones such as the iPhone already provide people with multiple forms of entertainment – including games – in one place, and as we’ve discussed previously on the Train2Game blog, the iPhone could give a Train2Game student their big break.

The video games industry has a very bright future, and as a Train2Game graduate, you could very well be a part of it. Do you think you could end up developing games for a home entertainment hub? As usual let us know here on this blog, or on the Train2Game Forum.