Tag Archives: mobile gaming

Train2Game News: Unity supports Xbox One and Windows 8

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unity-logoMicrosoft has entered a partnership with the makers of the Unity game engine that will add tools and support for Windows 8, Windows Phone 8 and Xbox One.

The deal, unveiled at Microsoft’s Build Conference in San Francisco, brings yet another set of tools to reach Microsoft’s new platforms and will see the two companies collaborating to make Windows 8 and Xbox One even more approachable for Unity developers.

Xbox 360 and Xbox One developers who have their games published by Microsoft Studios will be given free access to Unity tools.

“Our vision is to democratize game development and provide opportunity for all developers, from individuals to massive teams,” said Unity CEO David Helgason.

“Our collaboration will help further these goals by empowering our community to create games across Microsoft’s powerful platforms. Their vision to provide the best outlet for games to be enjoyed parallels our own vision to build the best platform for games to be developed and we’re excited to work with them to shape the future of the industry.”

Unity’s support for the Xbox One includes many next-generation features like Kinect gestures and recognition, multiplayer matchmaking, SmartGlass, and the console’s cloud features.

The Windows 8 support includes a Windows Store Add-on that will be available for free to Unity Pro 4 licensees once it’s launched this summer. The add-on will support both Windows Store apps and Windows Phone 8 apps.

“Unity has established itself not only as an incredible development toolset and engine, but as a significant force for creative freedom and innovation in the games development community,” said Microsoft’s Steven Guggenheimer.

“With Unity’s commitment to support Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, Xbox One and Xbox 360, Microsoft’s gaming ecosystem will benefit from the wealth of ideas and imagination flowing from the Unity games development community.”

This should be great news for Train2Game students who enjoy creating with the Unity engine. It opens bigger, wider markets to get your work out in to the world.

Train2Game News: Games Industry News- 05.07.13

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Xbox360 DashboardIt’s Friday so it is time for the end of the week games industry news round up!

Microsoft has begun inviting Xbox Live members worldwide to participate in the public beta for its 2013 Xbox Live Update for Xbox 360. The update will include improvements to overall performance and the ability to conduct transactions with local currency, as Microsoft Points will be retired later this year. To join, interested 360 owners should look for the Xbox Beta Program tile on the home hub of the Xbox Dashboard and once the places are filled the beta will be closed to the public. You will be required to sign an NDA for security reasons.

In celebration of summer, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announces that all its mobile games in the App Store are priced at £0.69 this week including Man of Steel, LEGO Harry Potter Years 5-7, Batman Arkham City Lockdown, Scribblenauts Remix, LEGO Batman DC Superheroes, Midway Arcade and Bastion. Man of Steel, Batman: Arkham City Lockdown and Scribblenauts Remix are also available on Google Play at the same low price.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced the Mortal Kombat Komplete Edition is available for PC from Steam and other digital download portals. Originally developed by NetherRealm Studios, led by Mortal Kombat co-creator and creative director Ed Boon it has been adapted for PC by High Voltage Software. If you have always wanted to try your hand in Mortal Kombat, now is the time.

2K unveiled the WWE 2K14 cover art featuring WWE Superstar Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. The official reveal, which took place during an episode of Monday Night Raw, showcased cover artwork designed in partnership with “The People’s Champion.” The cover art reflects The Rock’s physicality and signature in-ring pose. To further celebrate, 2K recently launched a consumer contest for the opportunity to create alternate cover artwork to be included with WWE 2K14 retail copies. “I am exceptionally grateful to be chosen for the cover of WWE 2K14 and serve as the first cover Superstar under 2K’s leadership,” said The Rock.

Square Enix has released a new Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII trailer dubbed “The Divine Task”. The latest video reveals more about the game’s story, including the appearance of supporting character Hope. Lightning Returns was revealed at the Final Fantasy 25th anniversary event in 2012 and is billed as the last entry in the “Lightning saga”. The Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII’s release date has been confirmed as February 11, 2014 in North America and February 14 Europe on Xbox 360 and PS3. You can enjoy the trailer, here.

Train2Game News: The average gamer revealed

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gamerVideogames social network Pixwoo unveils results of nationwide poll to discover the “average gamer”.

The average gamer is married, aged 35 and earns £23k a year, the study revealed yesterday.

Researchers found that while the stereotypical gamer is a student with plenty of time on their hands, it is actually settled, working Brits who are most likely to unwind playing videogames and female gamers spend just as much time indulging in their videogame hobby as their male counterparts.

They will spend around two and a half hours a day – five days a week – in front of their console and stay up until 10.58pm playing computer games. It also emerged that gamers own two different consoles, 18 games and take around a month to complete one game.

A spokesman for gamers’ social media network Pixwoo.com, which commissioned the research, said “The image most people have of a gamer is usually a young boy, holed up for hours in end in their bedroom, only stopping the game for food, drink and toilet breaks. But these results show that the stereotype couldn’t be more wrong.

“Not only are women just as likely to be gamers as men, but we are talking about fully grown adults who work, have a family and are in a relationship.”

The study, of 2,000 Brits who consider themselves a ‘gamer’, found that they will spend a total of 12 hours and 32 minutes playing on some kind on console each week but researchers also found that the hobby isn’t always good news for relationships, with the average gamer rowing with their partner twice a week over their pastime. More than one in twenty of those in relationships say it is a constant source of their rows while 15 per cent have broken up with someone because of it.

More than three quarters even admitted they don’t think they will ever grow out of their love for computer games.

While the games are usually switched off by 11pm, gamers have stayed up as late as 1.12am engrossed in their contests. They will also spend around four hours queuing for a new game at a midnight store opening once a year.

The study also found that the average video game fan has five online friends in the gaming community, with 29 per cent saying they have met at least one of those face-to-face and while a third say they are most like to play games with ‘real-life’ friends in the same room, almost a quarter tend to play with friends remotely. Almost one in five usually play with ‘online friends’ they have got to know through the gaming community.

Just under half also discuss their games and search for hints and cheats on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

It also emerged that the Wii is the most popular console to own, followed by a PlayStation 3 and an Xbox 360 and 44 per cent will definitely be treating themselves to either a PlayStation 4, Xbox One or a new PC within the next 12 months.

A spokesman for Pixwoo.com added: “This snapshot into the lives of ordinary gamers disputes many myths about the pastime, showing how integrated gaming is into our daily routine. Pixwoo.com is launching am iPhone and Android app for gamers to share their passion among friends old and new, offering a place to talk about games without being bothered by aspects of other social networks, like pictures of what people are having for dinner.”

Train2Game News: Heavy Metal comic book game

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Eternal DescentLondon-based PLA Studios, have created a mobile game which sees Heavy Metal music and comics join together.

Eternal Descent: Heavy Metal Heroes is the brainchild of British guitarist and comic creator Llexi Leon. Llexi is the guitarist of the band Eternal Descent that the game and comics are based on.

Eternal Descent: Heavy Metal Heroes is an action-packed 3D scrolling endless brawler. Carve a path through hordes of daemonic minions and fight your way to Hell – all to a killer soundtrack. Set in a fantasy universe where lost souls lurk in every shadow and darkness veils sinister designs, heavy metal could be the key to salvation… or the gateway to destruction!

In addition to a cast of original characters, the game will feature appearances and original performances from Joe Satriani, Arch Enemy, Wayne Static, Periphery, Andrew W.K., and many more rock/metal music acts appearing through regular updates. Numerous real-world instrument brands such as ESP, Jackson and Dean Guitars have endorsed Eternal Descent: Heavy Metal Heroes, allowing the game to accurately portray cameo musicians with their signature instruments for real shred guitar action.

Eternal Descent: Heavy Metal Heroes will be available in July on iTunes for £1.99, with a series of updates and expansions planned throughout the year. Android, PC and home console versions of Eternal Descent: Heavy Metal Heroes are planned throughout 2014.

Llexi Leon is not the first person to go from music to comic book writing. Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance has written a couple of comics and Corey Taylor from Slipknot and Stone Sour has also started his own series.

Llexi is the first musician to have his comic developed in to a game however and I am incredibly interested to see how this game turns out.

To find out more about the game, band or comic, visit http://www.eternaldescent.com/

Train2Game News: Games Industry News – 21.06.13

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PS4It’s Friday which, of course, means it is time for the games industry news round up.

Mark Cerny, the lead system architect on Sony’s PlayStation 4 console, will deliver the conference keynote at Develop in Brighton, which takes place at the city’s Hilton Metropole from 9-11 July 2013. Cerny’s keynote, Changing the Game: Developing into the Next Generation, will see the industry legend take delegates through the journey he has been on to bring the console to reality, looking at the lessons learnt from previous console generations, the future vision for PS4 and how embracing the Indie community will have a key role in fulfilling that vision. To find out more about the event, go to http://www.developconference.com/

Gamers competing via the Xbox Tournaments with Virgin Gaming app on Xbox 360, now have a new way to win cash and show off their gaming skills. With the new update, available today, players can now enter buy-in tournaments and head-to-head challenges using their own money. Since launching nearly two months ago, Virgin Gaming has awarded Xbox 360 gamers nearly $100,000 in cash prizes, while also allowing players to seamlessly browse, enter, challenge, play in and track tournaments for their favourite games directly from Xbox Live. Gamers that are not already using the app can register for an account at http://virgingaming.com/xbox and download the app from Xbox Live.

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment announced LEGO Legends of Chima: Laval’s Journey will be available for the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation Vita handheld systems in Europe on 21st June. A Nintendo DS version will follow this Autumn, as will a free-to-play online world, LEGO Legends of Chima Online. The new games all complement a line of branded products and TV content based on the LEGO Legends of Chima action packed world ruled by eight animal tribes that tells the classic story of good and evil, friendship and family.

Magic The Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalkers 2014 will be releasing on Xbox LIVE Arcade, PC/Steam, PlayStation Network, iPad, and for the first time on Android tablets next week. As with previous years Wizards of the Coast are rolling out the release of the game over two days across the myriad of platforms. The game will be released on June 25 for iTunes, Google Play and Amazon App Store. The following day will see the release on PC, Xbox Live and PSN. Associate Community Manager Sean Gibbons gives the community a first look at the new Sealed Campaign and deck editor in the upcoming Magic 2014: Duels of the Planeswalkers, which you can enjoy here, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEQVZf8qxYo

Finally, some good news for those of you who are looking forward to the new Thief game. You won’t have to buy a next generation console for the game. Eidios Montreal has confirmed that the game will also be coming to Xbox360 and PS3. No word yet on a WiiU release. Senior Producer Stephane Roy acknowledges that the developers “have to be smart” in transferring the demands of the software to consoles at the end of their life cycle – suggesting that the breadth of the world may be scaled down to accommodate present-day hardware.

Train2Game News: Something Money Can’t Buy

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NicolaHi guys, I’m Nicola, the winner of the Rapid2D competition that you can see on the front page of the Train2game site.

Nicolas chequeThis article is partially to share a world of thanks to the people at Train2game that helped me and continue to support me to reach my dream, partially for all the people that write on the forum asking questions like “is this real or is it a scam?” , “should I start this course?” and “will I gain success?”…

Nicola Modern JagoBut, above all, this article is for you, students that, like me, are inside Train2Game to follow your dreams.

On June 18, thanks to Eric Wiltsher and Harry Cole, I spent a wonderful, amazing, unforgettable day meeting famous people inside the game industry.

Andrew Webber (Microsoft), Nicola, Andy Payne

Andrew Webber (Microsoft), Nicola, Andy Payne

I had a tour in the Microsoft Lift London Studios (Soho, London) and I saw a real team working on a game. I shook the hands of people like Andrew Webber, Ian Livingstone, Andy Payne, Lee Schuneman, and I received more than 6 hours of mentoring about how to become someone inside the games industry. Precious information that certainly will help me.

Nicola and Philip Oliver

Nicola and Philip Oliver

When, 8 months ago, I started the course never, if someone said “Nicola, prepare yourself because the next year you will meet the life president of Eidos” I wouldn’t have believed it and never would have I felt so close to changing my life for the better.

Ian Livingstone

Ian Livingstone

So, for all of you that sometimes feel bad and think that nothing will change, keep focused on your dreams, take ALL the opportunities that Train2Game gives you and you’ll find that surely you’ll be rewarded.

Great Future, my friends.

Nicola Valcasara

Train2Game News: Games Industry News – 07.06.13

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Son of NorIt’s Friday so it is time for a Train2Game industry news round up!

stillalive studios celebrated after its Kickstarter campaign, to raise $150k to fund the completion of its debut 3rd person action adventure PC/Mac/Linux title; Son of Nor, was a success, making $151,175 at its close. The team are now putting all efforts into the completion of the highly anticipated game and have announced its launch onto Steam Greenlight and call for support and people’s votes on the platform. The link to this can be found here: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=143053545. During the month long crowd-funding project the studio announced a number of exciting partnerships that will allow players to use integrated hardware such as the Emotiv EPOC; a revolutionary personal interface for human computer interaction, a so called Brain Computer Interface (BCI); the partnership will allow players to control character actions, such as telekinesis, terraforming and magic with the power of their minds and Oculus Rift; that will allow players to immerse themselves in the lore and adventure of Son of Nor deeper than ever before by using this hugely exciting virtual reality device in game.

SpongeBob SquarePants fans can build their very own Bikini Bottom with Nickelodeon’s brand-new city building app, SpongeBob Moves In. Released and available worldwide, SpongeBob Moves In features a stylized 2D design and gives fans a whole new way to interact with the hit animated series. The game is available on iOS and costs £1.49. In the game, players build Bikini Bottom to their own tastes and are tasked with keeping the city’s residents happy by making all their wishes come true. As players advance in the game, they can unlock exclusive-to-the-app, untold stories about how their characters, including SpongeBob, Patrick, Mr. Krabs, Plankton, Squidward and Sandy, first arrived in the town. Written by the SpongeBob SquarePants series writing staff, these stories are told through brand-new animated short videos unlocked throughout the game.

Diablo 3 is coming to the Xbox 360 as well as PlayStation, Blizzard has announced. The action role-playing game launches on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on 3rd September 2013. The game is already announced for PlayStation 4, although that version is without a release date. There is currently new word of an Xbox One edition. If you pre-order the PS3 or Xbox 360 version and you’ll get the Infernal Helm in-game item. You can wear this at level one and gain an experience bonus to boot.

Telltale games have been using their twitter account to tease and excite fans. They have been using the Vine app to show little six second clips showing characters that are drawn in the same art style as The Walking Dead game. It started with the Day 2 trailer, which is interesting as the first episode of Season 1 was Day 1. It shows a missing persons board and someone hanging up a picture of a character called Vince. Vine 2 is titled Day 220, and it’s the same missing persons board with Bonnie being added to it. Bonnie apparently stood outside the White House once. Vine 3 shows a man named Russell, who, by the looks of it, seems to be a recent graduate.

Finally, Masahiro Sakurai took to Twitter to confirm the news today of the brand new Smash Bros. He said (via Google translation): “In Nintendo Direct delivery of 23:00, June 11, New video of “Smash Bros.” will be unveiled for the first time. Simultaneous world, here for the first time! Do not miss.” You can watch it from 3pm UK time. Sakurai is serving as producer on the new Smash Bros. game, which is a Wii U/3DS crossover in development at Namco Bandai.

Train2Game News: Deus Ex: The Fall coming to iOS

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Deus Ex The FallFollowing the news of a Halo mobile game that Train2Game announced yesterday, comes the news that a Deus Ex game is hitting the mobile market.

The internet was teased with a Deus Ex announcement yesterday and when it was announced as Deus Ex: The Fall, a mobile title, fans were not pleased, referring to the game as Deus Ex: The Fail.

Fans were anticipating a ‘normal’ sequel for consoles/pc, and this can certainly be read as trying to appeal to a different market altogether than the ‘hardcore’ Deus Ex fans.

Executive producer David Anfossi and Jean-Francois Dugan go in to more detail on the game in the video below, describing and demonstrating the game.

In my own opinion the game looks interesting with some good ideas and nice graphics. It is a shame it is only on iOS devices but I am getting used to games heading straight their instead of Android as well.

With this and the new Halo game on mobile, it may start a new trend of developing big AAA spin off’s as mobile titles.

Train2Game News: Halo: Spartan Assault coming to mobile

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Halo Spartan AssaultA new Halo game is being added to the franchise, this time for the mobile market. The game will be released in July.

Halo: Spartan Assault is a top-down shooter built for mobiles and tablets, with the iconic sights and sounds you would expect from a Halo title.

Spartan Assault however is only available for Windows Phone 8 and tablets such as the Surface. Dan Ayoub, the executive producer for publishing at 343, explains that the purpose here is to drive interest in these Microsoft platforms, which is pretty honest and straightforward of him.

Whether or not it’ll make you buy one of those cool Nokia phones, Spartan Assault is nevertheless a high quality experience when it rolls under your thumbs. Though it plays like it was born in the 16-bit era of top-down shooters, the presentation is excellent.

Ayoub said that his team’s main goal was to, as he puts it, “un-tether Halo”.

“We had to let it be something that you can take with you wherever you go. But we also had to make the right Halo game, we couldn’t just copy and paste the experience onto mobiles and tablets.

“We also wanted to change the dialogue about what’s possible on mobiles. A lot of people have preconceptions about what a mobile game is. They think it’s not going to look great and it’s not going to sound great. We wanted to crush those perceptions.”

The biggest achievement is the controls. Those familiar with using virtual analogues on touch-screens will notice how, due to the lack of resistance, thumbs will naturally glide away from the analogues. Spartan Assault, however, features virtual sticks that follow your thumbs, meaning that control remains on the tip of your fingers.

It’s not perfect but it’s as close as any mobile developer has come.

Other elements are more traditional. Set within a narrative that bridges the gap between Halo 3 and 4, in Spartan Assault players will command an UNSC Infinity Spartan who is limited to two weapons, an assortment of grenades and a trusty melee attack. Enemies come in waves and shields need to be recharged before the next burst of action.

Other parts are entirely new. There will be microtransactions for certain upgrades and new weapons. The game saves to the cloud, meaning you can start on mobile and continue on tablet or desktop.

The game’s 25 levels will take about several hours to get though, and certain milestones will unlock Achievements on Halo 4. This being a mobile game, post-release content is already planned, with weekly challenges in place and content add-ons penciled in.

Series custodian 343 Industries has partnered with Netherlands studio Vanguard Games to build this, which in itself is interesting as that studio was co-founded by Martin de Ronde – the man who helped establish Killzone outfit Guerrilla.

“We are a team of console developers learning a new space, so we had to unlearn things really quickly,” says Ayoub.

While it’s been a challenge for those console developers to un-think their approach to a project, what they have brought to the mobile games space is encouraging. This is an attractive, light-weight version of Halo for both commuters and hardcore fans of the series.

You can enjoy the trailer for the game below

Train2Game News: Games Industry News – 31.05.13

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Son of NorIt’s the end of the week so it is time for the Games Industry news round up!

Son Of Nor developers stillalive studios have today released a brand new video detailing how final gameplay will look and function. stillalive studios are also thrilled to announce support for the Oculus Rift device! Gamers will be able to immerse themselves in the lore and adventure of Son of Nor deeper than ever before by using this hugely exciting virtual reality device in game. You can enjoy the final video, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wR3HrvRzSc

Video Games: The Movie has passed its Kickstarter goal – with nineteen days still to run. With an impressive pitch and reams of interviews with industry luminaries already recorded, the project has passed its goal easily – with over six hundred generous backers contributing over $71,000 at the time of publishing. The funding requested originally was set to be put towards post-production costs, including editing, the film’s musical score, and costs of purchasing licensed archived video footage. With the sixty thousand dollar question answered emphatically, Mediajuice has announced stretch goals for the movie: should it reach $80k, the film will include “celebrity voiceover narration”; $100k will allow the producers to purchase rights to “popular songs”; $120k will allow a musical score by “a famous band and/or composer” to feature in the film. You can enjoy the Kickstarter promo here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fTfYyIR9yMI&feature=player_embedded

After failing to find a publisher for Whore of the Orient the team behind LA Noire have found a new studio, Intuitive Game Studios, in Australia, and hopes to stem the tide of talent exodus heading to Canada or the like. Design lead Alex Carlyle and storyboard artist Kelly Baigent are the founders but no word on what game they’ll be working on, but it will be a new IP. The kind of tech in LA Noire, and Whore of the Orient was going to take advantage of, is now well out of their reach, but it’ll be interesting to see what the guys behind it can think up.

Critically acclaimed puzzle platformer, Limbo, is being release on PS Vita next week. Playdead CEO and co-founder Dino Patti said in a post on the PS Blog: “As we approach the third anniversary of Limbo, the game is finally ready for handheld devices.” The puzzle platformer was released on Xbox Live Arcade in July 2010, and remained an exclusive on the system until it released for PS3 a year later. Playdead said in 2012 that it doesn’t expect its next game to see the light of day for “at least two years”.

Finally the tiniest teaser to set the gaming universe a buzz, at an exclusive press conference in San Francisco, Razer will unveil the bold new vision designed to transform the gaming experience, forever. You can enjoy the teaser trailer for this new vision, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lbqwf7SrK7Q