Tag Archives: PC gaming

Train2Game News: UK Top 20 Games – 11.06.13

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Grid 2The UK top 20 charts were released yesterday with only a couple of new additions. People didn’t forget Remember Me coming out and it entered the charts at number three, unable to shift Grid 2 which is number one for a second week. This week also saw the return of a recently lost friend in the charts with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Legendary Edition being released and entering the charts at number four.

All formats

Week ending 8 June 2013

POS.  TITLE  PUBLISHER  LAST
WEEK 
1 – GRID 2 CODEMASTERS 1
2 – FIFA 13 EA SPORTS 2
3 REMEMBER ME CAPCOM –
4 THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM – LEGENDARY BETHESDA SOFTWORKS –
5 FAR CRY 3 UBISOFT 4
6 DEAD ISLAND: RIPTIDE DEEP SILVER 3
7 TOMB RAIDER SQUARE ENIX 10
8 LUIGI’S MANSION 2 NINTENDO 12
9 DONKEY KONG COUNTRY RETURNS NINTENDO 8
10 ASSASSIN’S CREED III XBOX 360 CLASSICS 6
11 INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 18
12 SKYLANDERS GIANTS SKYLANDERS 16
13 LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 9
14 BIOSHOCK INFINITE 2K GAMES 11
15 CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II ACTIVISION –
16 RESIDENT EVIL: REVELATIONS CAPCOM 5
17 METRO LAST LIGHT DEEP SILVER 7
18 LEGO THE LORD OF THE RINGS WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 17
19 LEGO CITY UNDERCOVER: THE CHASE BEGINS NINTENDO 15
20 GRAND THEFT AUTO IV XBOX 360 CLASSICS 19
< previous week
Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2013 UKIE Ltd

These charts cannot be reproduced either in print or online without obtaining permission from Ukie. If you wish to reproduce the charts in print or online, please contact david.smith@ukie.org.uk for the appropriate license.

Train2Game News: Snake acquires an A list voice

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MGS VSnake from Metal Gear Solid has been given an updated face and a new voice. Kiefer Sutherland has taken over the role from series stalwart, David Hayter.

Hayter confirmed his departure from the series in April. Plenty of names have been suggested as potential replacements since then – Hideo Kojima has often stated his admiration of Hugh Jackman, and suggested he could be a candidate for a future Metal Gear Solid movie – it’s Sutherland, though, who’ll pick up the mantel for Phantom Pain.

“We’re taking on some very heavy subjects, such as race and revenge,” said Kojima. “This makes the tone much darker. As a result, I wanted Snake to have a more subdued performance, expressed through subtle facial movements and tone of voice rather than words.”

“The game takes place in 1984, when Snake is 49 years old,” Kojima explains. “Therefore, we needed someone who could convey both the facial and vocal qualities of a man in his late forties. It’s different from anything we’ve done before, so I asked a producer friend of mine in Hollywood, Avi Arad, for advice. He’s the one who introduced me to Kiefer Sutherland, and I was like, ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’”

Sutherland has been busy recording motion capture footage for The Phantom Pain over recent months. In the video (shown below), Kojima explains how the nuances of Sutherland’s delivery are important in conveying the emotion of certain situations – both through vocal cues and facial movements. “I felt that he was the perfect fit in terms of age and performance,” says Kojima.

Apart from Sutherland’s thirty-year-long film career, the actor has made fleeting appearances in the likes of Call of Duty: World at War as well as reprising his role as Bauer in 24: The Videogame. While confessing to not being a gamer, Sutherland recognises the importance of the role. “It’s an honour to be able to play this character,” he says. “This character has an unbelievable legacy but there’s a real personal quality to the character that I’ve connected to.”

If you love David Hayter, you’re probably not going to be happy with anyone else but David Hayter doing the job. Sutherland has some hefty acting chops though – and many of his roles have involved gravelly delivery aplenty. I reckon there’s good chance casual fans might not even notice the difference – although the mo-cap stuff looks about as detailed as we’ve seen and could stand to benefit from the likes of Sutherland filling the capture dots.

Here’s the full pre-E3 Konami show – jump in around 10:30 mark for the Metal Gear Solid content:

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: Minecraft Expo

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MinecraftThe Minecraft Expo is heading to the UK this August and as many of the Train2Game students are Minecraft fans, it may be a good place to get together.

Taking place at the Insomnia 49 event between August 23 and 26, the event offers free to enter Minecraft game tournaments, Minecraft talks and presentations and an exhibition showcasing creations from the community.

There will also be costume competitions, creative build challenges for schools and a Minecraft Lounge.

Special guests currently include Youtube players – Yogscast and Mindcrack, Film makers – Hat Films and Minecraft builders – The NoxCrew.

“Each time we host an Insomnia event, the community amazes us with its passion, making each event bigger and better than the last,” said event organiser Multiplay CEO Craig Fletcher.

“With the runaway success of Minecraft, we’ve answered the call from devoted fans by creating the UK’s first Minecraft Expo, and we can think of no better place to host it, than the UK’s biggest gaming festival.”

The Insomnia event hosts a number of eSports tournaments, and to date organisers say more than 3,000 spaces have been reserved for ‘bring your own PC and Console’ tickets.

There will also be various development talks taking place at the event.

Up to 15,000 visitors are expected to attend, with over two million watching video streaming of the eSports events online.

Insomnia 49 and the Minecraft Expo will take place in Telford and the Telford International Centre, between August 23rd and 26th.

Visit the official website for more information.

Train2Game News: UK Top 20 Games – 03.06.13

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Grid 2Codemasters speed to the top of the Chart for the first time since ‘F1 2010’ back in 2010 thanks to Grid 2.  The sequel goes one better than its predecessor which could only manage number 2 five years ago. Apart from that, the top twenty is very quiet with no new entries this week.

All formats

Week ending 1 June 2013

POS.  TITLE  PUBLISHER  LAST
WEEK 
1 GRID 2 CODEMASTERS –
2 – FIFA 13 EA SPORTS 2
3 DEAD ISLAND: RIPTIDE DEEP SILVER 4
4 FAR CRY 3 UBISOFT 8
5 RESIDENT EVIL: REVELATIONS CAPCOM 1
6 – ASSASSIN’S CREED III XBOX 360 CLASSICS 6
7 METRO LAST LIGHT DEEP SILVER 3
8 DONKEY KONG COUNTRY RETURNS NINTENDO 5
9 LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 12
10 TOMB RAIDER SQUARE ENIX 7
11 BIOSHOCK INFINITE 2K GAMES 18
12 LUIGI’S MANSION 2 NINTENDO 9
13 NEED FOR SPEED MOST WANTED EA GAMES 15
14 CRYSIS 3 EA GAMES –
15 LEGO CITY UNDERCOVER: THE CHASE BEGINS NINTENDO 10
16 SKYLANDERS GIANTS SKYLANDERS 20
17 LEGO THE LORD OF THE RINGS WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE –
18 INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 11
19 GRAND THEFT AUTO IV XBOX 360 CLASSICS –
20 THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM XBOX 360 CLASSICS –
< previous week
Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2013 UKIE Ltd

These charts cannot be reproduced either in print or online without obtaining permission from Ukie. If you wish to reproduce the charts in print or online, please contact david.smith@ukie.org.uk for the appropriate license.

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

Train2Game News: Humble Bundle 8

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Humble Bundle 8The eighth official Humble Bundle has been out for a few days and has some amazing games included.

This latest pay-what-you-want affair for charity comes with Little Inferno, the charming puzzler with a killer soundtrack; the subterranean Metroidvania adventure Capsized; the profoundly beautiful first-person stroll-’em-up Dear Esther; the minimalist narrated platformer Thomas Was Alone; and the colourful multiplayer platformer Awesomenauts.

If you pay above the average, which at the time of writing is $5.45, you also get the highly popular Hotline Miami, which Eurogamer gave a massive 10/10, and the chirpy, abstract exploration game Proteus.

Every title in the bundle is available for PC, Mac, and Linux, which several of these games are debuting on with this bundle.

Proceeds are split between the developers, Child’s Play, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and the bundle organisers. As per the usual routine, you can decide which of your money goes where.

The Bundle has already made $1,295,199.86 (and rising) from 227,826 sales. It reached the $1m milestone after just 18 hours. Currently the customer that has paid the most for the bundle is Markus “Notch” Persson with a purchase price of $5,000.

You can enjoy an amusing video detailing the Humble Bundle 8 below:

To purchase the Humble Bundle 8 you can go to www.humblebundle.com

Train2Game News: UK Top 20 Games – 28.05.13

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Resident Evil RevelationsFollowing the bank holiday the game charts have been released a day later. There is a new number one this week, Resident Evil Revelations have taken the top spot. Other new additions include, Donkey Kong Country Returns which enters at number five and Fast & Furious Showdown which comes in at number fourteen. Following the reveal of Call Of Duty: Ghosts last week, Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 has plummeted from number five down to number nineteen.

All formats

Week ending 25 May 2013

POS.  TITLE  PUBLISHER  LAST
WEEK 
1 RESIDENT EVIL: REVELATIONS CAPCOM –
2 FIFA 13 EA SPORTS 3
3 METRO LAST LIGHT DEEP SILVER 1
4 DEAD ISLAND: RIPTIDE DEEP SILVER 2
5 DONKEY KONG COUNTRY RETURNS NINTENDO –
6 ASSASSIN’S CREED III XBOX 360 CLASSICS 9
7 TOMB RAIDER SQUARE ENIX 6
8 FAR CRY 3 UBISOFT 11
9 LUIGI’S MANSION 2 NINTENDO 12
10 LEGO CITY UNDERCOVER: THE CHASE BEGINS NINTENDO 13
11 INJUSTICE: GODS AMONG US WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 8
12 LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 14
13 POKEMON MYSTERY DUNGEON: INFINITY NINTENDO 4
14 FAST & FURIOUS: SHOWDOWN ACTIVISION –
15 NEED FOR SPEED MOST WANTED EA GAMES –
16 GOD OF WAR: ASCENSION SONY COMPUTER ENT. 15
17 THE WALKING DEAD TELLTALE GAMES 7
18 BIOSHOCK INFINITE 2K GAMES 10
19 CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II ACTIVISION 5
20 SKYLANDERS GIANTS SKYLANDERS 19
< previous week
Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2013 UKIE Ltd

These charts cannot be reproduced either in print or online without obtaining permission from Ukie. If you wish to reproduce the charts in print or online, please contact david.smith@ukie.org.uk for the appropriate license.

Train2Game News: Top 3 Game Engines

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UDKAcross the past week Train2Game held a poll to see which is your favourite game engine. These are the results!

In descending order the Third most popular games engine for Train2Game Students is the CryEngine 3.  It was originally developed by German studio, Crytek, as a technology demo for Nvidia and, when the company saw its potential, it was turned into a game. That first game developed using the engine was the first Far Cry.

The CryEngine 3 Free SDK, originally called Sandbox Editor, is the current version of the level editor used to create levels for the CryEngine line of game engines by Crytek. Tools are also provided within the software to facilitate scripting, animation, and object creation. It has been included with various Crytek games and is used extensively for modding purposes. The editing style is that of the sandbox concept, with the emphasis on large terrains and a free style of mission programming. The editor can also construct indoor settings.

Recently the engine has been used to create games such as Crysis 3, Monster Hunter Online and Ryse which will be released on the Xbox One.

Second in the poll was the Unity engine. Unity (also called Unity3D) is a cross-platform game engine with a built-in IDE developed by Unity Technologies. Unity is primarily used to create mobile and web games, but can also deploy games to consoles or the PC. The game engine was developed in C/C++, and is able to support code written in C#, JavaScript or Boo. It grew from an OS X supported game development tool in 2005 to the multi-platform game engine that it is today.

The Unity Engine is simple to use and as of this month free to publish to mobiles. It is clear why it is popular among Train2Game Students.

The Unity Engine has been used to create popular mobile games such as Bad Piggies, Slender: The Arrival and it was used to port Temple Run 2 to Android devices.

Finally the number one games engine according to Train2Game students is Epic’s Unreal Engine. Although primarily developed for first-person shooters, it has been successfully used in a variety of other genres, including stealth, MMORPGs and other RPGs. With its code written in C++, the Unreal Engine features a high degree of portability and is a tool used by many game developers today. It was first developed in 1998 for Unreal.

The third and current generation of the Unreal Engine (UE3) is designed for DirectX (versions 9-11 for Windows and Xbox 360), as well as systems using OpenGL, including the PlayStation 3, OS X, iOS, Android, Stage 3D for Adobe Flash Player 11, JavaScript/WebGL, PlayStation Vita and Wii U. Its renderer supports many advanced techniques including HDRR, per-pixel lighting, and dynamic shadows. It also builds on the tools available in previous versions.

In October 2011, the engine was ported to support Adobe Flash Player 11 through the Stage 3D hardware-accelerated APIs. Epic has used this version of the engine for their in-house games. Aggressive licensing of this iteration has garnered a great deal of support from many prominent licensees. Epic has announced that Unreal Engine 3 runs on both Windows 8 and Windows RT.

The engine is free to download and has a small charge of $99 to publish from, as long as you don’t make over $50,000 after which Epic will start to take a percentage.

The Unreal engine has been used in countless games including The Batman Arkham Games, BioShock Infinite, The Borderlands games, Dishonored, The Gears of War series and countless others.

It is quite clear why the Unreal Engine is the most popular engine among Train2Game Students.

Train2Game News: Games Industry Jobs – 21.05.13

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Train2Game wants you to work in the industry we all love and with that in mind it is time for another job posting!

DEVELOPER

Job Title Gameplay Programmer
Job Category Programming
Skills Required Programming
Location North West, North West
Job Description My client is a successful studio based in the North West, together with their partner studio they have been responsible for creating some of the most fun and original titles of the last few years.

They are seeking a gameplay programmer to work on a major next-gen project. It will involve a bit of everything on the gameplay front – game mechanics, AI, scripting, UI, effects etc. All based on a long established game engine. The role could possibly include working on the handheld version of the title at a later date.

For this role, the ideal candidate will need:
At least one product’s industry experience, or a stunning demo to show their ability/potential.
Solid knowledge of C/C++ with a strong maths background.
Good all round programming techniques.
It goes without saying that experience in any of the aforementioned gameplay tasks would be a major bonus.

In return the company offer an excellent Salary and Benefits.

More details are available by contacting Lisa Corbett via email: lisa@aswift.com

 

ARTIST

Job Title Artists
Job Category Art / Animation
Skills Required Art / Animation
Location UK & Europe
Job Description Videogame 3D Artists

We’re looking to recruit a number of experienced artists with a wide range of skills at our studio on the South Coast of England to work on high-profile projects.

We offer excellent conditions and a competitive package in a fun working environment.

As an artist at Stainless you will be working with a creative agile team to deliver high quality art assets in collaboration with designers and programmers.

Successful candidates will be passionate about making the best games and making them look damn fine at the same time!

Essential Requirements:
Passion for creating art for games.
Good sense of scale, composition and staging.
Professional attitude and work ethic.
Good written and verbal communication skills.
A desire to learn.
Self-motivated and organised.

We require artists with any or all of the following skills:
3D Environment creation
3D Vehicle creation

The following are desirable but not essential:
Experience working on games as an artist at any level.
Keen eye for detail and art style.
Skills in Adobe Flash / UI Design
Strong traditional art skills.
Understanding of open world/driving games.
Formal qualifications in related fields.
Knowledge of additional software and plugins

You can apply here, http://www.stainlessgames.com/careers/go/

QA

Area: South East
City: Horsham
Company: Creative Assembly

Position Overview
– The Games Tester position is a responsible job; reporting bugs and providing quality feedback for our titles in development.
– These fixed term contracts are for our new Alien IP title currently in development. Several additional positions are also needed for our established Total War team during the same period.
– Test games in development for software bugs
– Enter bugs clearly and accurately into our bug database
– Verify and recreate bugs as required
– Report additional balancing, design and accessibility problems
– Specific support and general roles available

Essential
– A clear understanding of QA process
– A keen enthusiasm for gaming
– Good communication and reporting skills
– Driven and flexible approach

Desirable
– A clear understanding of QA process
– A keen enthusiasm for gaming
– Good communication and reporting skills
– Driven and flexible approach
– Experience of testing one full shipped title
– A good understanding of Strategy games (Total War)
– A good knowledge of current generation consoles (Alien IP)
– Games industry related degree (e.g. audio, art, design, etc.) or expertise in a specific game area is an asset (e.g. audio, technical, PC hardware, design or scripting etc.)
– Fluent in one or more of the following languages: French, German, Italian or Spanish
– Strong technical knowledge/skills (e.g. programming, scripting)

You will need to be available to start between June and October 2012

You can apply here, http://www.creative-assembly.com/jobs/