Rudi Will is studying to become a Game Designer with Train2Game. Train2Game Radio caught up with Rudi to find out why he chose to study with Train2Game, how he’s finding the course and what we wants to achieve in future. Listen to the interview at www.audioboo.fm/train2game or read it below!
As usual, leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.
The Train2Game blog recently spoke to Game Development student Mykolas Mankevicius (Also known as neophen on the Train2Game forum) You can listen to the interview here on Audioboo, or on the Thoughts of Train2Game blog. You can also read the interview via the Scribd document below!
As usual, you can leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum. Alternatively you can let us know your thoughts via the Train2Game Facebook page, or the Train2Game Twitter account.
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.
The Train2Game blog recently spoke to Game Design student Robin Channon, and you can listen to the interview here on the Thoughts of Train2Game blog. If you don’t have access to audio, you can now read the interview instead. Just select the Scribd document below.
Remember, you can leave your thoughts here on the Train2Game blog or on the Train2Game forum. You can also let us know what you think through the Train2Game Twitter and Facebook pages.
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.
In number 6 of the Train2Game blog student interviews, we talk to Train2Game Designer Craig Watkins (AKA Walkers on the Train2Game forum) He tells us why he decided to take a Train2Game course, a bit about his life around the course and what he hopes to achieve this year.
Remember you can read previous student interviews both here on the Train2Game blog and the Thoughts of Train2Game blog.
Train2Game blog: Hi Craig, why did you choose to study with Train2Game?
Train2Game Designer Craig: I’d wanted a job in IT but I wasn’t really sure what I actually wanted to do. I just wanted to be as close to an IT job as I could so when that when I understood what I wanted from a 9-5 job, I was in a good position to go there.
I didn’t know that Games Designer was a job role. I always thought that the Game Developers and programmers would design the game, while script writers wrote stories for the games that they were making. I tried college to get a foothold in university in order to learn a scripting language and be able to make games. However, I couldn’t study at a college as I get bored easily and need my own motivation.
When I first saw an advert for Train2Game I was very sceptical as it seemed a little too good to be true, but I sent off a request form anyway. Nine months passed and I get a phone call from Train2Game. I was shocked as I thought I would get an email asking for a lot of money from the get go, but no they went out of their way to phone me for a chat about me and my experience with gaming.
An advisor came round and gave me a lot of confidence about Train2Game and its structure. I really felt like they wanted to teach me how to become a Games Designer.
Train2Game blog: Which Train2Game course did you decide to take and why?
Train2Game Designer Craig: I chose the Train2Game Games Design course. At first I didn’t 100% know what a Game Designer did but I knew that my skills are more in line with that than the other two options. (Games Developer and Games Artist & Animator)
When I was in school I was obsessed with story driven role-playing games such as Final Fantasy VII. I used to write down my own game ideas, starting with the genre and a few little comments about what I wanted to achieve – I now know these as Design goals thanks to Train2Game – then I used to write small stories, and then try to link them together to make something bigger.
These were gateways to what I was actually good at; writing game rules, game mechanics, designing content and calculations for scenarios to be resolved by checking against other calculated numbers… these are the things that I loved doing. As I went through the Train2Game course I realised that I really been doing these things for a while just without knowing that was I doing so!
Train2Game blog: What were you doing before you started your Train2Game course?
Train2Game Designer Craig: I was – and still am – working full-time at McDonalds. I have worked there for nearly 7 years now and I’m now a manager at a low-medium volume store. I manage around 15-30 staff per shift and around 70 staff overall and am part of a management team that drives up to 1.5million pounds of sales a year.
Now I know some of you are saying that it’s a fancy way of saying that I flip burgers, but that isn’t true. McDonalds is one of those jobs that on the surface seems like its one thing then behind the scenes, behind the smiles and the suggestive selling you see what and how the company really runs on, how they manage to get people to come back to the store, how they make sure that they are the best of their industry.
I’ve learned some things while working at McDonalds that I’m not sure that I would learn in other jobs. It’s full of surprises and no one day is the same with focus and challenges always changing. It’s what kept me there for so long! I get bored quickly and need things to keep me motivated and focused otherwise I drift off.
Train2Game blog: How are you finding balancing the Train2Game course with the rest of your life?
Train2Game Designer Craig: Quite easy to be honest! But that’s all down to the fact that I work 11pm – 7am. I usually get up late afternoon, spend a few hours with the family, put the kids to bed, watch something with the girlfriend, then get a couple of hours of the Train2Game course in before work. Don’t think I would be able to do it if I worked shifts like I did before!
Train2Game blog: What has been your favourite part of your Train2Game course so far?
Train2Game Designer Craig: I would say it’s the feeling that the Train2Game course gives me that my life is heading in a direction I want to go in. So many times in life we feel as if we don’t have a choice about our actions, that we are going along with the flow regardless of how we wanted it to go and it is hard to swim against the tide. This was the first thing that I worked towards that I wanted to do.
Train2Game blog: What do you hope to achieve with Train2Game this year?
Train2Game Designer Craig: December seems so far away but I really want to have my foot dipped into Section 3 of the Train2Game course, and I would like to be in a development team and make a full, successful, enjoyable game if at all possible. I want to be in a close team of people who all want to make fun games as much as me and have the drive and passion to be able to get them to as near a professional level as possible.
Train2Game blog: Thanks Craig.
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 this Train2Game blog post or the Train2Game Game Jam Facebook page. Alternatively, keep an eye on the Train2Game Game Jam Twitter account.
In the fourth of the Train2Game blog student interviews, we talk to Train2Game Artist & Animator Daniel Jackson (AKA MrGrey on the Train2Game forum) He tells us why he decided to take a Train2Game course, a bit about himself and how he feels about the Train2Game forum.
Train2Game blog: Hi Daniel, why did you choose to study with Train2Game?
Train2Game Artist Daniel: I looked around for a while but kept finding courses that asked for over £20,000. I saw an advertisement in the back of a magazine for Train2Game which made me look it up on the internet. I have looked at other distance learning courses before but never found one that didn’t ask for an insane amount of money for the work to be sent to you. After doing the research I decided to contact Train2Game for more information and it went from there.
Train2Game blog: Which Train2Game course did you decide to take and why?
Train2Game Artist Daniel: This has been a bit of a pipe dream for me for many years but never in a million years did I think I would be acting on it. I made my first animation on the trusty Amiga 1200, it had spaceships and buildings and took an entire night and most of the morning to render 30 seconds as it was one of the first type of 3d animations although very basic 3D. I originally started out on the Train2Game Game Designer course, I wanted to be involved in games development in any way I could. However, once the Train2Game Artist & Animation course became available, I immediately switched as this is what I wanted to do from the beginning.
Train2Game blog: What were you doing before you started your Train2Game course?
Train2Game Artist Daniel: Dreaming of either being a games developer or being Steven Spielberg! I was – and I’m still doing – my day job with little spurts of gaming and arty stuff in between. Messing about with computers in any way shape or form was just something I would do with my spare time. It’s taken me nearly 20 years to actually do something that I want to do and not something that I have to do! It’s a big step.
Train2Game blog: How are you finding balancing the Train2Game course with the rest of your life?
Train2Game Artist Daniel: It can be hard sometimes, especially if you’re working a fulltime job and unfortunately my job requires me to bring my work home with me from time to time which is a bit of a pain. I’ve recently freed up some extra time for Train2Game so I have a new focus to get on with the work that matters to me. For me doing the coursework is not a chore it’s a pleasure.
Train2Game blog: What has been your favourite part of the Train2Game course so far?
The highlight for me was when I realised that I’m actually doing something that I have dreamt about most of my life!
The thought that I was actually physically going towards actual involvement in making games was life changing and I can only hope that it continues. Meeting the people that are on the Train2Game forum is another. I’ve been on other forums before but none as close and friendly as the Train2Game forum. It’s a very welcoming place and I have met many interesting people who I enjoy chatting to and enjoy interacting with.
I’m so excited about seeing the Train2Game students develop and gain more experience as they go on, it gives me a little tingle knowing that someday I’ll hopefully be a part of a team that started out as a concept on Train2Game forum I feel so proud to be a part of it.
You can see the previous Train2Game blog interview with Games Artist & Animator here. You can also check out more Train2Game student interviews on the Thoughts of Train2Game blog
There are over 2000 students currently on Train2Game courses, and with so many out there we decided it’d be a great idea to chat to them. Oursecond mini interview is with Train2Game Development student Kevin Wragg (AKA Nova on the Train2Game Forum)
Hi Kevin, Why did you choose to study with Train2Game?
Train2Game student Kevin: The main reason I decided to take up a course withTrain2Game, was due to fact I was unable to do the same course at collage or university because of financial commitments. Train2Game allowed me to study while I was still working and was therefore the only course that ticked all the boxes.
Train2Game blog: Which Train2Game course did you decide to take and why?
Train2Game student Kevin: From a very young age I have always loved video games, but developing them never really struck me as a career path. It was only when I started running an online game for me and some friends, writing NPC scripts, adding new items and interfaces, that that I realised I loved it and wanted to learn more. So it was a little surprise when one day at work during my lunch break, I opened the paper to find an article on the games industry with a link to the Train2Game website. I promptly ripped the article from the paper, the rest as they say, is history!
Train2Game blog: What were you doing before you started your Train2Game course?
Train2Game student Kevin: Before I got interested in game development my life lacked any direction. When I left school I had no idea what I wanted to do, and ended up building boilers in a factory, which I’m still doing to this day. Before Train2Game I was a very ambitious person with no ambitions, now I feel like I have a direction in life.
Train2Game blog: How are you finding balancing the course with the rest of your life?
Train2Game student Kevin: Due to the nature of my job I often find myself tired after work, so most of the work I do for the course is at the weekends. Its one aspect of this course that enables the course to fit around me rather than the other way around. Another bonus is that during holidays I can put more work into it while I have the free time.
Train2Game blog: What has been your favourite part of the course so far?
Train2Game student Kevin: It was great to meet Dave Sharp from Train2Game and the other students at the Newcastle meet, and I find the Train2Game forum a great place to meet like minded people all working towards the same goal. I think the best is yet to come, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed what I have learnt so far and I’m eager to get stuck into the rest of the course.
Kevin is on the Train2Game Game Development course
There are over 2000 students currently on Train2Game courses, and with so many out there we decided it’d be a great idea to chat to them. Our first mini interview is with Train2Game Development student Lauren Black. Subjects she talks about include why she chose Train2Game, what was she doing before and her favourite part of the course so far.
Train2Game Blog: Hi Lauren, why did you choose to study with Train2Game?
Train2Game student Lauren: Since leaving school I’ve had quite a problem with studying in an academic environment. I had tried college, with the ultimate aim of going for a degree three times, and I’ve always felt like the tutors don’t know the subject they’re teaching well enough.
I even had one tutor who didn’t know the difference between Java and JavaScript, and for a web development module that would be quite an imperative titbit. With this being the case, I felt like I wasn’t learning anything, so why continue? I found out about the course when I was moving house – I found one of those little blue leaflets on my new doormat, and I took that as a good omen. A new house and a new direction, it couldn’t hurt to give it a go!
Train2Game Blog: Which Train2Game course did you decide to take and why?
Train2Game student Lauren: I’ve always been a bit of a geeky chick, and because of my history in web development I chose the Game Development course. For a couple of years I’ve wanted to break into the gaming industry so that I could both do something interesting with my skills, and also gain the knowledge and expertise to expand my businesses.
Most of my expertise lies in PHP development and since the course seemed to cover C++ in quite some depth, I figured that it would be beneficial to learn, not only to be applied to games, but to other performance-critical applications relevant to my clients.
Right now I’m having so much fun doing the course, hearing the ‘thunk’ of the book hit the floor in the post has become the highlight of my week!
Train2Game blog: What were you doing before you started your Train2Game course?
Train2Game student Lauren: Before starting the course, I had mostly been working on a freelance basis. I currently own and run an IT business, which deals primarily with web application development.
Prior to hearing about the course, I knew I needed to gain more skills; specifically I needed to learn C++. What most people don’t realise is that games, no matter how trivial they may seem, are a result of very sophisticated pieces of performance optimised software, making thousands of independent calculations every second.
The Train2Game Development course seemed like the perfect compliment to the direction I was already taking, and is allowing me to continue my career.
Train2Game blog: How are you finding balancing the course with the rest of your life?
Train2Game student Lauren: The course itself is very easy to keep on top of, each new chunk of information is provided in bite-size sections. I may be a little more experienced than the average student, but generally it takes me about an hour to read through each section followed by the tutor marked assignment I usually take around lunchtime. It’s the sort of thing that can easily be done in the evenings, or spread over a number of days.
Given my academic history, it’s great because I can take the course at my own speed without feeling patronised by incompetent tutors. Actually, speaking of tutors, twice I’ve called the tutor team to ask fairly complicated questions – and both times I really felt like I was speaking to someone of my own level, who actually knew what they were talking about. Definitely not someone in a call centre reading from a script!
Train2Game blog: What has been your favourite part of the course so far?
Train2Game student Lauren: Currently I’m about half way through Section 2. I’m just in the middle of developing a simple 2D game engine to build a platform game on top of.
Whilst it’s true the code given (at least at this stage) has been simplified, it clearly illustrates each integral part, so as a little side project I’m now able to expand upon the lessons learned by studying the engine provided to create my own cross platform version that will run on Windows, Linux and Apple machines and even iPhones.
Granted, these extras aren’t taught by the course, but it does go to show that the same fundamental lessons can be applied in many different circumstances.
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