Tag Archives: UK Games Industry

Train2Game News: Insomnia coming to Coventry

Posted on by

InsomniaOne of the UK’s biggest gaming festival will be staged in Coventry for the first time in 2014, when the Insomnia gaming festivals takes place at Coventry’s Ricoh Arena.

The Insomnia series attracts tens of thousands of gamers from across the UK to compete in the UK’s most competitive eSports tournaments and see the best games first, while millions watch events unfold online on Twitch.TV.

The first Insomnia festival at the Ricoh Arena takes place over Easter Bank Holiday weekend, Friday, April 18 to Monday, April 21 2014.

Insomnia will take over the Ricoh Arena to give visitors the chance to sample new games, watch live product demonstrations, buy the latest products and merchandise or watch the eSports tournaments unfold.

Offering the same unrivalled atmosphere as previous Insomnia events, visitors will be able to camp in their thousands across the weekend, bringing their own PCs and consoles with camping facilities and security on-hand.

Craig Fletcher, chief executive officer of Multiplay, said: “At Multiplay, we’re always looking to grow our business, and choosing a location that gives the Insomnia festivals strategic growth opportunities is of paramount importance to us, as well as our loyal community that attend our events.

He continued, “We’ve worked closely with the passionate staff at the Ricoh Arena and Coventry City Council to deliver a new home for Insomnia. “We are also delighted to be able to welcome back the Easter weekend dates which we haven’t been able to secure since Insomnia 42. “It’s incredibly exciting to be able to hold an Easter weekend extravaganza full of new content and awesome activities.

“We’re really pleased with the commitment and drive shown in bringing the UK’s largest gaming festivals to Coventry, and it’s a partnership we’re excited to move forward with in 2014.”

Jacky Isaac, Interim CEO at the Ricoh Arena, said she was thrilled one of the biggest dates in the calendar for gaming fans was being held in Coventry.

“It is the first time we will have held a gaming festival at the Ricoh Arena and this is great news for the venue and for the city,” she said.

“This is a festival for gaming in all its formats and is due to attract over 10,000 visitors from around the country.”

Tickets are available online now at www.insomniagamingfestival.com

Train2Game News: UK Top 20 Games – 02.12.13

Posted on by

Call of Duty GhostsAfter last week saw the addition of all the Xbox One games, this week is the addition of all the PlayStation 4 titles following its launch last week. Perhaps thanks to the launch of the PlayStation 4 Call of Duty: Ghosts has retaken the number one spot in the charts.

All formats

Week ending 16 November 2013

POS.  TITLE 

PUBLISHER

 LAST
WEEK 

1

CALL OF DUTY: GHOSTS

ACTIVISION

2
 

2

 FIFA 14

EA

1
 

3

–

 BATTLEFIELD 4

EA

3
 

4

–

 KILLZONE: SHADOW FALL

SONY

–
 

5

 ASSASSIN’S CREED IV: BLACK FLAG

UBISOFT

4
 

6

–

 LEGO MARVEL SUPER HEROES

WARNER BROS

–
 

7

 GRAND THEFT AUTO V

ROCKSTAR

8
 

8

NEED FOR SPEED: RIVALS

EA

13
 

9

 JUST DANCE 2014

UBISOFT

14
 

10

 BATMAN: ARKHAM ORIGINS

WARNER BROS

16
 

11

SKYLANDERS SWAP FORCE

SKYLANDERS

12
 

12

MINECRAFT: XBOX 360 EDITION

MICROSOFT

11
 

13

–

 KNACK

SONY

–
 

14

–

 SUPER MARIO 3D WORLD

NINTENDO

–
 

15

FORZA MOTORSPORT 5

MICROSOFT

5
 

16

DISNEY INFINITY

DISNEY

15
 

17

LEGEND OF ZELDA: LINK BETWEEN TWO WORLDS

NINTENDO

9
 

18

DEAD RISING 3

MICROSOFT

7
 

19

–

 TOMB RAIDER

SQUARE ENIX

–
 

20

 FOOTBALL MANAGER 2014

SEGA

22
 
< 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: Android Intel Xmas Party

Posted on by

Intel SoftwareOn 3rd December, Intel Developer Zone is inviting developers to a Christmas party near London’s Liverpool Street.

Taking place at The Shooting Star, you’ll be treated to sessions on free Android tools, a testing pod for us to try out Android apps on the x86 platform and the opportunity to rub shoulders with fellow coders.

Intel will lay on a great spread of food, soft drinks and beer to keep those energy levels up as we network, and there will be goodies galore with t-shirts, pins and other keepsakes from the evening.

As well as receiving those Christmas presents, you’ll have the chance to hear Intel application engineer Will Hansford-White give a quick talk on the free tools Intel provides for developing Android apps. Dev expert Sulamita Garcia will then give an XDK demo, giving hints and tips for easily developing in HTML5.

If anyone dropped by the Intel stand at Droidcon UK in October will remember the app test pod. Developers were able to see how their apps function on the x86 platform, which gave them a great insight into creating apps to reach a wider audience in the future. You’ll be given the chance to do the same, and you can test them out on the range of devices Intel will be bringing along. Experts will be on-hand to show you how to port current apps onto x86 as well.

To guarantee your place, please RSVP here.

So on Tuesday 3rd December, get to London Liverpool Street and make the few-minutes’ walk down Bishopsgate and turn off onto Middlesex Street. The party is in the private room downstairs!

Train2Game News: GallantCloud Blog – Week 11

Posted on by

Gallant Cloud Train2Game – GallantCloud Blog
By Richard Hoffman

Microsoft Accelerator
Week 11

This week we had another good Pitching doctor session to refine our pitch for the demo day. With a few weeks left for the Demo day it is just hard to believe that the time in the Microsoft Accelerator program is almost up and amazing how much progress we are making every week with our game. Everyone we show our game seems to be quite excited and there is always more suggestions and positive feedback to expand the game itself.

I am still studying monetization strategies in games and got stuck in Candy Crush Level 23 for a few days. It is just me or does it seem that the same level is becoming easier over time? Interesting game mechanics for sure! I also start playing League of Legends and Clash Of Clans as they are other successful game it seems.

Clash of Clans reminds me a bit of the Browser game Travian I played around 7 years ago. It just shows that most games are not original really, but have better artwork than another game in the past and are now available on mobile devices.

We came up with some ideas how to implement a few strategies to our game. It is all coming together.

One highlight was the UX (User Experience) Workshop where we learnt more about retention and analytics in general which can also be applied to games. This is very important and useful for our game for sure.

On the business side we are finalizing our Business Plan at the moment and adding the financial figures. Not very exciting stuff compared to creating a game.

It is a lot of work to complete all the tasks and aspects of a game studio and to keep all team members in the loop.

Finally we had a great creative brainstorming session with our mentor again. It is really great to see how he enjoys playing our game and giving positive and constructive feedback to make our game better.

It is unbelievable how much value a mentor and advisers bring to the table and accelerate learning and how to apply it.

That’s all for now. Will keep you up to date about the next weeks.

Train2Game News: UK Top 20 Games – 26.11.13

Posted on by

FIFA 14This weeks charts see the addition of the Xbox One games. Thanks to many of the Xbox One bundles coming with FIFA 14, the football game has taken the number one spot away from Call of Duty: Ghosts.

All formats

Week ending 16 November 2013

POS.  TITLE 

FORMAT

 LAST
WEEK 

1

FIFA 14

XB360

3
 

2

 CALL OF DUTY: GHOSTS

XB360

1
 

3

BATTLEFIELD 4

XB360

4
 

4

–

 ASSASSIN’S CREED IV: BLACK FLAG

XB360

4
 

5

FORZA MOTORSPORT 5

XB1

–
 

6

LEGO MARVEL SUPER HEROES

XB360

2
 

7

DEAD RISING 3

XB1

–
 

8

GRAND THEFT AUTO V

XB360

6
 

9

LEGEND OF ZELDA: LINK BETWEEN TWO WORLDS

3DS

–
 

10

RYSE: SON OF ROME

XB1

–
 

11

MINECRAFT: XBOX 360 EDITION

XB360

7
 

12

SKYLANDERS SWAP FORCE

WII

8
 

13

–

 NEED FOR SPEED: RIVALS

XB1

–
 

14

JUST DANCE 2014

WII

11
 

15

DISNEY INFINITY

XB360

13
 

16

BATMAN: ARKHAM ORIGINS

XB360

9
 

17

WWE 2K14

XB360

12
 

18

PROFESSOR LAYTON AND THE AZRAN LEGACYLEGO

3DS

10
 

19

TOMB RAIDER

XB360

17
 

20

 POKEMON X

3DS

16
 
< 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: Train2Game Radio revisits Muir Halleron

Posted on by

Muir HalleronWe spoke to Muir a while ago when he had not long started the Train2Game course and now we have revisited him. Muir told us all about the work he does now with 22Cans forums.

You can listen to the interview here: https://audioboo.fm/boos/1755384-train2game-student-muir-halleron-talks-to-t2g-radio-again

Or read the transcript below:

Hello I’m Muir Halleron, I’m taking the Train2Game developer course and I’m from Widnes.

Hiya Muir, how you doing?

I’m just fine thanks

Excellent! So what have you been up to since we last spoke?

Oh, loads of things! Since we last spoke; I’ve been to Eurogamer, I started making my own game but it’s very slow going. It’s basically an extreme in my spare time thing. I am also the forum moderators for not only Train2Game but also 22Cans on their steam forums.

Excellent. How did that come about?

Oh I backed GODUS on Kickstarter last December, became active in the forums and through that the community manager, Sam Van Tilburgh, approached me to become a moderator.

Excellent. So have you been enjoying it?

Yeah it’s fun! It can be a bit stressful at times and hectic, especially right after an update of the game, but yeah, I’m really enjoying it!

Very nice and do you get to hear some industry secrets that we’re not allowed to or anything?

Oh not really! I do get a bit of background information just pertaining to my moderator duties.

So have you always been a fan of 22Cans and Peter Molyneux?

I like Peter Molyneux’s Fable series. My first game of his that I actually played was Black & White, sadly I didn’t actually finish that game!

The important question is though, were you a good god or were you a bad god?

I was actually middle of the line!

Oh yeah? Tried to please everyone?

Yeah, straddle that fence!

So have you been finding that all this forum moderation will help you in the future with your career?

I’m hoping so yeah. It’s allowed me to see how things in the industry works a little bit and I’ve got a little bit of contact with a few of the devs on different social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Steam. They’ve been really nice and they answer questions that I have pertaining to the industry.

Excellent, that’s nice. Do you think you’ll perhaps get a job with them as well now that you’ve got contact with them?

That would be nice but they’re a little bit too far south for my tastes.

Oh yeah I forgot you live fairly north. So finally, what are you hoping for the future then?

Well in the future, I’m actually looking to relocate to Leeds because right now I live up near Liverpool but I’m wanting to move to Leeds because my boyfriends live there and with my Son being closer to my boyfriends would mean a bit more support with him so that I could actually get a job and not have to worry about being home to meet him after school.

Yeah that certainly would help a lot wouldn’t it.

Yeah. It’s my hope that once I move to Leeds and get settled in I’ll be able to get a job placement in a company over there.

Excellent well I wish you all the luck with that

Thank you

And I will talk to you again soon Muir!

Alright, thanks Mark.

Train2Game News: EGX Rezzed 2014 tickets now on sale!

Posted on by

Rezzed 2014Tickets are now on sale for EGX Rezzed 2014! Next year’s event will take place between the 28 and 30 March at The NEC, Birmingham.

For those of you who haven’t experienced EGX Rezzed before, it’s an event brought to you by the team behind EGX London, formerly Eurogamer Expo. EGX Rezzed will boast many of the features that visitors to EGX London will recognise, with hundreds of next gen consoles and PCs packed onto our huge show floor. It’s a great opportunity for you, the gamers, to get hands-on with the hottest titles before they hit the shops.

In addition to playable games the organisers are planning a host of features including the return of the developer sessions which will see famous game designers presenting their latest projects directly to you in the dedicated auditorium. Meanwhile, the Leftfield Collection will showcase the latest and greatest from the world of indie games.

Plus, there will be an extensive board games area complete with demonstrators to give you a guiding hand, a Minecraft hunger games tournament stage and stands selling all manner of gaming merchandise including t-shirts, figurines, posters and more.

Tickets are available now and if you book before January you can take advantage of a 20% early bird discount. Day tickets are currently £9.60 while those of you looking to get the most for your money can pick up a three day pass for £21.60. Saturday and Sunday early entry tickets are £12.80, with afternoon tickets coming in at £7.20 each. Group discounts are also available.

Information on the playable games, the developer sessions and the rest of the EGX Rezzed features will be revealed over the course of the next few months.

To purchase tickets, see more about the event and look at what happened last year, visit http://www.egxrezzed.net/

Train2Game News: UK Top 20 Games – 18.11.13

Posted on by

Call of Duty GhostsActivision Blizzards’ Call of Duty: Ghosts easily holds the crown for a second week at the top of the All Formats chart. The title adds Xbox One to its list of available formats and it sells strongly despite consumers having to wait another week until the next gen console arrives. Despite assembling an all-star cast Warner Bros. Interactive have to settle for second as Lego Marvel Superheroes makes its debut. However it does become the second biggest week one release for a Lego title bettered only by Lego Indiana Jones: Original Adventures all the way back in Week 23 2008. Nintendo’s Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy moves up to number ten, up three places from its debut last week. The title along with Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask which climbs to number twenty, both benefit from retailer bundling which contributes to 3DS XL hardware sales more than doubling last week’s total.

All formats

Week ending 16 November 2013

POS.  TITLE 

FORMAT

 LAST
WEEK 

1

– 

 CALL OF DUTY: GHOSTS

XB360

1

 

2

LEGO MARVEL SUPER HEROES

XB360

–

 

3

FIFA 14

XB360

4

 

4

ASSASSIN’S CREED IV: BLACK FLAG

XB360

3

 

5

BATTLEFIELD 4

XB360

2

 

6

GRAND THEFT AUTO V

XB360

5

 

7

MINECRAFT: XBOX 360 EDITION

XB360

8

 

8

SKYLANDERS SWAP FORCE

XB360

10

 

9

BATMAN: ARKHAM ORIGINS

XB360

6

 

10

PROFESSOR LAYTON AND THE AZRAN LEGACY

3DS

13

 

11

– 

 JUST DANCE 2014

WII

11

 

12

WWE 2K14

XB360

7

 

13

DISNEY INFINITY

XB360

12

 

14

FOOTBALL MANAGER 2014

PC

9

 

15

– 

 POKEMON Y

3DS

15

 

16

POKEMON X

3DS

14

 

17

TOMB RAIDER

XB360

16

 

18

– 

 LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES

XB360

18

 

19

ANIMAL CROSSING: NEW LEAF

3DS

20
 

20

PROFESSOR LAYTON AND THE MIRACLE MASK

3DS

–

 

< 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: Icey Monty’s new gaming website

Posted on by

Shooter3dGamesTrain2Game Student Studio, Icey Monty, have expanded their company even further and are now the proud owners of a gaming portal.

John Esslemont and Nick Walker started work for the gaming site last month and have since been hand picking their favourite online titles to be featured on the site. The page already features a treasure trove of shooting games from around the web in one helpful place.

When asked why they decided to start this site Nick said “A client of ours, who owns a few similar sites, suggested the idea to us after we’d finished some work with him. We’d been discussing the idea of moving away from client work to pursue our own development ideas anyway, and with that in mind, the investment in a new website seemed appropriate.”

This is Icey Monty’s first big step from their current client work to developing their own games and ideas. They now have a ready made platform they can publish too without any hassle. In my opinion the guys have made an excellent choice.

You can view the site and enjoy all of the carefully hand picked shooting games at Icey Monty’s new website, www.shooter3dgames.com

Train2Game News: Insomnia50 Indie Gaming showcase

Posted on by

InsomniaMultiplay, organiser of the Insomnia series of gaming festivals, the largest gaming festivals in the United Kingdom are pleased to announce a series of initiatives designed to showcase the best UK talent from the indie scene at Insomnia50.

The Indie Zone, sponsored by GAMDIAS, is a new addition for Insomnia events and is an open invitation to the unique and wonderful games being created across the country by independent developers.

Each developer has access to a top-of-the-range PC station, dedicated time on the Indie stage which will have prime position in the exhibition hall; featuring some of the industry leading retailers, manufacturers and development studios.

This provides the perfect opportunity to connect directly with the gaming community and interact with other developers such as Hypersloth Games (Dream), Dead Shark Triple Punch (Epigenesis), Pumpkin Games (Doppelganger) and many more.

Supporting creativity further is Global GameCraft, who organise game jam events designed to allow game-makers to meet, share ideas, have fun, compete for prizes and most importantly make games! Each day, participants will be set a task, having as little as ten hours to complete, with a judging panel demoing stand-out entries on stage and awarding prizes to the best submissions.

To take part, you must have a ticket to Insomnia so you can reserve your complimentary space for the GameCraft Game Jam. In order to purchase a ticket or reserve your space you can do so at www.insomnia50.evenbrite.co.uk

“Indie games are fast becoming the most original sector in gaming, giving us new ways of playing videogames”, said Craig Fletcher, Multiplay CEO. “We want to support the UK industry and enable developers to show their products off to as large an audience as possible, and to invite future designers to get involved with their peers through initiatives like the Indie GameCraft. Insomnia50 will be the most diverse festival we’ve ever held, in part due to the brilliant response we’ve had from indie developers, and we hope to continue to bring events like this, that support our industry and its talent to future Insomnia gaming festivals.”

If you are a game developer and would like to take full advantage of a free PC ‘station’ and a 45 minute live demo and talk on the Indie Stage at Insomnia50, please register your interest at www.multiplay.com/indie-games

The Insomnia Gaming Festival is not to be missed, with spaces still available and more announcements to follow, head to http://insomniagamingfestival.com/ for the latest event news and up-to-date line-up.