Tag Archives: UK Games Industry

Train2Game News: Train2Game radio talks to Neil Gorman

Posted on by

Neil GormanLast week I got to talk to Train2Game student, Neil Gorman. Neil is a full time plumber who has had an incredibly busy games industry career so far and his hard work has paid off! Neil is now on his way to Birmingham University to do a Masters degree in Games Development.

You can listen to part 1 of the interview here: http://audioboo.fm/boos/1249949-train2game-student-neil-gorman-talks-to-t2g-radio-part-1

and part 2 here: http://audioboo.fm/boos/1249947-train2game-student-neil-gorman-talks-to-t2g-radio-part-2

Or you can read the transcript below:

Hi, I’m Neil Gorman, I’m from Worcester and I am on the Art & Animation course.

Hi Neil, how you doing mate?

Not so bad Mark, how are you?

I’m very well ta buddy! So we’ve got quite a bit to cover with you haven’t we?

Oh right! I do try to keep me hand in!

So tell me about all the stuff you’ve been up to lately.

Lately? Uh, well. Over Christmas I did a couple of weeks for Lightwood Studios and Microsoft, doing a little bit of illustration but it was for fifty apps, so I got a bit of a sweat on with that! I had a word with Myra Smallman and she got Cat Forsyth and a lad called Malik involved as well. We managed to plough through them, it went really well, it was a good experience. Before that we did a Game Jam which was a World Record which was really good. I’m doing a little bit for Team Dart, done a little bit of work for Derp, as you know and I’ve just been accepted to Birmingham University on a Masters Games Development course as well.

And I also do life drawing on a Tuesday!

Just to add that little bit extra because you weren’t busy enough!

Yeah that’s right, yeah! Oh I also work full time!

That it now, you sure?

Yeah!

What do you do full time?

I’m a plumber.

How long you been doing that for?

I’ve been doing it for… Well a bit too long really! I’ve been doing it for twenty years.

What made you go from Plumbing to Game Design and Art instead?

Well I’ve always been in to games, since I was about 4 years old when my Uncle got an Intellivision with Pong and all that on it. I always used to go down the arcades and play 1942. I’ve basically seen the games change through to all the console like the Commodore 64, Sinclair Spectrum and all that. Then a few years ago I got a card through the door for Train2Game, it was just a post card saying what Train2Game did and I think it was just a time in my life where I thought, “yeah I’m going to do this! I’m going to try this course out and see how I do.” Before that I never even dreamed about trying to design assets or anything like that, when I first fired up 3DS Max I couldn’t even model a box! So it’s how it came about really and it’s the best thing I ever did.

Excellent! So the Train2Game course has certainly helped you a lot if you are now going for a Masters degree?

It’s been absolutely unbelievable really. The people I met along the way, including yourself and all the lads at Derp, everyone I’ve met along the way. I’ve made so many friends it’s great, it’s been fantastic!

How did the Masters Degree come about, how did you end up going for that?

Well it was just a punt really! When I finish work, I do my coursework and subsidise with digital tutors and other game stuff and I just love it! It’s my hobby as well as my love. So I saw this advertised on the internet and I also saw at Eurogamer for Gamer Camp. I filled it all in, put my details in for what I’ve done in the past, I’ve done BTEC in Engineering and NVQ’s and what not, told them I was with Train2Game, I sent them an email as well and they got back in touch with me and gave me an art test.

Very nice and I assume you passed that with flying colours?

Yeah, it was a bit of a stretch but it was over 2 weeks and you had so many Polygons you had to adhere too and do textures and what not. So I sent it in and then I had an interview, so I had an interview at Birmingham University. So I went and the lecturer got snowed in so I had to do It over Skype. It went really well and a few days later he sent me an email saying I was accepted, unconditionally!

Excellent! So when do you start doing the course or have you started already?

No I start in September for a year, it’s full time.

For a year full time is it? So I imagine you’ll have to give the plumbing up a bit then will you?

A little bit yeah! I’ll still do a little bit, I’ve still got to pay the bills at the end of the day.

So what other things are you doing, you said you were also working with Derp Studios as well at the minute?

Yeah, ever since the Make Something Unreal and the first Game Jam we did I’ve always loved the lads from Derp as they’re a really good laugh and they really get their heads down and work. I went to Nigel’s 30th birthday and I got talking to Chris and he said “Do I fancy doing some Animation and Modelling for him” and I said “Yeah, no problem!”. I’d give up any time for the Derp lads.

So you really just don’t like sleep any more, you just have to do everything don’t you?

I’m just trying to learn as much as I can really!

Yeah, you also said you are doing a life drawing course, is that helping you a lot?

Oh it is! It really is. It’s all naked models, one week it’s a woman and one week it’s a fella and for anatomy and getting the light and the forms and everything it’s just really good. I suggest any artist to go on a life drawing course, it really helps.

What would be your biggest ambition for your career?

For my career? I would love to work for a big AAA company, possibly as a Technical Artist or Rigger or along those lines and just being involved in the games industry as a whole. Early last week I went to the Animex Festival in Middlesbrough and you just get an energy off of people in the games industry, they’re so enthusiastic, it’s addictive!

Yeah I definitely know what you mean there! It does the same for me. What about your own studio, would you ever be interested in making up your own one?

I think when I’ve got more experience, I know there are lads who have started their own studio but I want to get to a point where I am happy with what I am doing with my art and be at a certain level. At the moment I’m still just learning and that’s why I do so much, just trying to learn as much as I can. When I get to a certain level, I might contemplate it but if someone came alone and said “Hey Neil, how would you fancy starting out our own studio” yeah, I would always give it a go because I just love it!

So if a new student came up to you and asked you what your best bit of advice would be, what would you say?

If you’re going to go in to Games Development or Art or Design or anything like that, don’t go in to it half cocked. If you’re going to do it you have got to be 100% focused because there is so many people out there, if you look on the forums or on polycount, there are so many people out there who are good competition, if you really want to do this you have to get your head down and work! But enjoy it! It is great, there is nothing better than getting home from work, getting on the PC and doing any Art & Animation but to do it as a career, that’s what I am really aiming for!

That’s perfect! I think that’s all we’ve got time for today Neil, thank you very much buddy!

No problem Mark, I’ll talk to you soon!

Talk to you soon mate, bye!

Ok, bye!

Train2Game News: Jonathan Ross’s game coming to Android

Posted on by

Catcha Catcha AliensThe wait for the Android version of Jonathan Ross’s critically acclaimed “Catcha Catcha Aliens!” is over as it will be released on Google Play for Android on March 7. The game will be free to play and the iOS version will follow suit the same day.

Alien catchers who have already purchased the iOS App will be credited with 20,000 Zhillings, the virtual currency of the game, if they have the initial version installed on the device when they update their game.

“Catcha Catcha Aliens!” was originally released on December 3 for iOS and is the first title from Hotsauce interactive, a new development studio set up by TV personality, Jonathan Ross.

The game, which is a mission based catching game, has received plaudits for its high quality distinctive graphics, quirky humour, level based mini-challenges, original sound-track as well as its take on a popular genre. It has also been voiced by Stephen Fry and Jonathan himself.

Commenting on the Android launch and iOS update Jonathan Ross said “We’re quietly pleased with how our first game turned out. An Android version was always in the works but having made the decision to go free to play on iOS devices we decided to wait until we could launch both together.

To ensure that everyone who has already purchased the App won’t lose out, we are giving free in-game money to everyone who has already bought Catcha Catcha. Two new levels are nearly finished, and we are working on more characters as well as more games. Being involved in this process is even more exciting than I imagined it to be, and I hope that at least some of this excitement comes across in the finished game”.

For further information on “Catcha Catcha Aliens!” you can log on to http://hotsauceinteractive.co.uk/ follow on twitter @HotsauceTV or visit http://www.facebook.com/HotsauceInteractive

Train2Game News: UK Top 20 Games – 04.03.13

Posted on by

Crysis 3Crysis 3 holds the number 1 crown for a second week while FIFA 13 is up a place to number 2 rounding off a good week for EA. Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance slips a spot to number 3 ahead of non-mover Call of Duty: Black Ops II. Sega’s Aliens: Colonial Marines slips down again to number 7 following its number 1 debut 2 weeks ago. It’s a quiet week for new releases with no new entries into the Top 10 and 4 of its occupants being non movers.

All formats
Week ending 2 March 2013
POS.  TITLE  PUBLISHER  LAST
WEEK 
1 – CRYSIS 3 EA GAMES 1
2 FIFA 13 EA SPORTS 3
3 METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE KONAMI 2
4 – CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II ACTIVISION 4
5 FAR CRY 3 UBISOFT 7
6 NEED FOR SPEED MOST WANTED EA GAMES 8
7 ALIENS: COLONIAL MARINES SEGA 5
8 DEAD SPACE 3 EA GAMES 6
9 – ASSASSIN’S CREED III UBISOFT 9
10 – HITMAN ABSOLUTION SQUARE ENIX 10
11 THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM BETHESDA SOFTWORKS 12
12 SKYLANDERS GIANTS SKYLANDERS 14
13 HALO 4 MICROSOFT 16
14 SONIC & ALL STARS RACING TRANSFORMED SEGA 13
15 – LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 15
16 JUST DANCE 4 UBISOFT 11
17 GRAND THEFT AUTO IV XBOX 360 CLASSICS 18
18 LEGO THE LORD OF THE RINGS WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 17
19 RED DEAD REDEMPTION: GOTY ROCKSTAR –
20 – FORZA MOTORSPORT 4 MICROSOFT 20

Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2013 UKIE Ltd

Train2Game News: Games Industry News – 01.03.13

Posted on by

It’s the end of the week so it is time for a round up of news from Train2Game!

Ubisoft revealed the name of the next instalment in the Assassin’s Creed saga, Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag. The evidence is all pointing towards a Pirate theme but whether the Assassin is a Pirate or battling Pirates waits to be seen. Ubisoft are releasing more information on Monday.

Two weeks ago, 11 bit studios offered gamers a chance to buy its secret next game at half price. Today, that secret game was unveiled as 11 bit studios announces Anomaly 2, the sequel to the award-winning strategy game, Anomaly Warzone Earth. Anomaly 2 will deliver a hardcore real-time strategy experience with exceptional tactical variety, intense multiplayer and remarkable visuals. You can view the trailer, here.

2K and Gearbox Software announced today that the Borderlands 2: Add-On Content Pack is now available in stores. The pack is a single packaged product that adds hours of additional gameplay with Borderlands 2’s first two add-on campaigns, Captain Scarlett and Her Pirate’s Booty and Mr. Torgue’s Campaign of Carnage, as well as a fifth playable character, Gaige the Mechromancer. In addition, bundled in the pack is The Creature Slaughter Dome battle arena, unique weapons including the Gearbox Gun Pack and Skyrocket Grenade, some extra heads and skins for your character and a Golden Key to unlock the chest in Sanctuary.

The previously canadian-exclusive console, the Wii Mini, has found its way to UK online retailers. Both Amazon and Game are listing the console at £79.99. The Wii Mini is essentially a stripped Wii in that online functionality and Gamecube games support has been removed. The console only supports disc-based games. It will be released in Europe on March 22.

Finally Microsoft are having a huge games sale at the moment. The sale started on February 26 and will run to March 4. The sale is seeing up to 75% off big games such as the Halo, Resident Evil and Call of Duty titles. The games on sale change daily so make sure you keep an eye on it or you might miss something you want at a low, low price.

Train2Game News: From Bedrooms to Billions

Posted on by

From Bedrooms to Billions

NEW MOVIE TELLING THE STORY OF THE UK VIDEO GAMES INDUSTRY LOOKING FOR SUPPORT ON KICKSTARTER!

A scientific curiosity that sparked a revolution

Filmmakers Anthony Caulfield & Nicola Caulfield have announced they have launched a new Kickstarter campaign to assist with the funding of a new two hour documentary movie that tells the story of the UK Video Games Industry, called ‘From Bedrooms to Billions’.

Last year they launched a highly successful campaign on crowdfunding site Indiegogo to raise funds to start the filming, with their movie even being placed in the top 12 movie projects of the year by the US site, the only non-US film to do so out of thousands of entries.

‘From Bedrooms to Billions’ is a two hour feature length documentary film telling the remarkable, true story of the British Video Games Industry from 1979 to the present day and how the creativity and vision of a relatively small number of individuals allowed the UK to play a key, pioneering role in the shaping of the billion dollar video games industry, which today dominates the modern world’s entertainment landscape.

Featuring interviews with key contributors to the UK story in video game development, publishing and journalism from over the last 40 years, combined with compelling archive footage, ‘From Bedrooms to Billions’ is the first to attempt to bring this fascinating story together, starting in the late 70’s, spanning ‘Thatcher’s Britain’ of the 80’s and culminating in the dramatic shift of fortunes for the UK Video Games Industry by the late 90’s and beyond. The film celebrates the importance of this era and why it has become such a landmark period in the history of British invention, creativity and industry.

Producer, Anthony Caulfield said “From Bedrooms to Billions has been a very personal project for us since June 2008. Having completed many documentaries we have always wanted to document the rise of the British video games industry and the incredible story that went with it. What’s so fascinating is how the UK computer scene was originally nothing more than a scientific curiosity which snowballed into something so vast. As we started putting this film together we uncovered so many incredible personal stories, these people had to literally make up an industry as they went, some were very successful, but others were not so, however collectively we felt it a strong story that’s long overdue and should make a wonderful movie”.

Fellow Producer Nicola Caulfield said “This film will be a great piece of nostalgic entertainment that documents an important part of UK history. This era is so often overlooked and not known by young British talent looking to enter the games industry, as the vast majority of UK children, school leavers and even students believe that gaming originated mainly from the US and Japan and have little to no knowledge that a British games industry even once existed. It meant a great deal to us that last year enough people out there wanted to see this film made and backed our original funding campaign to begin filming. However as is common with many films financed via crowdfunding, money is now needed to complete post-production, to secure archive footage, stills, music usage and clearances. Without these crucial elements the film would simply be 2 hours of talking heads and not the true and lasting documentary movie experience that the subject matter deserves. So we hope people will rally and help us make a permanent record of this golden era in British Industry”

The ‘From Bedrooms to Billions’ project went live on Kickstarter on Monday 25th February and has just 60 days to reach its funding goal of £18,000.

To help with their cause as well as having the option to simply order a copy of the film on digital download, DVD and Blu-ray, some of the most famous UK Video Games makers and musicians have donated and signed various items that are being offered as funding perks.

The film’s trailer, as well as further information on the ‘From Bedrooms to Billions’ Kickstarter campaign, can be found at http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1195082866/from-bedrooms-to-billions

You can also visit the film’s official website www.frombedroomstobillions.com or by emailing press at b2b@graciousfilms.com

Also the Facebook page for the film can be visited at http://www.facebook.com/pages/From-Bedrooms-to-Billions-History-of-UK-Video-Games-Industry-Movie/136306856397331

Twitter  @FromBedrooms

Gracious Film’s own website can be found at www.graciousfilms.com

Train2Game News: Games industry jobs – 27.02.13

Posted on by

The people at Aardvark Swift have very kindly sent over some more jobs for the Train2Game students to look through.

Junior/Graduate Gameplay Programmer

Our client is one of the UK’s Premier Games Developer. They have a stack of awards and an unrivalled sales track record to back their claims up. They are seeking a Graduate / Junior Programmer to join the Gameplay team

North West

Graduate Programmer

My client offers a relaxed and creatively charged atmosphere where talent can flourish. They pride themselves above all on the games they create and their appreciation of the people who create them.

Due to their recent success they are looking to add to their talented team with the addition of a Graduate Programmer

Yorkshire

Tools Programmer and Graduate Tools Programmer

Our client has been making games for more than 15 years. They now employ more than 150 people and have released games on major platforms like PS3, Xbox 360, Wii and Nintendo DS. They also work with some Great IP’s and a variety of game types.

They are seeking a Tools Programmer or Graduate Tools Programmer to join their team developing technology at the core of all their productions

North West

Graduate Gameplay Programmer

Our client, the developer of award winning titles, are seeking highly skilled graduate to join their programming team as a Gameplay programmer working on a AAA title for next gen.

Cambridge

Train2Game News: Make Something Unreal Live winners game comes to app store

Posted on by

Warlock of Firetop MountainTrain2Game Student studio and Make Something Unreal Live 2012 winners, Commando Kiwi, have released their first game on to the app store.

The game, Warlock of Firetop Mountain: Lost Chapters, was created by the students in their spare time for last years Make Something Unreal Live contest, held by Epic. The game was created using the UDK software and is based on the very first Fighting Fantasy novel, Warlock of Firetop Mountain which was written by Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson.

The studio, which consists of Cat Forsyth, Martyn Whittel, Tom Chipchase, Jonny Robinson, Ashley Taylor, Adam Sherratt, Aaron Reeve, Andrew Smallwood, Tom Constable and Ezekiel Morris, have been working on the game since the beginning of 2012.

The students won the competition after demonstrating their game to a number of industry professionals, including Peter Molyneux, Cliff Bleszinski and Jon Hare. The final descision was that of Ian Livingstone and Steve Jackson who decided Commando Kiwi’s game best captured the essence of Fighting Fantasy.

The game is a third person action game which puts you in the shoes of the adventurer who is travelling through the deadly Firetop Mountain in search of the fabled treasure of the all-powerful Warlock. The game features enemies and locations from the classic book with a battle system based on the system from the book its self. The unique combat system based uses skill and luck combinations made famous by the series of novels in an intuitive Active Time Battle System.

The game is available for free to download now from the app store.

You can re-live the Commando Kiwi story in the video below:

Train2Game News: UK Top 20 game charts – 25.02.13

Posted on by

Crysis 3Crysis 3 knocks last week’s number 1 Aliens: Colonial Marines down to number 5, debuting ahead of Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance which begins life at number 2. Two new entries at number 1 and 2 is a first for 2013. Four out of the eight UK All Formats number 1’s so far this year are represented by 3 different EA titles.

All formats
Week ending 23 February 2013
POS.  TITLE  PUBLISHER  LAST
WEEK 
1 CRYSIS 3 EA GAMES –
2 METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE KONAMI –
3 – FIFA 13 EA SPORTS 3
4 – CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS II ACTIVISION 4
5 ALIENS: COLONIAL MARINES SEGA 1
6 DEAD SPACE 3 EA GAMES 2
7 FAR CRY 3 UBISOFT 5
8 NEED FOR SPEED MOST WANTED EA GAMES 7
9 ASSASSIN’S CREED III UBISOFT 6
10 HITMAN ABSOLUTION SQUARE ENIX 11
11 JUST DANCE 4 UBISOFT 8
12 – THE ELDER SCROLLS V: SKYRIM BETHESDA SOFTWORKS 12
13 SONIC & ALL STARS RACING TRANSFORMED SEGA 9
14 SKYLANDERS GIANTS SKYLANDERS 13
15 – LEGO BATMAN 2: DC SUPER HEROES WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 15
16 HALO 4 MICROSOFT 10
17 LEGO THE LORD OF THE RINGS WARNER BROS. INTERACTIVE 16
18 GRAND THEFT AUTO IV XBOX 360 CLASSICS 20
19 THE SIMS 3 EA GAMES –
20 FORZA MOTORSPORT 4 MICROSOFT –

Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2013 UKIE Ltd

Train2Game News: Chimpact competition!

Posted on by

ChimpactIt could be you! Realise your dream of creating the next big gaming character

Yippee! Entertainment launches competition to design a chimp to join Chuck’s family in Chimpact

Calling all: crayonists, felt tippers, doodlers, painters, artists, designers, games animation enthusiasts and children who like to draw on their parent’s walls. Yippee! Entertainment is launching a competition to design a character to feature in the Windows version of its on-going games series; Chimpact. Entries are required to create a chimp similar to those in the game and any level of artistic ability will be considered for the top prize.

The competition is open from the 25th February to the 12th April. The final judging decision will be made on the 3rd May. Entrants can be submitted in physical form in the UK or digitally; drawings, photos or any type of picture, will be accepted. Though in the US, only digital images can be submitted via the competition’s website.

The competition is open to all ages and backgrounds: enthusiasts, students, gamers, artists, children of any age and even grandparents, anyone in the UK and the US can enter. Winning entries will be chosen from both the UK and the US and will appear in respective versions of the game. The winners will be decided by the Yippee! Entertainment team and the judging criteria will include: Originality, Use of Colour and costume design.

The winning competition entries will be created by the Yippee Entertainment team and put into future versions of Chimpact on Windows 8 and Windows Phone via an update. The UK based winner will have the opportunity to visit the Yippee! Entertainment studio in Manchester, to see how the game is made and to meet the team.

Full details of the competition and submit your entry, here: www.chimpact.com/competition

Facebook: www.facebook.com/chimpact

Twitter: @chimpact_chuck

Chimpact is currently available on the Windows 8 store here

Train2Game News: Train2Game Student’s game on Kickstarter

Posted on by

ScavengersTrain2Game Student, Robert Ramsay, has been working on a game with London games studio, Boss Level. You can now support the game and your fellow student on Kickstarter.

Boss Level, a digital gaming startup, based in the Dalston area of London, today announced their Kickstarter campaign to fund the beta phase of their upcoming title Scavengers. Scavengers is a turn-based strategy game in the style of X-Com, playable directly through a web browser across PCs, mobiles, tablets and Smart TVs without plug-ins. However, what truly distinguishes Scavengers is that despite playing across these myriad platforms with their different screen sizes and input methods, players will be playing exactly the same game, no matter where they are. This true cross-platform functionality is highlighted by the ability of players on different platforms to play against each other at the same time, a feat not yet achieved by any other games on the market.

Nick Brown, CEO of Boss Level, said “We’re really excited about finally bringing Scavengers to the wider public, both for them to play it, but even more importantly, for them to contribute to it. Scavengers really is a world first in that no matter where you play the game and on what platform, you will be able to play exactly the SAME game with everybody else in the world at the same time. We hope that this Kickstarter campaign is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to working with our players as collectively we build a massively fun and engaging shared experience that is open to all.”

The crowd-funding approach of Kickstarter perfectly incorporates the ethos of Scavengers as being “open-to-all” whether it be via contributing or playing. The Kickstarter “rewards” on offer thank pledgers by enabling them to design large aspects of the game and the Boss Level team are excited to see the level of creativity they expect this to release. In addition, the successful conclusion of the beta stage will see the release of the Editor through which players will be able to freely mod large sections of the game’s graphic, audio and map assets and then distribute these assets via social media. Finally Scavengers is also entirely free-to-play further ensuring one of the most open player bases ever, requiring as it does no up-front purchases of hardware, software or licences to access the game.

Robert Ramsay, from Paisley, has been working at the studio for 10 months as a Graphics Artist. He got the position when he showed the studio his impressive art and the speed and skill he utilised when making 3D models, which proved that he would be confident in the position. When Robert was asked about working on the game he said “I can see how I would approach this game, I know what styles to research and what my job would entail. Talking to Nick, the Boss, we agreed upon various aspects of the sprites and scenery, the angles that things would be viewed at and the types of colouring and tones that would make the game stand out.”

Robert was also asked to implement a workflow for creating and importing the assets because this being a new technology, nobody had really done this before. This was challenging but ultimately fun and really allowed him to draw on the diverse skills he’d picked up over the lifetime of the course.

You can support Robert and Boss Level in their creation of Scavengers by donating to the Kickstarter which you can find, here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/428530696/scavengers-beta

If you want to find out more about the game, go to: www.playscavengers.com