Tag Archives: Unity

Train2Game News: Games Industry News – 30.08.13

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unity-logoIt’s the end of the week so it’s time for the games industry news round up.

Unity Technologies unveiled new 2D tools and workflow for the Unity engine and editor to meet increased demand for features designed to address the specific challenges of creating 2D games. Now in beta, the first iteration of the 2D tools, many of which are included in the free version of Unity, will be released with the Unity 4.3 update this fall. The charge to improve workflow begins with the introduction of a dedicated scene view, which includes specialized 2D scene manipulation tools. Scene view can be toggled between the traditional view or set as the default when creating a project. Importing, manipulating, and working with 2D assets are made easier with the addition of a new sprite texture importer type, automated atlasing, and dedicated 2D renderer component. Adding 2D art to a scene is as easy as dragging a sprite from the asset library into the scene where Unity will then automatically create an object. If you are a fan of 2D games and work with Unity you now have no excuses to get a game out there!

Wizards of the Coast announced that the Magic 2014 – Duels of the Planeswalkers Expansion will release on September 18, 2013. Adding depth to the latest installment of the wildly popular Duels of the Planeswalkers franchise, the Magic 2014 Expansion will give players the opportunity to explore new planes, fight new enemies and face new challenges. Just like the full game the expansion will be available on Xbox LIVE Arcade, PC via Steam, PlayStation Network, iPad, and Android via Google Play and the Amazon App Store. The new expansions includes; five new decks, new campaign levels, five new challenges and more persona portraits.

Activision Publishing, Inc., in association with Nickelodeon and developer Red Fly Studio, announced, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows – a new, team-based, third-person action-brawler debuting on the Xbox Live online entertainment network from Microsoft for Xbox 360 as a part of the Xbox Live Summer of Arcade 2013, and on Windows PC via Steam. Starring Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows puts the focus on combat, characters, and co-op. Its swift and tactile fighting system affords players dynamic choices on the battlefield, rewarding successful combo flourishes, expert counterattacks, and brutal takedowns. The Turtles’ full range of personalities are on display throughout this original story in the TMNT universe, bringing humour and attitude to the unfolding narrative and influencing each character’s unique fighting style. The game will be released on September 25.

NEXON Europe had the pleasure to announce that global pop sensation, media personality and all-round gentleman, PSY, is appearing in the enormously successful online free-to-play games MapleStory and Combat Arms. PSY took the world by storm with his hit single Gangnam Style, inspiring everyone from news readers to the UN Secretary General to join in with his unique brand of K-pop humour. Over a billion YouTube views and global chart domination is not enough for the dance phenomenon however; starting this month and following another huge hit single, Gentleman, PSY will be bringing his outrageous personality to NEXON Europe’s most popular titles.

Steve Ballmer is to retire as Microsoft CEO within the next year, the company revealed, adding credence to the rumours of a management reshuffle which accompanied Don Mattrick’s departure earlier this year. Ballmer will oversee the choice of his successor before taking retirement and remain as CEO during that process. The Microsoft board has appointed a special committee chaired by lead independent director John Thompson and including chairman of the Board Bill Gates, chairman of the Audit Committee Chuck Noski and chairman of the Compensation Committee Steve Luczo. Microsoft has said that it will be looking both internally and externally for candidates.

Train2Game News: A new SDK to make Unity games better on Facebook

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unity-logoAt Unity’s developer conference, Unite, in Vancouver, BC, a new cross-platform SDK was launched that makes it faster and easier to integrate your Unity game with Facebook.

Facebook has a relevant and engaged audience of gamers that mobile developers can reach by publishing their games on Facebook, and the SDK makes bringing a mobile game to web as simple as writing one line of code. By filling out a few fields in the developer app and giving Facebook the URL of your game object, you can bring your mobile game to a whole new audience of avid gamers on Facebook.

As more graphics-rich web games come to Facebook.com, players want to stay immersed in the game experience while connecting with friends, and the SDK helps you do that. The developers have built native Unity dialogs for inviting friends, requests, and sharing, so people can stay in full-screen mode when they interact with social features, creating a richer, smoother web game experience for players.

Madfinger used the SDK to bring their mobile game Shadowgun:Deadzone to Facebook.com, opening up a new growth platform for the game with minimal effort. The number of active Facebook users with Unity installed more than tripled in the first half of 2013, and today more than 90 million monthly active users have Unity installed on the web.

You can get started connecting your gamers with their friends across platforms by downloading the SDK from the developer site or from the Unity Asset Store and reading the documentation.

Train2Game News: Autodesk release Maya LT for Indie developers

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AutodeskAutodesk has unveiled a new tool specifically targeted at indie developers. The 3D modelling and animation toolset is designed for developers working on mobile, PC and web, and can be integrated with game engines such as Unity and Unreal Engine.

Maya LT includes a number of features such as enabling the creation of 3D assets of any size, with the ability to export FBX files containing up to 25,000 polygons per object.

The tech’s animation tools include a skeleton generation and inverse kinematics with Autodesk HumanIK, as well as viewport previews so developers can view assets as they would appear in-game. Other features also include lighting and texture baking, with developers able to use global illumination tool to create “realistic” lighting effects.

Autodesk’s latest tool will cost $795 per perpetual licence as oppose to the license for Maya which is almost $4,000. Short-term licenses are also available on a monthly, quarterly or annual basis.

“We see indie game developers as a key part of the industry, driving innovative new production techniques and gameplay,” said Autodesk Media & Entertainment VP Chris Bradshaw.

“The market is fiercely competitive, and Maya LT can provide indie developers and small studios with a powerful, yet simplified workflow for designing and animating remarkable 3D characters, environments and props – at a price that fits within even the most modest budget. It’s a practical solution that closely matches the needs of the mobile game development production cycle and helps developers rise above the noise and really shine.”

Train2Game News: Unity Update includes new platform support

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unity-logoThe Unity engine has just been updated to 4.2 and it now includes support for Windows Phones, Windows Store and Blackberry 10.

In Unity 4.2, all users of the free version of Unity can publish to any mobile platform they wish, including Windows Phone 8, Windows Store, iOS, Android or BlackBerry 10, without any additional charge.

In addition, Unity Pro users will be able to use the Windows Store Pro deployment option, which includes the Windows Phone 8 and Windows Store apps platforms, free of charge.

Unity Pro users will have access to advanced Unity features when deploying their iOS, Android or BlackBerry 10 projects by if they choose to purchase Unity iOS Pro, Android Pro or BlackBerry 10 Pro Add-On products from the Unity Store.

A host of other features have also been added to the game development engine.

In the graphics realm, there’s now OpenGL ES 3.0 support for Android and static and dynamic batching for shadow casters and shadow collector pass.

The editor now has integrated version control support for Perforce, and, crucially, splatform switching, player building and asset importing can be cancelled, bringing greater flexibility to the software. Tweaks has also been made to the shader and texture importers to reduce the time spent switch between them.

Looking to the mobile development side, deferred lighting is now a feature on both Android and iOS, and there have been a number of usability upgrades for both platforms.

There have been improvements to other areas of the tool too, and you can read more about those, as well as more details on the features mentioned above on Unity’s blog page which you can find here, http://blogs.unity3d.com/

The major change for the 4.2 update is support for the new platforms, which means the engine provider has effectively doubled its platform supports.

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: Over 1,600 developers attending Develop Conference

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DevelopOn Tuesday 9 July, any Train2Game students lucky enough to attend the eight annual Develop Conference in Brighton will have the chance to interact with over 1,600 developers.

The three day conference will host over 90 sessions covering the whole spectrum of games development. 120 speakers will debate the biggest issues and trends in the industry, from Neil Brown’s session on PlayStation 4, to developments in touch-screen technology, discussions about Kickstarter and funding, global markets and even a session on cyber-psychology.

Lee Schuneman, studio head at Microsoft Lift London, will open the Evolve Conference on Tuesday before Mark Cerny, president of Cerny Games, will give the Develop Conference opening keynote entitled Changing the Game: Developing into the Next Generation. In total, there are nine tracks and seven keynotes over the three days.

Outside the conference, Develop will be hosting its biggest expo yet. Attendees can meet some of the biggest names in the industry including Dolby, Microsoft, Sony Computer Entertainment, Unity, Unreal Engine and Valve, as well as discovering some of the newest talent in the Develop Conference Indie Showcase.

Centrally located within the expo, the Indie Showcase highlights ten unpublished, independently-developed games selected by a judging panel of industry experts. Delegates have the chance to get hands on with the games and vote for their favourite through the People’s Choice vote.

“With only a week to go, we’re delighted with both the quantity and high quality of content we are offering our delegates,” commented Andy Lane, managing director of Tandem Events. “We’re lucky to have some fantastic keynotes and great sessions, which will offer invaluable information for every type of developer – from the smallest indies to established studios. I’m really looking forward to welcoming everyone down to Brighton next week.”

Full information on the conference sessions and speakers together with who is exhibiting at the expo can all be found on the new mobile event app, sponsored by Microsoft, or you can find the information on www.developconference.com.

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: Unity goes free to develop for mobile

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unity-logoGood news for Train2Game students, the Unity engine is now free to use for development for iOS and Android.

In a move to further democratise game development, Unity is making its basic mobile tools free for independent developers and small studios.

Unity is a game development ecosystem: a powerful rendering engine fully integrated with a complete set of intuitive tools and rapid work flow to create interactive 3D content. It also has thousands of quality, ready-made assets in the Asset Store and a helpful knowledge-sharing Community.

Starting today, indies will be able to publish their games and apps to iOS and Android in the build menu. Publishing options for other mobile platforms, such as BlackBerry and Windows Phone 8 will also be included “at no additional cost” once they are released.

Unity CEO David Helgason said “We were able to make Unity free for the web and for desktop computers a while ago, but have been dreaming of doing the same for mobile for what seems like forever.

“Mobile games development is possibly the most dynamic and exciting industry in the world, and it’s an honour to be able to help so many developers be so successful in fulfilling their visions and in building their businesses.”

Taking to Twitter, Unity rendering architect Aras Pranckevičius said that there will be some compensation for developers who had already paid for their licence but he is unsure of how the compensation scheme will work.

This is obviously amazing news for Train2Game students and student studios as it is one less boundary stopping you from developing games. You can download the engine and start developing today from here, http://unity3d.com/

Train2Game News: Unity game engine developers working with Facebook

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unity-logoUnity technologies is working with Facebook to improve the games on the social media site. This is good news for Train2Game students who are using the engine to develop games.

Unity Technologies, provider of the Unity multi-platform engine and development tools, have announced its collaboration with Facebook to launch an improved Unity experience on the social platform. The collaboration will improve the user experience of Unity games, continue to drive core games that build on the Unity Web Player, and make it easy for developers to build amazing cross-platform experiences.

With over 200 million global installs, the Unity Web Player is the best solution for core games and AAA visuals on the web, making the collaboration with Facebook a natural fit. Unity’s construction of a new social network API in the Unity Web Player has enabled Facebook to improve the “full screen” and the “full canvas” experience of Unity games by eliminating the need to leave full screen for social interaction, and to make it easier for developer to integrate tightly with Facebook’s social graph. Over 75m active Facebook users have installed the Unity Web Player to enjoy popular Unity games such as Offensive Combat, Robot Rising, Wizard of Oz, Uberstrike, Kings Bounty and I AM Playr. The new integrations will help make these existing experiences better while laying the foundation for further Unity Web Player adoption and feature expansion.

“The Unity Web Player is an incredible browser based platform for core games”, said Sean Ryan, Director of Games Partnerships, Facebook, “People on Facebook are looking for the type of immersive games that have traditionally existed on consoles and desktop PCs. This collaboration will drive discovery of the Unity Web Player for Facebook users, make it easier for Unity games to integrate with Facebook, improve the full-screen experience on our games platform, and make it easier for these developers to build cross platform games across desktop and mobile.”

“The experience of playing a Unity game in Facebook is vastly improved in Unity 4, and working with Facebook makes it even better,” said David Helgason, CEO of Unity Technologies. “We are already seeing an amazing crop of quality games coming to Facebook, and can’t wait to see how developers make use of this new opportunity.”

As an addition to the recently released Unity 4.1 update, Unity 4.1.1 includes the new social network API. Unity 4.1 includes a complete overhaul of the Memory Profiler, updates to the Mecanim Animation system, Apple AirPlay support, and new shader features. To download the latest product cycle release for Unity 4 visit http://unity3d.com/unity/download/.

Train2Game News: Ben Stoneman’s final student diary

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JOB OFFER

I woke up today feeling great, yes it was a work day, however work was now entwined in my life and I liked what I was doing with my life.

I arrived at Unity, sat down and began to go through the support cases. it got to about 13:00 and I was feeling hungry and ready for lunch when suddenly a small stapled stack of paper was placed next to me. for some reason I knew what it was. “Read it carefully and sign if you agree” I heard.

I slowly drew the document in front of me and began to read…

“TERMS OF CONTRACT”

This was it! My hard work and perseverance has paid off. I had been offered the full time position!

Of course I was not a game designer, time to make games! No, I was a support specialist, dealing with tedious support issues and licence migration. I thought of it like this; I worked in a kitchen once and washed over 100 dishes a shift for 1 year, I got angry in my job because I wanted to be a chef.

The chef said to me “To be a chef like me you must first wash the dishes, we have all done it!”

I knew from this life lesson I was now washing the dishes of the games industry! A great place to start my journey to becoming a successful game designer!