PlayStation Suite SDK due in November
Development kit for Vita, Sony tablets and PlayStation Certified devices confirmed at TGS.
Development kit for Vita, Sony tablets and PlayStation Certified devices confirmed at TGS.
Dundee's University of Abertay has teamed up with Electronic Arts and Nesta to create a game building tool for children. The Games Unpacked tool is based on Unity and features a drag and drop interface that allows children to combine level elements such as platforms, power-ups and traps. “Every young person I know absolutely loves playing games, and Games Unpacked is a fun and easy way to take the next step into making their own games," said Abertay University director of business development Paul Durrant. “By creating a simple ‘digital toolbox’ of all the elements of a game level, children of any age can build a brand new game and start learning about the fascinating process of games development.” The Games Unpacked initiative is a complement to the BAFTA Young Game Designers competition, and interested parties can download the software for free at the source link below.
1Ubisoft and Eidos veterans have formed Tribute Games, a Montreal-based start-up focusing on "retro games with a modern twist for home consoles and mobile platforms". Tribute consists of Ninja Senki creator Jonathan Lavigne, Justin Cyr, and Jean-François Major, whose prior credits include the likes of Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, Shaun White Snowboarding and Star Wars: Episode 3, Gamesetwatch reports. The studio's debut game, a 16-bit-style pinball/RPG hybrid called Wizorb, is due to launch on Xbox Live Indie later this month with a PC version to follow. "We chose the name Tribute Games because when we make games, we want to pay tribute to all the cool games from our childhood," said Lavigne. “We’re passionate indies aiming at making entertaining games with a focus on pixel art and classic game design (sometimes with a modern twist)."
Richard Lemarchand, lead designer on the Uncharted series, will give the keynote address at the fifth annual IndieCade festival in Culver City, California next month. As well as Lemarchand's keynote, Beauty And Risk: Why I Love Indie Games, there will be talks from the likes of Braid creator Jonathan Blow and Canabalt mastermind Adam Saltsman. Elsewhere there's an experimental gameplay workshop, the IndieXchange networking sessions, as well as a host of previews of upcoming indie games. IndieCade runs from October 6 to 9 across multiple Culver City venues, with tickets costing $195 in advance and $250 on the door.
Ryan Payton, one of Halo 4’s creative directors, has left Microsoft's 343 Industries to establish his own development studio, Camouflaj. Having previously served as a producer on Metal Gear Solid 4, Payton joined Microsoft to help create the new Halo trilogy, focusing largely on story and developing the fictional universe with franchise director Frank O'Connor. "I had a great run at Microsoft," Payton told Kotaku. "I don't regret one day of it. But after a few years, there came a point where I wasn't creatively excited about the project anymore. The Halo I wanted to build was fundamentally different and I don't think I had built enough credibility to see such a crazy endeavour through." He added: "I think time is the most valuable thing we have and I've decided that I'm not going to waste one more day working on something that doesn't speak to my values.” Payton is currently working on two unannounced titles of his own. "Some people say I'm crazy, but I want to make a game that one billion people play at once, and it's something that hits them harder than a great book or film.”
Chief designer Tameem Antoniades says odds are stacked against new IP: "The digital revolution can't come soon enough."
4Organisers have announced the ten titles that will be on the Tokyo Game Show floor later this month as part of Sense Of Wonder Night 2011. Now in its fourth year, the event features creators demonstrating their games, with translators on hand to break down the language barrier. This year's indie games are Eufloria, I'm Gonna Be God Of The Forest, Inside A Star-Filled Sky, KuraKuraMaze, Leedmees, QUBE, Reflow, Solstice, Spruzel and Taplib.
Indie studio Big Block Games is developing an RPG from prototype to final build in 14 days to help gaming charity Child's Play. Those that donate to the charity during development are given various perks including the ability to name a monster in the game and a DRM-free copy of the final product, with special awards for the highest donors. The team is extensively blogging about its work during its frantic fortnight, and is uploading builds and documentation as development progresses. At the time of writing, they're on day five, with the biggest donation so far standing at $500.
1Find your future at Crytek, Codemasters or Ninja Theory on the game industry's premier recruitment board.
1Our latest look at the nine-man Adhesive Games' striking mech combat title comes from last weekend's PAX in Seattle, and shows off the Desert map. Platforms are still to be confirmed, but the team hopes to bring Hawken to Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.
Nokia temporarily closed its developer network after it was hacked and user information compromised. The company said members' personal information including dates of birth, email and Skype addresses may have been stolen, but that no credit card details were taken. "A database table containing developer forum members' email addresses has been accessed, by exploiting a vulnerability in the bulletin board software that allowed an SQL Injection attack," the company said. "Initially we believed that only a small number of these forum member records had been accessed, but further investigation has identified that the number is significantly larger.”
Guillaume Martin's XBLIG puzzle-platformer won the $40,000 grand prize in Microsoft's fifth annual XNA development contest, which gives "aspiring game developers the opportunity to showcase their innovation and talent to the world." Other winners were Solar 2, TIC: Part 1, and Sequence, with honourable mentions for Alien Jelly, The Bridge, and Ninja Crash.
Crimson: Steam Pirates, the first game to be published under the Bungie Aerospace banner -which is the Halo developer's way of giving a leg-up to independent studios - will be available as a free download for iPad from September 1. However, not everyone is pleased by the news. Andy Moore, one of the developers of the strategy game SteamBirds to which Harebrained Schemes' work bears a more than passing resemblance, considers on his blog whether he is entitled to be annoyed by his work being cloned. In the comments, he's since backtracked from his original claim that "Bungie is being a moral dick," but he raises some interesting questions about when cloning's hypothetical statute of limitations ought to expire.
This weekend eight teams will develop games from start to finish in 30 hours at the Fukushima Game Jam, organised by IGDA Japan and Ubiquitous Entertainment, in Minamisoma, Japan. The city was one of the areas worst affected by the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March. The theme for the event is "Fun Overcomes Difficulty," and organisers said: "We're going to show the world that we are going to make it through, by showing our enthusiasm and energy."
"We've never had tools at such a mature state before the launch of a platform," says Wipeout 2048 developer.
4Firm reserves the right to deny Xbox 360 release for games released first on rival platforms.
17Edge readers are entitled to 15 per cent off the cost of tickets to the London Social Gaming Summit, being held between November 14 and 15. The event is the second annual conference with sessions and speakers exploring the intersection of gaming, immersive worlds and social networking. To get the discount, you need to quote EDGE15 when booking which you can do by following the source link below.
As part of the Ludum Dare competition over the weekend, Minecraft creator Markus 'Notch' Persson made a game in 48 hours, live streaming the whole process. Prelude Of The Chambered is a six level dungeon crawler that sets the player in search of secrets, loot and upgrades as they gradually explore its torch-lit corridors. Much like Minecraft, you can't reload if disaster strikes, but death in Prelude results in a full restart. As the game takes around 20 to 30 minutes to complete, this makes its patrolling enemies a particularly potent menace. You can play the game by clicking on the source link below.
Nervous creators, angry game makers and game music rendered with mouth and harp.
Crytek promised earlier this summer that its CryEngine 3 SDK would be made available for free, and it has lived up to that promise: it's now a free download from the link below. There's only a catch if you want to sell the fruits of your endeavour, in which case Crytek asks that you get in touch to arrange a licensing deal.