This week, the team (or at least the ones old enough to remember it!) talk about classic games from the 80’s and how the games we loved as kids shaped our careers. Mick also worked on games in the late 80’s and we revisit his work from that time briefly.
Join us again next week for the 90’s and the week after for the 00’s!
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This week the team live streamed for our home office’s as the University of Huddersfield is in lockdown. We began with a discussion of software availability for students while the lockdown is in place and then moved on to discussing some of the games released this week. Catch the new video at https://youtu.be/YDkHK1GplAc
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The University of Huddersfield has been keeping the staff and students upto date during the Corona Virus outbreak via email so please refer to that for official advice. However, we discuss in this weeks stream how we as a team are switching to online delivery, the impact that will have and answering questions from students.
This week, Duke, Daryl and Matt discuss the new Games Development courses which go live in 2021. Hear us talk about the history of the current Games Design course and the rationale for the new courses. After that we discuss the common first year which allows students to get a flavour of all aspects of the games development process before refining their skills over the next few years. We discuss the differences in the courses following the common first year and why applicants might choose one route over another.
You can read all about the new courses on our course finder pages here
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In this weeks Games Cast, Duke, Matt and Ash play some of the second year games from the final game jam which took place last week. The theme for last week was “Minute Hero” which some took to be minute as in the measurement of time, and some as in the size.
A range of games were designed and built, virtually from scratch, from multiplayer racers to timed courtroom battles. In all cases, the acheivements in only 4 and half days were very impressive. Watch us play and comment in real time in the following video.
Don’t forget to follow us on twitch and subscribe on YouTube for our planned weekly streams.
We have started a new YouTube channel (subscribe at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrJjmJcEkakgGAPjue5rPZQ) and Twitch.tv channel (subscribe at https://www.twitch.tv/hudunigames ), for current students, graduates and applicants to learn more about us, what our students are doing and myriad other subjects. We have many plans for content, but for this short post, please feel free to join us in our first ever live stream (earlier today) at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QPzhKNMlI8
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Induction week 2019 arrived and with it our newest intake of students, all very excited to start their game development careers. As part of the week, we whisked them off to Arcade Club in Leeds to play everything from the oldest arcade games to the newest VR titles. It wasn’t just for playing the games though, teams were built around a few interesting titles and the students tasked with creating posters to share their thoughts and experiences on those machines, all part of the University’s award winning “Flying Start” programme.
Some of the posters are below, all a bit of fun, designed to get the students talking, mingling and thinking about game design… what makes a game fun!
I also grabbed a few photos…
We’re all looking forward to another exciting year!
Well, the results are in, and staff and students from our Computer Games Design course have once again come home with prizes…
Returning for its second year, the Grads In Games Awards celebrate the individuals and institutions that have made a real impact in improving the links between the games industry and education. Recognising and highlighting the academics, universities and studios that are actively helping students make the leap from student games developer to professional games developer, as well as the students who are already achieving great things.
http://gradsingames.com/news/the-grads-in-games-award-winners-2019/
You might remember from my previous post that we had several short-listings across most of the available categories…
Matthew Novak – WINNER for “Academic Award” award
Ellie Brown, Zachray Cundall and Helen Andrzejowska – WINNER for “Student Hero” award
Congratulations to Matt, Zach, Ellie and Helen for their great achievements!
The Grads in Games Awards 2019 shortlist has been announced with the University of Huddersfield, its staff and students all nominated for prizes.
You can read more about the categories at http://gradsingames.com/awards/ but for now, let’s celebrate all of the Huddersfield noninations and wish them all the best of luck in the final on 17th April!
Matthew Novak – Nominated for “Academic Award” award
University of Huddersfield – Nominated for “Educational Institution” award
Dale Green – Graduate from our Computer Games Programming course, now at Red Kite Games and nominated for “Graduate Impact” award
University of Huddersfield and Red Kite Games – Nominated for “Industry Collaboration” award
Ellie Brown, Zachray Cundall and Helen Andrzejowska – Nominated for “Student Hero” award
The awards were set up for the stand out stories you all have about the individuals who really went that extra mile, the studio who gave you your first job and was more supportive and nurturing than you could’ve ever imagined. Or, maybe it’s the university that could not have prepared you more for life in the games industry or perhaps the person that you just wanna say “my dream wouldn’t be complete without you in it” to quote from The Princess and the Frog, as your dream of becoming a professional gamedev wouldn’t have come true without them.
EBONY GREEN – http://gradsingames.com/news/grads-in-games-awards-shortlist-2019/
Once again, well done to all!
The results of the 3rd round of the Grads in Games “Search for a Star” and “Rising Star” European competitions have been announced, with Huddersfield students once again taking many of the highest places.
Students are asked to create an original game-ready character model for use in UE4. All stylistic, narrative, thematic and aesthetic considerations are at the artist’s discretion.
https://itch.io/jam/3d-character-art-challenge-2019
Students from 1st, 2nd and final year were eligible to enter the categories, going up against thousands of entries in stage 1. Filtering only the best, stages 2 and 3 are now complete, with the final interview stage still to go.
“Search for a Star” is aimed at final year students and “Rising Star” is aimed at 1st and 2nd year students.
In partnership with Epic Games and a host of other games companies, this is a fantastic opportunity for students to show their skills in a challenging industry and be noticed for future employment prospects.
Results of the 3rd round of “3D Character Art Challenge” for “Search for a Star”:
| 3rd | Jack Walker | https://jackwalker.itch.io/blood-knight |
| 4th | Ellie Brown | https://ellierpbrown.itch.io/searchforastar |
| 10th | Chloe McCann | https://skulosaurus.itch.io/dinosaur-showdown-sfas |
| 12th | James Phiri | https://velvetfury.itch.io/so-character-art |
| 15th | Matthew Throup | https://matthewthroup.itch.io/xu-the-tainted |
| 17th | Callum McConnell | https://callumftw.itch.io/maroon |
Results of the 3rd round of “3D Character Art Challenge” for “Rising Star”:
| 1st | Mellissa Hamer | https://meireille.itch.io/akazugaikotsu-rising-star-2019 |
| 2nd | Oliver Fayers | https://oli-f.itch.io/the-sea-beast-naga-rising-star |
| 4th | Jason Morley | https://jrmorley.itch.io/rodrick-royal-guard |
| 8th | Ben Smith | https://ben-smith99.itch.io/heist-suspect |
| 12th | Nav Bhogal | https://nav-bhogal.itch.io/yami |
Students are asked to create and compose an original game environment scene for UE4, featuring a set of four key assets. All stylistic, narrative, thematic and aesthetic considerations are at the artist’s discretion.
https://itch.io/jam/3d-environment-art-challenge-2019
Results of the 3rd round of “3D Environment Art Challenge” for “Search for a Star”:
| 1st | Sam Sharpe | https://fightingsharpie.itch.io/city-bowels-cyberpunk-environment |
| 2nd | Ruben Chatha | https://rubenchatha.itch.io/mineshaft |
| 5th | Dan Jones | https://dan-jones.itch.io/realistic-dentist-office |
Results of the 3rd round of “3D Environment Art Challenge” for “Rising Star”:
| 1st | Reece Parrinder | https://reeceparrinder.itch.io/sci-fi-bar |
| 2nd | Chris Rhodes | https://chris186.itch.io/elder-tree-environment |
| 5th | Bradley Cullen | https://bradley-cullen.itch.io/spacecorp |
| 8th | Adam Fautley | https://adamfautley.itch.io/sammies-bar |
Students are asked to create an original game-ready effects sequence for use in UE4. All stylistic, narrative, thematic and aesthetic considerations are at the artist’s discretion.
https://itch.io/jam/games-vfx-challenge-2019
Results of the 3rd round of “Games VFX Challenge” for “Search for a Star”:
| 1st (joint) | Zack Cundall | https://cundall77.itch.io/cursed-tower |
| 1st (joint) | Eliot Stevens | https://eliotstevens.itch.io/dubstep-laser-gun |
