New iOS games to be revealed at Make Something Unreal Live competition during Gadget Show Live 2012
LUTON, UK and CARY, N.C. (November 15, 2011) – Train2Game and Epic Games, Inc. have selected the winners of the Train2Game and Epic Game Jam, a 48-hour event held November 4-6 at the University of Bedfordshire in whichmore than 100 aspiring game developers converged to create 10 playable games for iOS using Epic’s Unreal Development Kit (UDK), the free edition of the award-winning Unreal Engine 3 (UE3). Game jam winners will vie for a commercial UE3 license for iOS in the grand final competition, Make Something Unreal Live, to take place at the Gadget Show Live in Birmingham, UK from April 11-15, 2012.
All games created for the Train2Game and Epic Game Jam were designed around the common theme of Guy Fawkes, the English anti-hero celebrated each November 5 with bonfires and fireworks. UDK made it easy to get concepts up and running with minimum fuss so that teams could experiment with core mechanics directly inside the engine.
Top honors of the Train2Game and Epic Game Jam went to The A-Team, who created a side-scrolling action game set in a 17th century provincial town. Second place went to Nova Eye, who impressed judges with their tongue-in-cheek attack on Santa’s workshop aimed to stunt the flood of holiday decorations thereby increasing fireworks sales. Second runner-up Team Gandalf developed a first-person puzzle game in which the ghost of Guy Fawkes haunts the player.
“The ultimate prize represents an opportunity beyond anything amateurs can come across by themselves. As well as the commercial license, there’s the coaching by industry veterans, the support of Epic and the fantastic exposure that will accompany the winning game,” said Train2Game Course Director Tony Bickley. “We’re hitting fast-forward on the careers of talented students whose games you’ll be playing for years to come.”
Teams behind the three top apps along with a fourth team comprised of game jam all-stars have been selected for participation in Make Something Unreal Live. Developers are now beginning production of four brand new iOS games using UDK, with projects being coached by senior members of Epic Games, Train2Game, Deep Red Studios and special industry guests to be announced. This assortment of iOS games will be unveiled at the Gadget Show Live, where more than 100,000 attendees witness their making in real time.
“All the game jam participants can wear their battle scars with pride, and for the winners, it’s just the start of the biggest opportunity of their careers so far,” said Mike Gamble, European territory manager, Epic Games. “More surprises for this competition are in store. We are on track to bring new games to the App Store through this effort, and it’s great history in the making.”
Epic Games is known for its legendary Make Something Unreal Contest game development competitions, which utilize the Unreal Engine 3 toolset and reward grand prize winners with a commercial license granting full access to Epic’s high-end game engine technology. The $1 Million Intel Make Something Unreal Contest concluded in 2010, with multiple teams going on to ship commercially successful games based on projects made for the competition.
Tickets for the Gadget Show Live are available for purchase at http://www.gadgetshowlive.net.
About Train2Game
Created in 2008, Train2Game offers accredited courses in Games Design, Development, Art and Animation, certified by leading industry body TIGA. Train2Game is a blended-learning organisation designed to fast track the best, most ambitious and motivated students into the games industry through comprehensive, expert-supervised courses. A big part of this is coordinating with the best developers in the country and providing top tier talented graduates for placements in the workplace. This year will see its first graduates enter the workplace after years of training.
About Unreal Engine 3
Developed by Epic Games, the award-winning Unreal Engine is known for its cutting-edge graphics, best-of-breed tools and scalability across multiple platforms. Unreal Engine 3’s highly mature toolset and content pipeline consistently evolve along with its advanced mobile features, multi-core processor support, optimizations for numerous platforms and massive world support. Unreal Engine 3 is designed to accelerate developers’ productivity for computer and video games, mobile games and applications, training simulations, 3D visualizations, digital films and animated entertainment. Integrated with two dozen leading middleware technologies, Unreal Engine 3 holds more than 20 technology awards, including seven Game Developer Front Line Awards and four Develop Industry Excellence Awards. Additional information on Unreal Engine 3 can be obtained at http://www.unrealengine.com.
About Epic Games
Epic Games, Inc., based in Cary, NC and established in 1991, develops cutting-edge games and cross-platform game engine technology. The company has created multiple million-selling, award-winning titles in its “Unreal” series, including “Unreal Tournament 3” for PC, PlayStation®3 and Xbox 360®. The first two games in Epic’s “Gears of War” franchise have sold more than 13 million copies and won more than 50 game of the year awards. The third installment, “Gears of War 3,” sold more than 3 million copies within its first week of release, catapulting the franchise beyond $1 billion in lifetime sales. Epic’s Unreal Engine 3 holds more than 20 industry technology awards and powers many bestselling games. Additional information about Epic can be obtained at http://www.epicgames.com.
Epic, Epic Games, Gears of War, Gears of War 3, Unreal, Unreal Development Kit, UDK, Unreal Engine, UE3, and Unreal Tournament are trademarks or registered trademarks of Epic Games, Inc. in the United States of America and elsewhere. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.