Ind13 Issue One

Issue One December 2013

The Independent Games Development Magazine

The Microsoft Accelerator Project

Tips and tricks from a games artist

The Retro Computer Museum

The Significance of Indie Games

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EDITORIAL Introduction

We are ind13 Hello and welcome to the first issue of IND13

including; veteran developers, Kickstarter /

(Indie), the magazine for people interested in

Indiegogo campaigns we believe in, getting the

independent games development.

right sound effects for indie games, and retro gaming. The content of the magazine is created

Whether you’re a developer looking for good

by the core team along with contributors from the

reading, interested in games development, or a fan

industry. So if you ever want to write an article in

of indie games, then this is the magazine for you.

IND13, then get in touch via the details below.

Made up of six core members, our aim is to create

As a group we strive to be creative and always

a magazine that we would want to read. We are an

enjoy what we are doing. We hope this comes

independent publication and can cover any area of

across in our magazine.

development that we please.

Enjoy, We want to cover anything and everything,

ind13

IND13 – The Business IND13 is a video games magazine dedicated to independent games development.

The IND13 team is made up of voluntary contributors from different areas of independent games development. We’ve created a magazine which discusses topics we think are important to, and cater to the fans of, independent games development.

Our aim is to create interesting news, reviews and articles, all focusing on independent games development. The nucleus of our team is based in the UK but we hope to have a team stretching the globe. We aim

to have independent gaming news from the UK, US, Europe and Asia, but also from all other gaming territories.

The team behind IND13 are all volunteers, and we are giving up our time because we are passionate about independent games development. The content of the magazine will be made up of articles created by the IND13 team but also by voluntary contributors from the games industry.

Advertising is available in the magazine, at this time all proceeds will go into the development and stability of IND13’s production. Paying for advertising will also mean we can cover paying clients’

titles with editorial as well as with traditional advertising placements in the magazine.

We also give pro bono ad placements to the companies the team work for, in exchange for our time spent contributing to the magazine and to keep our employers happy.

We hope you enjoyed the magazine and please do get in touch with questions and comments.

The Team: Richard Hoffmann, Editor-in-Chief

Rokas Butkus, Design and Features Alan Vader, Retro Corner, Features Sophie Rossetti, Copy Editor Website: www.ind13.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/ind13 Twitter: @official_Ind13 Contact details to contribute articles and Editorial enquires: editorial@ind13.com

Harry Cole, Publisher Lee Smith, Creative Director

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Advertising enquires: advertising@ind13.com

Microsoft Backs Whispering Gibbon: Pages 16 - 17

Always the Same Blue Sky... A Visual Novel Pages 24 - 27

Profile of a Games Artist Pages 36 - 39

Alan Vader and the Retro Corner Pages 40 - 42

The Evil Ages of Games Pages 50 - 51 4 ind13.com

FEATURES Q&A with the IND13 Team: Pages 6 - 9 What did the IND13 team think of 2013, and what do they expect from 2014

Lucky 13: Pages 10 - 11 Where the IND13 team look at the stories that piqued their interest this month

Icey Monty: Pages 12 - 14 An interview with Nick Walker, Director of Icey Monty, a small and independent game studio

Microsoft Backs Whispering Gibbon: Pages 16 - 17 Whispering Gibbon discusses the potential of the Microsoft Ventures’ London Accelerator to give new games studios a welcome boost

Our Utopian Dream: Pages 18 - 20 Sarah Woodrow from Utopian World of Sandwiches discusses life as an indie studio

Microsoft Accelerator Program Pages 22 - 23 Our very own Richard Hoffman lets us know about Indie Game life at the Microsoft Accelerator Program

Can video games aid emotional wellbeing?

Page 30 Jacqueline Campbell, JCF Founder/Head of Mentoring, and Education, explains how gaming can actually help young people with Stress, depression and anxiety

ARTISTS CORNER Trial and Error!

Pages 32 - 35 Our residential games artist, Rokas Butkus, gives some tips on how to get started as a professional games artist, using Photoshop and a Wacom tablet

Profile of a Games Artist Pages 36 - 39 A profile of Junior Da Silva, an up and coming games artist

RETRO CORNER Alan Vader Pages 40 - 42 Continuing the second part of his Matthew Smith retrospective

7 Reasons why I’ll Die Alone Pages 44 - 45 Alan Vader takes a look at some of the finest Capcom insipred pieces the gaming world offered, and that he purchased

Brand New, it’s Retro...

Pages 46 - 48

Always the Same Blue Sky... A Visual Novel Pages 24 - 27

Andy Spencer, Chairman of the Retro Computer Museum, talks about how it all started

Designer and story teller, Grant Wilde, tells us the inspiration behind his visual novel

NEXT GEN GAMER

Twitch, to Stream, or not to Stream...

Pages 28 - 29 A look at the phenomenon that is Twtich. tv and online game streaming

The Evil Ages of Games Pages 50 - 51 Ophelia wonders why all the best games have to be 18 rated

The Significance of Indie Games: Pages 52 - 53 Alfie Brian Taylor, a young gamer, explains why indie games are an important part of his life

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EDITORIAL Q&A with the ind13 team

What Did IND13 Think of 2013 and What do They Expect in 2014 As 2013 comes to an end and 2014 approaches, we asked the editorial team their thoughts on the past year and what to expect in the future. Take a read below to find out the thoughts of people behind IND13.

LEE SMITH

HARRY COLE

RICHARD HOFFMAN

SOPHIE ROSETTI

ROKAS BUTKUS

ALAN VADER

Lee Smith What was your favourite game of 2013 and why?

New Star Soccer. I love football, and this simple but highly addictive game has kept me occupied for most of the year.

What game are you going to keep playing into 2014?

Probably the above really.

Is there a mobile title you played in 2013 that you loved?

I am probably unique in that I generally only play games on my phone or a tablet. The only XBox game that I really played this year was the last Tomb Raider, that we mistaken bought for our nine year old daughter not realising the revamped violent nature of it. So anyway, again, it will be New Star Soccer... yeah I know, I am pretty boring...

What did you learn about games in 2013?

That the variety of games being developed is quite astonishing.

Once you look outside the major games studios, you can see all sorts of original ideas being worked on in peoples bedrooms and small studios.

What would you like to work on in 2014?

The Sony Smart Wig. You have just got to check out that patent, the possibilities are hillariously endless...

What are you looking forward to playing in 2014?

Seeing the new ideas for games etc, which some of the people that I have spoken to are developing. These really are exciting times as people are moving away from the big graphics (although of course they are still nice), and moving back towards developing the game play and interesting art styles.

What trends in games do you expect to see in 2014?

Unfortunately I can just see more ‘in game purchasing’ which I am not a fan of. It just seems a way to increasingly rip gamers off...

What trends do you see coming in 2014 in indie games development?

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EDITORIAL Q&A with the ind13 team

Probably the same as above. I know that people need to earn money from games, but this is not the way to do it. Having ‘lite’ versions is much better than conning people.

Will you be buying a PS4 or Xbox 1?

I think the XBox 1, as we have the XBox 360. But I will be asking Alan Vader for his advice on that one.

What would you like to see more of in 2014?

What games are missing from the market?

A new version of Bubble Bobble, using an Oculus Rift and a trampoline...

Is there a particular technology you are looking forward to seeing more of?

Again, the Sony Smart Wig… so many possibilities (I cannot name one, but there must be…)

Harry Cole What was your favourite game of 2013 and why?

It has to be GTA 5. I have been looking forward to the latest addition to the series and I liked it a lot. Trevor has got to be one of the greatest videogame characters of all time. The writers behind GTA are incredibly talented. If I had any complaints, I would say the story was a little easy to complete for me. Also the online multiplayer is a little chaotic and the gang mechanic needs to tinkered with.

What game are you going to keep playing into 2014?

I think I will revisit GTA 5 to complete some of the side missions but they are getting a little repetitive and time consuming. I’ve just downloaded the Football Manager Handheld 2014 for my iPad and I expect that’ll keep me busy for a while.

Is there a mobile title you played in 2013 that you loved?

Football Manager got the most play for me, it’s an expansive game and ideal for long plane journeys. I’ve now started playing Jelly Splash, Papa Pear and PvZ 2, all of which have huge potential to be games I love.

of entertainment and is continuing to dominate.

What would you like to work on in 2014?

IND13 magazine. I would also like to assist independent studios with PR, Marketing and Business advice.

What are you looking forward to playing in 2014?

Nothing on my radar at the moment. These days I usually play products as I hear about them on the web or in trade publications.

What trends in games do you expect to see in 2014?

Mobile gaming will continue to grow and more major players will begin to desipher how to reach this now established market.

More web based titles that reach into the social life of online gamers.

What trends do you see coming in 2014 in indie games development?

As above. Mobile and online are the key areas for Indies. I think creating for console is just not a financially viable option anymore, unless you create small indie titles that can be played across platforms.

Will you be buying a PS4 or Xbox 1?

Not for a little while, I think I will wait for the price to drop. Can’t wait to play both!

What would you like to see more of in 2014?

What games are missing from the market?

Personally I believe revamps of classic titles that I loved as a kid.

The capabilities of the modern tablets have surely opened the doors to see Cannon Fodder and titles of that generation, get polished up and put onto mobile.

Is there a particular technology you are looking forward to seeing more of?

The Oculus Rift, developments with Microsoft Kinect and anything that uses holograms.

Sophie Rossetti What was your favourite game of 2013 and why?

Would it be silly to say The Wolf Among Us? I’m a sucker for a noir-esque fairy tale any day, especially from the kings of the Adventure genre!

What did you learn about games in 2013?

That there’s so much more to come from the mobile market; whether rehashing retro titles for new audiences or creating completely new concepts. That gaming is the strongest medium

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What game are you going to keep playing into 2014?

Lol, see above, plenty of episodes to go! Also I guess I should finish Bioshock Infinite...

Is there a mobile title you played in 2013 that you loved?

Plants vs Zombies 2 is still a winning tube time waster for me!

That things are not slowing down any time soon, new technology, new gen of consoles, new mobiles and tablets. Lots to look forward to!

What did you learn about games in 2013?

Platform owners are people too.

What would you like to work on in 2014?

Zelda Majora’s Mask... I can smell a remake, I want in on it.

What would you like to work on in 2014?

A new concept I just dreamed up on the flight home from Aus, and the games we’re working on at Curve of course!

What are you looking forward to playing in 2014?

The finalised versions of the games we’re making. The ones that will be awesome and have made us billionaires. We can dream can’t we.

What are you looking forward to playing in 2014?

Everything on my Steam wishlist ;) What trends in games do you expect to see in 2014?

Lots more social, online play and spectating for consoles, as the next generation offers a bunch of cool features for this.

What trends in games do you expect to see in 2014?

I think social and sharing will be a popular trend. Facebook walls will be covered in epic moments from games. That PS4 share button, although R.I.P start button you will be missed.

What trends do you see coming in 2014 in indie games development?

Hopefully programmers will gain more confidence in their artistic talent so we can move away from the pixel art trend.

What trends do you see coming in 2014 in indie games development?

Pandas.

Will you be buying a PS4 or Xbox 1?

When the money rolls in, ps4 all the way!

Will you be buying a PS4 or Xbox 1?

PS4 first I think.

What would you like to see more of in 2014?

What games are missing from the market?

I miss RPGs that relied as much on dialogue choices and story branches as they did on character sheets, bring back wellrounded RPGs!

What would you like to see more of in 2014?

What games are missing from the market?

What Sophie said.

Is there a particular technology you are looking forward to seeing more of?

Anything and everything VR. I’m saving up for my holodeck now, it’s only a matter of time.

Rokas Butkus What was your favourite game of 2013 and why?

I would probably have to say GTAV, because of all the little things. Not often do you find a game that you don’t actually have to play; and can still be entertained.

What game are you going to keep playing into 2014?

Pokemon Y, because I want to be the very best like no one ever was, to catch them all is my real test to train them is my cause.

Is there a mobile title you played in 2013 that you loved?

Plague Inc. Some people just want to watch the world burn. Like me apparently.

What did you learn about games in 2013?

Is there a particular technology you are looking forward to seeing more of?

I loved the Oculus Rift, can’t wait to see where things will go.

Richard Hoffman What was your favourite game of 2013 and why?

Man Alive, because it is so 100% indie-organic and so different from the mainstream-mostly-brainless-innovationless-sequeldriven bread of games.

What game are you going to keep playing into 2014?

Clash of Clans Is there a mobile title you played in 2013 that you loved?

Clash of Clans What did you learn about games in 2013?

It is all going downhill with mostly now free to play games. Kiss your good old premium games goodbye.

What would you like to work on in 2014?

On Virtual Reality games with Mechs, Tanks, Planes and

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Battleships. And my Titanfall killer game. It will be legend… wait for it!

What did you learn about games in 2013?

That it’s kinda fun to prattle on about them ceaselessly...

What are you looking forward to playing in 2014?

Titanfall and Watchdogs

What would you like to work on in 2014? ...which is what I plan to do more of next year! I’m planning on doing some youtube stuff too.

What are you looking forward to playing in 2014?

Ultra Street Fighter 4, at last some Elena fun, and I’m champing at the bit to find out who the new character will be. Oh, and all those costumes will at last be mine, ‘free’ things come to those who are cheap and patient!

What trends in games do you expect to see in 2014?

Free to play and Virtual Reality games.

What trends do you see coming in 2014 in indie games development?

Access to PS4 and Xbox One development for Indies.

Will you be buying a PS4 or Xbox 1?

Both, if the money god has mercy.

What would you like to see more of in 2014?

What games are missing from the market?

Quirky games like Man Alive that shake the games industry. Also genre and technology combinations would be great.

Is there a particular technology you are looking forward to seeing more of?

Virtual Reality and the next iterations of it.

What trends do you see coming in 2014 in indie games development?

Again, things seem a little staid right now, but I’m open to new experiences, once again, shock me to the core indie devs!

Will you be buying a PS4 or Xbox 1?

A PS4, but not for a good long while yet, PS3 still has legs for now, although it may end sooner than we imagine due to the record breaking sales PS4 got.

Alan Vader What was your favourite game of 2013 and why?

Dragons Crown by Vanillaware, I love 2D games and I love Vanillawares style, they ignored the haters, ignored common sense, ignored modern gaming sensibilities and put in years of hard graft. All for an experience that you won’t get again for some time.

What game are you going to keep playing into 2014?

I’d have to say that I’ve mostly cleared my palette for this year, although I do have a gift of a copy of Caves shoot em up Ketsui that just arrived from the other side of the planet, I promised the sender I wouldn’t open it until Santa’s Birthday, this is going to be a looong wait!

Is there a mobile title you played in 2013 that you loved?

Nope! But to be fair I didn’t play any either!

What trends in games do you expect to see in 2014?

I think most game makers will be struggling with the new hardware for now. It’s hard to picture what it will be since there’s no great jump in hardware power this gen. More of the same I guess. But please free to surprise me!

What would you like to see more of in 2014?

What games are missing from the market?

Shoot em ups, good ones and lots of them! Resogun is a good start by the looks of things. More honesty from game makers and reviewers, and a complete death of patches, games should work straight away, it’s do-able, so get to it!

Is there a particular technology you are looking forward to seeing more of?

I heard that 3D has died a death as far as terrestrial TV is concerned, it’s up to games to pick up the slack now, more 3D! We can’t let it die off as it did in the 80s, 70s, 60s, 50s etc etc... hmmm, wait a minute! Well maybe the cycle won’t repeat if the console makers latch onto it. «

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Dreamcast turns 15! - The little console that could turned 15 this month, and it still has games being released for it today! Not many consoles can claim such an exciting life into it’s mid-teens, so have a read of my little featurette (http://ind13. com/happy-birthday-dreamcast/) AV

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No doubt that VR will be an essential part of 2014 - The question remains which device will give you a nausea free experience - especially after a bottle of red wine. RH

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The darkest of all weekdays - Black Friday invaded our lives this month, with the American import leaving a horrid mess in it’s wake. By now you should know the feeling, a week tentatively checking websites every few minutes, then you wake up a week later with an empty wallet hangover and an angry looking postie at your door weighed under with little brown boxes. Did I really need a 3D camera? (The answer is ‘probably not’!) AV

When is a game not a game? When it is Proteus, a game which has already won many awards and is about exploration and immersion in a dream-like island world where the soundtrack to your play is created by your surroundings LS

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Time not to use that share button - Sweet Tooth learns a little professional courtesy while playing Killzone on the PS4 and educated us about the vicious share button and planking RH

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Charlie Brooker’s Videogames Changed the World - took me back in time to my gamer history. Cheers for that...

RH

Minecraft: The Story of Mojang - A featurelength documentary that follows the young company over the course of its first year as their profile expanded across the world stage and into the homes of millions of gamers LS

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The free game has continued to dominate on mobile platforms - I myself am playing three or four titles that I’ve not paid a penny for! I think it will be interesting to see how people working in mobile gaming make a profit. And we’ll also see marketeers getting involved in the very mechanics of games to make sure they turn a profit in new and interesting ways that change how we play. HC

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Double Dragon on Android Classic horizontal-scrolling beat up the baddies action jumps onto the Android platform, and makes me a very happy gamer LS

Lucky 13 Where we take a look at the stories that piqued our interest this month.

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Where is Nintendo?

- The big console manufactures are embracing the indie games dev community, but where is Nintendo in all this? RH

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Next Gen? When? - Now we’re officially living in the future, it’s time to pick your sides in the next great console war. I’m recommending you become a conscientous objector, why should you avoid the trenches?

Take a look! (http://ind13.com/ reasons-why-next-gen-canwait/) AV

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Wishing the guys at SpecialEffect a Merry Christmas and a Happy New year - The gaming charity has gone from strength this year and if you check out it’s website (www.specialeffect. org.uk/) the team have released a Christmas message to thank the games industry. HC

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Being an official PS4 / PS Vita developer & registered ID@Xbox One developer - we now have to become lucky and find tons of money to make the next Next-Gen killer-game.

No pressure ;) RH

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INTERVIEW Icey Monty

Nick Walker Director, Icey Monty

Indie game studio Q&A: Icey Monty Could you introduce yourself, the team and your studio?

We are Icey Monty Ltd, a games development studio made up of three guys working from three different parts of the UK; John Esslemont, Nick Walker and Domm Young,.

How did your studio come together, where did you gather the members of the team from?

Originally, it was John who started the team, back in October of 2012, when he was looking for an additional developer to help collaborate on his student operated project, called Dr Switzer. He scouted me from the Train2Game student forums after I helped another student with a C# problem, and after an introduction on Skype we went on to work together for a few weeks. John then offered to delegate one of his small freelance gigs to me. It was the first commercial work I’d ever done and I owe everything that has happened since to John.

In January of this year, we had a go at creating our own mobile application. With the help of Harry Cole (Publisher at ind13), who was supporting us with PR due to our status as Train2Game students, we were able to talk about possibly publishing our game to Microsoft’s Windows 8 Store, until we came to the unfortunate conclusion that we didn’t have the resources to get the product where Microsoft wanted it to be.

From there, we returned to freelance work, and on April 11th, we registered Icey Monty Ltd. What is the history of the team, where did you all start from in your games making careers?

Nick: John started working in 2012 on the game for PaintBallGame.com, as a sort of lucky break. He applied for the position on the off chance, which turned out to be his entrance into the freelance industry. John considers it one of his steepest learning curves, as he was now responsible for a large variety of

disciplines that he’d barely touched on before, for a project far larger than he’d previously dealt with.

After grounding himself in that job, he went on to work on a variety of projects for mobiles, some of which reached over a million consumers, which was an extraordinary achievement for someone so new to the industry.

I was just as lucky. I discovered Actionscript at school, which is where I was first introduced to the concept of games programming. Not long after that, having realized that I was not interested in the more traditional routes of education, I began researching games development careers, which is where I found Train2Game.

At the end of my AS year, I quit school and signed up for the course. Just as the next school year began, I started on the Games Development material, which lead to my involvement in the Train2Game community and my eventual collaboration with John.

In June, after realizing that we couldn’t keep up with the work that we were being offered, we entertained the idea of hiring another developer. Having founded the team in the Train2Game student community, and with the knowledge of the quality of programmer that the courses produce, we decided to search internally for a new developer. Domm Young stood out to us, and after a trial period, we hired him.

How does the dynamic of the team work, what is your creative process?

We are extremely unconventional, in that neither John nor I really have a specific set of roles in the company. It may just be that we are starting out, but naturally we are both interested in gaining experience in all areas, and so everything we do is shared. Our

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The Icey Monty crew Domm Yung, Nick Walker and John Esslemeont

main role, as developers, is where we branch out the most, but we collaborate where appropriate and help each other when deadlines are tight. We did, however, hire Domm exclusively to develop games, which has worked for us all.

I wouldn’t call it much of a creative process, but the game design discussion is usually conducted on a one to one basis with our clients.

Of course, many job specifications we get allow us no freedom in that area, which is understandable, but we do like to be involved in design and offer our services where we can.

What is the ethos of the team, what sort of games do you strive to create?

We say on our website that we started this company to ‘realize our dream of making meaningful, expressive games’, which I think many developers can relate to.

Of course on a fundamental level we are committed to quality in all aspects, which I think goes without saying. We want to make fun games, which is simple enough in theory, but the challenges involved challenge us.

We take a popular philosophy for our games which is; if we can lose track of time playing it, it’s done.

are: ‘Hoards of Doom’, a top-down, fantasy shooter, should be available to play for free on nedagrogames.com soon. CubeWord, a cube crossword puzzler, is in alpha with the launch coming soon.

More generally, after receiving some great advice from a client of ours, we’ve been experimenting with the idea of selling our own games non-exclusively to a market of web-owners, as there is a large demand for these kinds of casual games.

Additionally, the platform has many benefits, the most prominent of which is the fact that it will allow us to gain a huge amount of experience in the full development cycle, as these games usually take a matter of weeks to develop.

Understandably, this has given us a huge amount of creative freedom, and it has encouraged us to take on more of a design role. While it is still early, we’ve outlined a potential strategy for marketing and are confident about the direction it is taking us.

As an Independent studio, what advice would you give to aspiring games makers?

John had a successful freelance career before Icey Monty was even discussed, and I think that is incredibly important. It’s very easy to get overwhelmed by possibility but you need to know how you are going to run. Of course, it’s important to enjoy the work you do as much as you can as well, because the first year is not going to be easy and there are always challenges.

What are you currently working on that you can tell us about?

Between us, we are working on four client projects, three of which are being developed for web-player. The two we can talk about

On the other hand, it’s very easy to work too much when you haven’t got any fixed deadlines, and it’s extremely important to

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John demoing an Icey Monty game created for Strongbow

take breaks, from a health point of view as well as just socially.

What are the benefits of being an indie and what are the draw backs?

We are extremely unconventional, in that neither John nor I really have a specific set of roles in the company...

It’s undoubtedly better than conventional work, and we all love the flexibility, but it is uniquely difficult. Time management is incredibly difficult, and you have to learn to live with the idea that your finances have to be flexible, but overall, we can’t see ourselves ever changing this work model.

What have you learnt from your experiences creating games?

I have an appreciation for all the roles involved in developing a game now that I don’t think I could even understand before I started this job, not to mention an appreciation for the work and scope of development that goes into creating a game.

When I was a kid I once posted a game idea on a developer community forum for a programmer to write the entire game, from scratch, with no help from me, at a 20/80% cut on profits. I was asking for the 80% because it was my idea, and now I cringe every time I think about it.

Can you tell us about any sharp learning curves that you have had creating games?

What do you see as the future of the studio?

Where to start? I cannot even begin to make a list. From the business side of things to the actual game development process, we are forced to learn so much just to do our jobs that there really isn’t anything that I can distinguish.

I personally believe that it is the best way to learn, and I’m

thankful that I’ve had the opportunity to. We all do some researching at least once a day.

I think I speak for John and Domm when I say that I want to never have to look for another job. We love creating games, and I’d be happy if that is what we continued to do. Cheers. « Find out more about Icey Monty at www.iceymonty.com and www.facebook.com/IceyMonty

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FEATURE Microsoft and Wispering Gibbon

Whispering Gibbon A Newcastle start-up team, which is part of Microsoft Ventures’ Accelerator programme.

Microsoft backs Whispering Gibbon Whispering Gibbon discusses the potential of the Microsoft Ventures’ London Accelerator to give new games studios a welcome boost

For independent studios devoted to the notion of ‘indie spirit’, success can prove a tricky business. Partnering with platform holders and publishers, making your studio into a business and generating cash are all things cynics might suggest undermine the defining qualities of what it is to be indie.

Start-up Whispering Gibbon, however, is proof incarnate that a studio can be an independent entity and a true business. For the team of ‘three-and-a-half staff’ have signed up to a number of Microsoft initiatives conceived to support small teams, all the while ticking plenty of boxes that highlight the outfit as a bona fide indie.

Having turned their back on work for giants of triple-A development, the core team are currently based in Newcastle, and as part of Microsoft Ventures’ London Accelerator programme are spending 12 weeks commuting between their home city and London, some 250 miles away, staying on friends’ floors and sofas each week. They are making a distinct game in the form of the horticulture-themed Tiny Trees, and are collectively a world away from the corporate world of sequel-spawning mega studios.

But, says founder and director Joe Stevens, having signed up to Microsoft Ventures’ London Accelerator initiative, they are learning how to become a robust business without sacrificing creative freedom, thanks to a programme conceived by Microsoft to mentor early-stage start-ups and condense the time a given team’s game takes to reach the market.

“Microsoft Ventures’ London Accelerator sees us working from London for 12 weeks, and for us it’s been about building a

company,” offers Stevens.

“There are so many indie devs out there that are talented at what they do, and that can make a good game, but sadly these days that doesn’t mean you’re going to go on making a living out of it.

We just wanted to get back to being creative, and get excited about stuff that’s a bit different...

“There’s so much to learn about business; about the speed you grow, where you focus and so on. So the Accelerator, for us, has let us turn from an indie that loves making games into one that is an indie company; a place that’s indie and a viable business. And it’s working for us, and it’s bringing us together as a team that are also a business.”

From Abertay Onwards Like many indies suddenly making their presence felt in the UK development space, Whispering Gibbon’s story has some Abertay funding in its early chapters.

The money from the institution, which is famously supportive of the games industry, afforded Stevens and his team to build a bolstered version of an existing prototype that suitably impressed Microsoft, and soon Stevens and his colleagues were applying for the Accelerator.

“It’s focused us so much,” says Whispering Gibbon systems programmer Kyle Whitelaw of the journey the team has taken. “It’s so easy as an indie to have so many ideas and not focus on what you need to do as a company. The Accelerator’s also really helped us with developing an identity, and making decisions as a business.”

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Kyle Whitelaw

Joe Stevens

And for Whispering Gibbon, the support from Microsoft does not stop with the Accelerator. The team have long been signed up to BizSpark, granting them free access to a wealth of development middleware and additional use of Microsoft’s Azure cloud back-end.

Meanwhile, at the time of writing, Whispering Gibbon is well into the process of securing funding from Microsoft and trade body Creative England’s Greenshoots collaborative initiative, which offers up to ten independent developer start-ups funding of as much as £25,000, along with a wealth of technology, services and other assistance.

Living the Dream Ultimately, in showing it is possible to harness not just one, but a number of Microsoft programmes targeting start-up studios, and by proving you can remain indie and work with technologies biggest companies, Stevens and his colleagues have been able to move towards something of a dream.

“We just wanted to get back to being creative, and get excited

about stuff that’s a bit different,” reveals the studio director.

“To me triple-A has become increasingly stale over time. That’s understandable, as over time some big studios have had to take less risks, because it is costing more and more to make games.

To me, though, that was the ideal time to jump ship, and take what I’d learned from triple-A back to my childhood passion of making really unusual games, and plenty of stupid stuff too.”

Stevens may joke that his ideas are ‘stupid’, but Tiny Trees is already looking promising.

And there are no regrets for Whispering Gibbon, who are learning what it is to be a true indie company, without having to commit to giving away a share of their company or working solely on Microsoft platforms. « To find out more about Whispering Gibbon visit www.whisperinggibbon.com

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FEATURE Utopian World of Sandwiches

Sarah Woodrow Utopian World of Sandwiches.

Our Utopian Dream Woody said something to me this morning, when I wondered if we’d make enough money to make this business work how we want it to. It is a Utopian dream after all. He said “We’ve always made our other dreams come true, what makes you think we can’t make this one come true?”

I know he’s my husband and I am supposed to say this, but how awesome is that?

He just comes out with this stuff all the time... although it does normally involve a quote from Jurassic Park or Wayne’s World... and sometimes Terminator 2.

When we talk about how it feels like it’s our time to start acting like ‘adults’ and in the words of Frank Turner ‘inherit the earth’, he will inevitably quote Goonies at me... “Because it’s their time. Their time! Up there! Down here, it’s our time.

It’s our time down here.”

This is us taking control of our future.

We are all just trying to find our way out of the maze of modern life. We don’t want to spend our lives commuting, sitting in front of a computer from 9-5, 5 days a week, going through the motions, until we die. We don’t want to spend our lives worrying about money or if we’re going to look back at our lives and think about how we only ever went to work, came home, watched TV, slept and then did it all again the next day.

We know there is more to life than that. We want to have a purpose.

We want to spend our days thinking about the people we care about and how we can make them happy. We want to care about a lot of people. We want to be a part of something good that makes people’s lives better.

People need happiness, they need love and they need each other. We want to make things that make people happy and bring them together and make them a part of something awesome. This is what we do. If we believe that something other than a game will fulfill those needs we’ll pursue that just as hard. If something feels wrong to us, if it feels like it does harm in some way, we won’t do it.

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FEATURE Utopian World of Sandwiches

One of these things is free to play games. We’ve thought about it carefully and listened to a lot of opinions on it. We don’t want to do it. We want people to pay for the content that they can afford, no deception, no confusion, no manipulation. Just up front honesty, “here’s a product that we hope you will love and value, this is how much it costs”.

We aren’t obsessed with profits and we don’t have a five year business plan. We are learning how to make this work as we go...

We just want to make good games that you will want to buy. As we add more content and spend more time on it, then we’ll ask for more money. We think this is an honest way to do business and we don’t believe charging what something costs does harm to anyone because the choice is in our players hands.

So we aren’t obsessed with profits and we don’t have a five year business plan. We are learning how to make this work as we go and we change what we’re doing based on evidence. We have big dreams, but we’re taking little steps. People often give us advice; “1. Kickstarter 2. Apple store 3. Profit???” ;) we take it on board, and then we do what we think is the right thing to do.

It may seem idealistic or naïve but we’ve always believed that if we live what we believe, with no regrets, if we never compromise on what we think is the right thing, that we may not get millions of pounds but we would get enough money to keep going. We want to build a name for ourselves that is clean, honest and true to what we believe. Then hopefully people will want to support that name.

The big reason we have chosen to take the route of self-funding is that we don’t want it to become all about business. We believe in putting people first. That doesn’t mean that we don’t care about money, it’s just that all our money decisions will be “people decisions” rather than “business decisions”.

Our goal isn’t to make millions of pounds; our goal is to be sustainable. This is us doing what we love, for the people we love so that we can build a world we love living in. No compromises. No regrets. Only the hope that what we’re doing will pay off and we’ll be able to keep trying to make people happy for the rest of our lives.

Along with all of his movie quotes, Woody has taught me that achievement is all about persistence. You can achieve anything as long as you can weather the storm getting there. It’ll be scary, you’ll make mistakes, you’ll doubt yourself, life will be hard and it’ll be tempting to give up and do something easier, but it’s only the people who persist through all of that whose dreams come true and actually end up making a difference.

We want to be a sustainable business that does good, we want to show that this is a viable way to run a business. One day we want to be able to pay talented people to make awesome things to make people happy. This is our dream. Even if that day never comes, we’ll always have the hope that it will eventually. Who wants to live in a world of compromise and no hope?

We want to do things the way we believe they should be done, not the way that they have been done in the past. We are choosing not to be like everybody else. We are choosing to be free. « To find out more about Utopian World of Sandwiches visit www.utopianworldofsandwiches.com

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FEATURE Richard Hoffmann

Richard Hoffman Richard Hoffmann is an Indie Game Developer & IT Consultant with over1 5 years of experience in the IT and games industry. He worked for big corporations like IBM, Penguin, Ricoh, Continental AGas well as SME’s and Start-ups.

He is developing mobile apps and games since 2009. Last but not least he is fluent in most languages like C#, C, Java, JavaScript, Lua, PHP, Visual Basic and SQL.

Indie Game life at the Microsoft Accelerator Program I arrived at the silicon roundabout with the realisation of how lucky we are to be in the heart of this incredible area, with such amazing people around us in Tech City in London. Every day brings something new and exciting, and each week I look through the list of seminar’s that have been scheduled for us with an awe and still almost disbelief that we have been lucky enough to secure a place in the Microsoft Ventures UK accelerator.

Unfortunately I found myself unable to attend all of the sessions due to other commitments, but that’s where the GallantCloud team is lucky to have CEO Ben in the ‘office’ every day to cover any absence, relaying important information back to the team.

This and the last week we had some meetings with two of our awesome game mentors, who took some precious time out of their busy schedules and visited us for the whole day.

At the beginning of the program we were introduced to the SCRUM methodology and how the pros in the game industry come up with game ideas. They also looked through some of our designs and we were able to have a brilliant discussion around what they felt about them and what they thought could really work for us.

After the session we sat down as a whole team and went through the designs again, pushing to make them fuller and form them into something great! As they say: ‘Practice makes perfect’!

As they introduced their SCRUM methodology and experience to us, it became quite clear how this would help our team as well.

Apparently there are differences between SCRUM for games and traditional SCRUM for software development, which SCRUM

was initially designed for and was brilliant to learn!

One of the other highlights was the GallantCloud team trip to Luton, where the Train2Game headquarters is located, and grabbed our swanky new business cards. It was time to make good use of them and meet other game developers at a Guildford TIGA event.

Time to get our new team out there and spread the good word!

It was a very interesting night with a great (and brutally honest) speaker about his journey of publishing a Snooker game on different platforms and how it sold over a period of time.

The talk was very informative and certainly inspiring in regards

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Richard Hoffman with the GallantCloud team

of the magic of passive income which sells games and makes you money while you sleep. Obviously that is an art and hard to get right. It takes loads of tenacity to get there.

We are looking into our virtual games wall and discussing possible game concepts that might work for us.

This week went really quickly this time with us working on our game prototype and setting our goals this week. We realized we were a little bit over ambitious at the start of the project. Well, this apparently happens to the best of us according to our mentors.

Over time we got much better at estimating what we can deliver each week.

From my point of view we are making good use of the game SCRUM methodology and trying out the ‘poker numbers’ as well.

Sadly the week had come to an end BUT… (drumroll please)…

We are officially incorporated, yey! But no time to celebrate really.

We are looking at our virtual games wall and discussing possible game concepts that might work for us. As we had some great feedback from our game mentors. So we are highly motivated to include those into our game and develop them further.

It is always great to work together with creative people and to come up with original, funny and sometimes wacky ideas.

Making a choice of the next game elements we are looking into improving and developing our prototype over the weekend and next week is a tough one.

Most of the ideas are really good. I would love to see them

incorporated and test out the results and effect on the game play.

After long discussions about the potential part we find interesting and worth proceeding with.

After that was done, we started planning the next week and refining the game design document for the game we are developing. Another exciting week at the Microsoft Ventures UK Accelerator program has passed and another exciting week is ahead of us! « Find out more about the Microsoft Accelerator Program, visit: www.microsoftventures.com

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FEATURE Always the Same Blue Sky

Grant Wilde Designer and story teller

Always the Same Blue Sky... A Visual Novel Could you tell us about your studio? How many team members do you have, where are you based?

I don’t actually have a studio at this point in time, as I’m currently without the means of financing one unfortunately, although that is the aim! I gathered the people I thought were best suited to help me realise this project, and I would definitely like to work with them again in the future! Luckily two of my team were very easy to source.

I used to be heavily into a bit of a bizarre anime-styled online golf game called Pangya if you’ve heard of it? Although I’m an MMO gamer, I don’t really build strong connections when I play... I think it’s mainly because I always want to branch off, do my own thing.

A user going by the alias of Ayasal (real name Nhuy Nguyen) on Pangya was the exception. You can probably guess, but during matches of virtual golf you have a lot of time to talk, and Aya was very sweet, always a lot of fun to chat to - as we played at similar times, and both had an unhealthy obsession with collecting outfits/upgrades for our characters, over time it built into a genuine friendship. I learned she was an artist and was stunned by her deviantART page. When we were playing one day, I told her that I was thinking about making a story I’d written years ago into a visual novel and she was pretty excited about the prospect. I sent her over the story, and luckily for me, she loved it and quickly drew her interpretation of Kira, which again stunned me. It was at that moment that it moved from an idea to a serious project.

I’ve known Jon Hayward, the music producer of the project, since the age of 4. Although we were in each other’s lives sporadically from that point, we ended up re-connecting in the 6th form. We rapidly become close friends and even ended up living in Tokyo for a few months after school. Jon’s always been a ridiculously talented

I don’t really feel I can claim full ownership over my ideas as more often than not they write themselves

musician, in whatever capacity he chooses to express it. When I first reconnected with him he was a singer/song-writer, he brought people to tears during his gigs. He studied Creative Music Technology at uni so gradually moved more into digital composition. He started posting his work to Soundcloud and everything he created was awesome. Although the tracks he released were a different style to the sound I wanted for the novel, I was confident that with his versatility and talent he would be perfect, and I intend to work with him on every project I produce in the future.

Although Aya was working on both backgrounds and character art, she was struggling a little with buildings and asked for help.

So I went onto deviantART and advertised in the forums. Initially Pablo Fiorentino joined the team. He actually worked with us for a few months but unfortunately had to leave due to a career change. We’re still using one of his pieces in the final product, the background behind Kira where she’s sat at her desk. After his departure, I went back onto the forums and found lordless. In all honesty, lordless is a bit of a mysterious fellow, I get the impression he prefers to let his artwork do the talking, which isn’t a problem to me as it’s pretty spectacular! The majority of the background art has been created by lordless, but I was keen to include the ones Aya had worked on, so I’m lucky their styles seem to gel so nicely together; I doubt most people realise the backgrounds are done by different artists.

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Although I had a clear image of the island in my head, I was keen for my artists to put their own creative spin on things

James, who has also become a good friend of mine through Jon, is a graphic designer. Although I’m confident in my own logo-design skills, I knew James would knock it out of the park, and he did!

After release I was contacted by Marcel who very kindly offered to translate the novel into German; the next update will also feature a Chinese translation courtesy of Shan Radstone. I’m very keen to get the novel translated into Japanese, as there’s obviously a big market out there for it, so if anyone has a contact, hit me up!

Could you tell us about Always the Same Blue Sky? / Could you tell us why you chose the style of this game and why you chose to make a game in this genre?

It’s weird because I don’t really feel I can claim full ownership over my ideas as more often than not they write themselves. I rarely sit there thinking about what to write, instead the majority of my ideas tend to pop up when I enter screensaver mode and let my mind wonder.

I was on holiday with my parents, I must’ve been around 15 on a ferry to a Greek island, I was boiling hot, fixated with the sun sparkling on the surface of the deep blue sea... I was in full-on screensaver mode. I imagined how it’d feel to dive in, what if I saw a girl down there and part of me instantly fell in love? My mind spiralled. When I re-entered reality I immediately wrote everything down, how I felt, bullet points of how the story played out, the land it would take place in. I spent the rest of the holiday letting the world I was building engross me, writing down everything that happened there, something I’d done every holiday for as long as I can remember really... there’s nothing I enjoy more than going to an unfamiliar place and getting lost in my own world (I’ve always been a bit odd).

Now, like I said, I’ve got a lot of stories like this one stashed away, unique ideas spanning a wide variety of game genres that I’d love the chance to develop. I knew a project based on AtSBS would be the best move at this point in time, that it was the most viable with the resources I had available to me. Next I needed to decide what medium would suit it best, I looked at making it into a manga for a while, but I really liked the interactivity that visual novels offer - I thought it would be the best way to get across the world in my head.

It’s always a little tricky explaining what visual novels are to people not familiar with them. It’s a medium that’s very popular in Japan, I tend to describe it as a combination of a game, a manga and an anime, what it boils down to though is an interactive story. So Always The Same Blue Sky is a fantasy/romance visual novel, set in a mysterious yet charming seaside town.

The artwork is incredible, it is heavily influenced by Japanese art? Who is the artist and who are you influenced by?

Nhuy Nguyen is the character artist and lordless is the background artist. I’ve always had an affinity with anime and was keen to go down that route. That said, I was also conscious not be bound by conventions... I suppose I didn’t really have a choice though; I don’t know of any anime that’s set on a non-existent Mediterranean island in the near (stained-glass-favouring) future! Although I had a clear image of the island in my head, I was keen for my artists to put their own creative spin on things as they’re very talented individuals in their own right. The method I adopted was simply to give them a brief, see what they came up with and then go from there. The hardest part was locking down the look of both Kira and the island (architecturally and in terms of the landscape). There were quite a few revisions of the initial pieces, but when we were all confident with the aesthetic we created the rest was easy!

Who composed the music? It’s awesome. What was behind the choice to go with this style?

Jon Hayward whom I detailed above. It’s very much the same situation with the art really, once we decided on a style we liked, when our creative visions combined, the rest was easy! We spent a lot of time going through tracks from anime/games/visual novels we liked and thought would suit the novel on YouTube and discussing what made each one a success. We both also have a deep love of the Studio Ghibli films and were playing through Ni No Kuni at the time, so you may be able to hear the influence there. On that note, Ghibli also influenced my vision for the art -

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beautiful watercolour backgrounds with crisp more typical-anime style character art.

my site www.crimsonnight.com if you’re interested :) What are your favourite games to play?

Why did you choose to undertake this project?

It must have been a challenge?

There are two reasons really, one slightly noble, and one more practical. The first is that games had a big impact on me growing up, they were an escape when I was struggling with the world - I can name quite a few games that have shaped me as a person because they’ve had some sort of impact on me, and that’s the main goal with all my work, to hopefully pass what I can of that experience on. The second I touched on earlier, it has always been my dream to become the next Shigeru Miyamoto and and really hope AtSBS is the first big step towards that goal. At this moment in time it acts as my key portfolio piece, a slice of what I’m capable of.

This is a difficult one. The aspect I most admire in games is uniqueness, something that’ll leave an impression, and that can manifest itself across most genres. I have a weakness for adventure games (usually RPGs), that allow you to grow as a character in an engrossing world, the most obvious example being Ocarina of Time. My favourite console of all time is the N64 with the Dreamcast coming a close second. I feel there was a lot more freedom with major releases back then, a lot more experimentation (Sonic on a skateboard, collecting animals to feed to his genetically mailable alien pets anyone?)

Which game designers influence you?

Shigeru Miyamoto is my main influence as his games helped shape me as a person! As I said though, I admire any designer that can leave a memorable impression on me.

What did you learn during the development of the project?

A ridiculous amount, and in almost every area you can think of. I learnt a lot about how to manage people, about balancing everyone’s comfort with making sure things are progressing at a good pace, and of course in unison. I learnt a lot about coding, managing releases, and the limitations/possibilities of various platforms/distribution methods; then of course there’s PR and marketing etc etc. Most of these areas I was completely new to before AtSBS and am still learning more about every day!

What else are you working on, what do you have planned for the future?

Why to take over the world of course, one game at a time! >:]

Where/how did you learn to make games?

I suppose I’m lucky that I grew up when free downloadable games were really big, and the quality of most of them wasn’t great. I thought it would be worth giving it a bash, so I started off by messing around with The Gamemaker, using assets readily available and making fan games. Luckily they were well received and people wanted me to produce more, so I continued throughout my teenage years, favouring WYSIWYG editors as coding always intimidated me. All my past releases are featured on

I’m currently working on a completely unique puzzle/platformer aimed at large touchscreen devices, I don’t really want to give too much away at this time, but I can guarantee it’ll be epic ;) All I’m going to say is keep your eyes on Kickstarter Q1 next year! I’d also love to continue work on AtSBS, expanding the novel and adding more interactive features. I have also written a prequel and sequel so it’d be awesome to get the chance to flesh-out the Blue Sky saga one day! « To download the game, go to: www.alwaysthesamebluesky.com and enter the code ind13discount to take advantage of an exclusive to ind13 offer

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FEATURE Twitch.tv

Lee Smith Lee Smith is the founder of Souzou, a new creative agency based in London, and a lifelong fan of Bubble Bobble.

Twitch: To Stream, or not to Stream...

I recently wrote a short article on our website (ind13.com) about Twitch, a live game streaming site that I only recently discovered. Well, I was actually shown the site by a colleague on a slow-work day...

I am sure many of you are already very much aware of this site and I am a bit of a newcomer, but my interest was piqued enough to revisit it many a time since that first showing, and so I thought that a full article was needed.

At first, the idea seemed absurd. As it, quite frankly, is. Brilliant,

absolutely, but also quite asburd. People sit in their homes and film themselves playing games. That’s the basic essence of it. So you see the game they are playing, in a large window, and in the corner there is a smaller window where you see the glorious wonder that is the gamer themselves, talking you through what they are doing, what they are playing. See, totally absurd.

However, with over 35 million (yes, million) unique visitors per day from around the globe, there certainly seems to be enough of a demand for it and, once you get past the initial “WTF!” moment and delve into the world of Twitch, you can see why.

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My intial WTF moment was when my aforementioned colleague (I won’t mention his name, but I will say that he shares it with a little blue alien in a Simon Pegg film...) told me, when explaining the site to me, that there are people who have actually quit their jobs to work full time at sharing their game playing prowess.

One particualar example he mentioned, who was playing Call of Duty: Ghosts, had a wife and two kids but was earning enough from ‘donations’, that he could support his family and fulfil his lifelong dream of his career being spending the majority of his waking life playing games.

KingKongor, another example, has had 21,299,886 channel views which is just staggering, and gets donations of upto ¢1000 a time.

This is as close to being a professional gamer as it gets.

And that’s the point. Far from being an odd idea, a totally absurd idea, it is actually an extension of every, now traditional, media.

Where once all gamers got their news, reviews, tips and other pieces of information from printed magazines and then, with the invention of the internet, from dedicated game sites, they can now go straight to the source. Straight to other gamers from across the world. They can communicate and share with like-minded souls, on the game of their choice, and learn some new tricks and tips on the way.

And Twitch isn’t just full of bog-standard lonely 40 something male gamers sitting in their room trying to reach out to the world in the only way that they know, it is populated with some of the most highly skilled gamers around. Male and female. Yep, that’s right, because despite popular myth girls plays games too... and not just Candy Crush and The Sims.

One such girl gamer is kaceytron who, being just 22, has 1,316,071 viewers watching her play games such as League of Legends and World of Warcraft and she gets a constant stream of donations of up to $30. Not as much as KingKonger, admittedly, but all those donations would add up to quite a nice amount for just playing one of your favourite games. (A warning to any girl gamer out there though, if you are thinking about streaming live on Twitch, be prepared to get messages from idiots who still get over exicited by the site of a gamer with breasts and think its amazingly funny to send extremely crude messages.)

Anyway, I digress. Are you stuck on that new Assasins Creed game?

These gamers will speed through the games with ease, and show you how to too. These are the gamers that set new world records.

Hence why people donate, as it is a valuable resource for them. It is worth donating a few pound to keep the very best playing these games and sharing their skills with you in the same way it is worth buying a dedicated games magazine (hint hint) to get the tips and opinions that are enclosed within them.

That isn’t all though. Twitch have large-scale gaming competitions that pack stadiums and it has also raised millions for various charities. Twitch, it seems, is big and is most definately here to stay, especially with the new XBox One and the PS4 making it easier to stream your games live, without the use of extra cables.

The Twitch community is set to grow yet even larger and is going to be seen in a lot of living rooms in 2014 and beyond.

So regardless of whether you’re a casual gamer, a pro player, a game developer or a game publisher, Twitch is the perfect platform to either share your gaming skills or your latest creation to the worldwide gaming community at large. «

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FEATURE Julian Campbell Foundation

Jacqueline Campbell

Dr. Liz Miller

JCF Founder/Head of Mentoring and Education

Secretary/Head of Teacher Training

Can Video Games be used to Manage Teenagers Mental and Emotional Wellbeing?

Stress, depression and anxiety, once conditions of older people, now affect younger age groups. It is not uncommon for teenagers and young adults to suffer from stress, anxiety and depression as they struggle to complete their education, pass examinations, survive in complex family arrangements, family break-ups, cross-cultural differences, bullying, the need to conform socially, gain work experience and find a job, compounded by the need to maintain a healthy lifestyle and avoid peer pressures use alcohol and drugs.

Although research by Young Minds states: “One in ten children and young people have a diagnosable mental disorder, which is equivalent to three children in every classroom”, Dr Liz Miller states that these figures are rapidly increasing.

The Julian Campbell Foundation (JCF) is a charity that works with young people to help them better manage their moods, emotions and behaviour in order to support them in education and early employment The charity works largely through mentoring young people, running workshops and training programmes for professional staff and members of the local community.

Now completing their pilot phase, supported by the Lottery Fund, JCF have found their mentoring program to be extremely successful, as well as there being a continued demand for wellbeing workshops from professional staff such as teachers and the local community.

In addition to this support, their local Education department of

Enfield are actively supporting the opening of the JCF alternative provision for children and young people in February 2014 .

There has been a great demand for the drama wellbeing workshops, with schools asking for more of their services being available as well as support for teachers to be shown to support children and young people with their wellbeing. Research by Julian Campbell Foundation found that 68% of teenagers involved in the drama wellbeing workshops stated that they would use an interactive computer game or application to help them manage their own moods and wellbeing if one was available.

There has been great difficulty for JCF to produce an application or game that would be effective enough to support the young person in maintaining, their own wellbeing and mental health, but at the same time, have the features of many of today’s games and appliances, such as stimulation, interest, educational not to mention being useful.

Julian Campbell Foundation are currently looking for game designers, programmers and artists who can transform and successfully produce a wellbeing game and application that would transform the world of mental health by helping to spot signs and redirect and change behaviours before crises situations occur. « For anyone interested in finding further information, please contact Mark on mark@juliancampbellfoundation.org.

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Rokas Butkus Rokas is an artist for games, with a bachelors in game design. Recently working with GlobalEmpireSoft and freelancing.

Trial and Error!

Greetings ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the design segment. We’re going to jump right in and have some fun with getting a few ideas down on paper, computer screen or use whatever medium you like. I want to cover a few approaches and how I like to think when creating something new, starting from scratch if you may. My weapons of choice at the moment are an Intous4 A4 tablet and Photoshop.

Many beginners have some great ideas in their head, but find it difficult to express visually. There is no magic shortcut around this, it takes practice, dedication, understanding and muscle memory.

But what we cover here will help you with this process. I will go over a few things which have really helped me in the past and are still helping me today. By no means am I anywhere near the standard of some artists you will see out there, but possibly just

like you I am striving to better myself and would like to share my experience with design and hopefully help you along the way.

Design is like a language, you use it to communicate ideas. To improve your design language you must look into fundamentals.

I’m talking about anatomy, perspective and all that great stuff. This is what will help you understand how we perceive the world and how replicate it visually.

You must start looking at things differently, notice the light and shape of things, compare an objects size, when daydreaming and looking out of the window, notice the shape of leaves, notice how shadows fall from buildings. Look at books on animals, vehicles and if you have the opportunity in that given moment, do a few sketches and log that information in your brain. The more research

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1

and practice you put in the easier this stuff becomes.

If it helps, keep these images nearby for reference; possibly create a mood board just so they are all in front of you.

My reference library, this is where a lot of my favourite images are stored, I suggest doing so yourself, it will help speed up the workflow and can be a source of inspiration on a slow day.

So our goal here is to create some thumbnail designs. This can be applied to character designs as well as environments and anything else.

I’m going to take the fun subject of mechs. It can be daunting to look at a blank page with a topic in mind, so let’s do a little research. Go on Google images or check your reference library, find mech / sci/fi related stuff, consider the types of vehicles that currently exist like military vehicles, tanks, helicopters, bomb disposal units. Or even look at unrelated stuff such as animals in nature, how they move and how this might be replicated to create a functional mech with similar bone structure that allows it to move a certain way.

So let’s get started. I’m going to get some rough shapes down. As I do this I am constantly thinking about 3D form even though it’s only a silhouette. But the silhouette is a very powerful tool; it is the first thing our brain recognises, so for example if you have 3 overlapping circles with no detail, you will still be making the connection with seeing a Mickey Mouse character.

So I’m just using a standard hard round brush with opacity at 100% and flow to around 40%. Flow is how much ink is being transferred to the page when pressure is applied, I want to mention this because I found this out really late and it helped simulate the sensation I wanted from the pen which I found really useful.

I begin with shape number one, which was created using trial and error to feel out a form which I found desirable. It works for me because it has varying shapes of different mass, connected

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ART AND DESIGN Trial and Error

by smaller shapes and seems like something I can translate into a number of designs. There is also a sense of balance, the shape although floating feels like it could be placed on a floor if given legs or wheels.

back being smaller I have created a 4 legged mech. It has a nonthreatening design and my thinking behind the design suggests it might be a communications robot or used to scan people and things.

Now I can’t stress this enough. Have fun with it and don’t worry if it’s not coming out exactly how you want. You learn best from making mistakes, if you are getting it right first time, the next time if it comes out wrong you won’t be able to understand why. Make the mistakes; because you will learn from those mistakes, you will know why it happened and how to fix it. Making mistakes is a good thing. These are by no means a finished product and do not take long to create, so keep at it and have fun.

Number 3 is very similar and shares the qualities of number 2 but expressed slightly different.

In image two onwards you can see exactly this, using a sense of perspective, with closer legs being larger and the legs further

Number 4 rounds off the edges more and makes the robot more symmetrical, I wanted a biped design which is more human in its likeness. Just for fun I added a tray of drinks to give this design clear purpose.

Number 5 has a more threatening feel to it, the sharper shapes gives the sensation that this robot has the potential to be dangerous. But also the amount of legs might express it has to

2

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ART AND DESIGN Trial and Error

Image reference library

overcome a difficult environment, or even latch onto things. My idea with this one was that the head is used to weld/cut metal in construction, so although this mech is not meant to be harmful, it might be if used in a game where you could hack the mech.

So let’s break down those forms even more. On the far left you can see how the silhouette is broken down into two major forms connected by a smaller form. In the line drawing it shows how the shape might look in 3d using outlines. Then the red arrow shows how I started to place this shape firmly on the floor by adding legs.

On the far right is the same major large form found within the red circles, for the final design all I did was flip this upside down to create a new design using what was already there.

Using a little bit of white paint, I have added the focal points.

This is something very minor which can make a design more

understandable; it also helps to direct the viewer’s eyes to what you want them to see first.

I hope that this has been useful! I will leave you with an image of some mech designs I have recently messed around with.

These were started using thumbnails as in this tutorial, but I have rendered them a tiny bit to show their design a bit more.

Which basically just means I’ve added and additional layer to the thumbnails and have used a lighter tone to bring parts of the mech forward and dark tones to push parts back. But we’ll get into more detail about this next time.

Also note I have used a silhouette of a person to help understand the scale of these machines. Putting a person into any image is a great way to define scale. «

3

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ARTIST PROFILE Junior Da Silva

Junior Da Silva Junior is a young digital artist with the experience of letting his artwork breathe and is looking to expand his knowledge in the games industry

Profile of a Games Artist WAZZUUUUHHHH!!! ;) My name is Junior Da Silva and I’ve been doodling as far back as I can remember. I’m from Tottenham in North London and I’m 23 years old .. I believe …

BTEC course in Multimedia which was bloody awesome. The teachers (Malcolm Barrett, Alfred Oti) showed me things on a computer that completely changed the way I looked at my own art.

My earliest memory of anything artistic was the first time I saw my uncle draw Fred Flintstone on a napkin, (unbelievable skills haha) in front of me, and that sparked something creative inside that I’ve never really been able to let go off. For a 3 year old, it was intense...

They also introduced me to Maya, which actually severed a relationship I had at the time (I fell more in love with Maya than the girl I was seeing at the time #epicLOLz)

With that being one of the most important landmarks in my life, I picked up a pencil and began to practice, looking to one day draw as well as my uncle did, which has led me down a very interesting path. It doesn’t make a lot of money yet, but I’m happy, so financial gains do not really bother me much... for now *cough*

The College Years Nothing really changed for me until I reached college. I took a

I practiced on Maya for a while, quite obsessively until the course finished... it proved quite helpful though because I managed to grab a triple distinction by the end. After college my creativity path got blocked.

I chose to do Computer Science thinking about money and ultimately screwed myself. I completed the course but It was pointless. I’m an artistic person and I denied myself my very skillset, so it just made the whole process for my work to get recognised that much longer.

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ARTIST PROFILE Junior Da Silva

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ARTIST PROFILE Junior Da Silva

The Gaming Years I’ve been gaming most of my life. The first game that made an impact was FFVII, that game is so damn epic I cannot begin to describe it, though im sure a lot of you will agree and share the fondnessssss!! Playing FF7 was what actually got me thinking about 3D in the first place, though at the time I was too young to realise it was within grasp and not complete rocket science.

Square Enix(Soft) in general was a massive inspiration to me and my art style, and I think, they were the reason I decided to start drawing humanoid characters instead of just creature creation.

GTA VI Since GTA 5 is out I might as well mention it, and if you haven’t already purchased, please, say “no” to living under a rock for much longer and actually go get it. Damn, people have literally been stabbed for the game so you can see how deep it is.

But yeaahhhhhh, as I was saying, the GTA series in general has always been incredibly fun and is, in my opinion, way beyond its time. GTA and FF7 are my favourite all time games, you also have to have the Mario Kart series and the Gears of War there also though, at the moment, GTA 5 is really rockin my socks so I’ll probably be hooked onto that for a bit until the PS4 is out.

As far as my art and my 3D stuff goes, after uni and getting a job, I just kept practicing until I became pleased... wait... pleased is a strong word... until I began to be able to tolerate my work, then I met these great people Casper and Carin.

Shotopop They were designers and the owners of a digital illustration company “SHOTOPOP”. When I saw their work it was like the initial inspiration I got from my uncle, the second landmark, so I did everything I could to spend a little time with them in between work hours and see their work process.

After college my creativity path got blocked. I chose to do Computer Science thinking about money and ultimately screwed myself...

They helped me out a bunch and I’m only at this level with the digital side of my illustrations because of them (check them out, Their work is amazing www.shotopop.com). Though I still have a long journey ahead which I look forward to.

3D was a passion from college, but then something even more wonderful happened, I discovered zbrush and, instantly, it grabbed my attention like Maya never has. The fluidity of the software just left me in awe, and, as soon as I could I began to practice...

My early work was so dog sh*t it’s unbelievable, but I’m at a stage now where I can actually make something resemble a concept sketch, which is about damn time too. I have been teaching myself for nearly two years and only now is the work looking like “something”.

Overall my path is long and narrow, and its taking a little while to take off but, hopefully, eventually, I will get a break and get my foot in the door with a company. The next stage for me now is to try and get an apprenticeship as a character designer, working along side guys in the business will just make me improve 10 fold.

If you like the art style follow the insta: zucasil. I try to update regularly, though a lot of it is un-vectored todo doodles. « To see more of Junior’s work visit: creativepool.com/silvaj

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Alan Vader Invader, Vader, avid gamer...

Greetings Earthlings!

Welcome to the second part of my Matthew Smith retrospective! (Retro! Speccy! and... er... Digestives? Yes! Digestives! And choccy coated at that!)

She refuses to allow Willy the sleep of the righteous until he has cleared up all the bottles and glasses and assorted miscellenia left by his rowdy (and extremely adventurous!) guests.

Are you all sitting comfortably? Then I’ll beg...

STOP THAT AT THE BACK!

Welcome to the world of 80s storytelling kids! You may complain that some games have bad storylines, but this is what you got in those days, all the rest was filled with your imagination!

Nevermind that if you owned a mansion it would probably have more than one bed, or that since he pays Maria’s wages she could either like it or lump it in regard to her job, but this was the tableau over which your adventure would play out.

I’ll begin!

So we left Matthew last week celebrating his independence upon opening his own software house, Software Projects. And retaking the reins on his creation, Miner willy. It was 1984 when the long awaited sequel was released, and what a twisted tale it ended up telling...

Jet Set Willy When we last saw Willy, he was stuck underground in the ruins of a lost civilization, if you were an extremely skilled player, then you will know that he managed to find immense wealth in the depths and returned to Surbiton with a new found fortune under his blocky armpits. Flush with filthy lucre, he bought himself a recently vacated mansion and all the trappings that came with it, a yacht, a long drive, servants and unfortunately for him, a housekeeper called Maria!

After one of his extremely debacuhed celebrations, Willy attempts to return to his bed to sleep off what is bound to be the mother of all hangovers, little realising that for Maria, this was the last straw!

Opening the case of a copy of Jet Set Willy, as I did on a snowy winters day many years ago after an Alexandra Palace spectrum computer show in 84. You’re confronted with some of the more interesting aspects of this game, firstly, some copies (Not mine, as I seem to remember.) were on a blue cassette tape. (Mine was a nice grey colour.) This was the first part of the anti-piracy measures introduced by Software Projects, back then, ‘sharing’ your games was a simple act, brought on mostly by the introduction of dual tape decks, by inserting your game into one deck and a blank in the other, after 3 minutes of interminable screeching, hey presto, 2 games!

Less ethical people may have sold such copies on the black market, indeed, in most playgrounds during that time, a few pence and a blank tape would change hands on occasion in the hope of a little digital entertainment the next day!

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RETRO CORNER Manic Miner

The coloured tape stopped less than official copies of the game being sold as the real thing, since they had to be special ordered in that hue. But the newest move to combat this scourge of the industry was to be found beside the instruction manual, the greatest threat to the game sharers and ne’er-do-wells, a small piece of card!

This ‘Code card’ as it was christened ushered in an era of endless similar items, some of the most interesting being the ones that came with Lucas Arts titles, if you get the chance, please check them out online, some are extremely ingenous. But this was my first taste of such practices, and it amazed me. Using a grid of 4 digit codes alloted by different colours, the game could effectively lock you out from playing without it. Now to your young eyes, you may think this crude item could be no barrier, but we had no camera phones, no internet, colour photocopying was a pricey dream and photography was also an expensive hobby.

So for the most part this simple measure worked, that is until the game was cracked, a practice that exists to this day. With a few peek and poke commands, you could circumvent it eventually, but once again, with the only avenue of communication being the game magazines, who were funded by advertising from the game companies, well, they knew where their bread was buttered, so they kept such things schtum (For a while, the temptation of the extra readership eventually got to one of them!).

So for quite a while, the only way to play Jet Set Willy, was to buy Jet Set Willy, and at £5.95, why the heck not?

I remember treasuring my code card, budget laminating it with sellotape (Other stickyback plastics are available!) lest I would lose access to one of my favourite games. And what of the game? Let’s take a look at it!

Last time I waxed lyrical about the music in Manic Miner, and here also, it’s an audio assault. Firing up the game after dilligently entering the correct code, (Did I mention that the game would reset your computer if you entered the code incorrectly twice? Well it did, that was a thing.) you would be welcomed by the Software Projects logo and a moving rendition of Beethovens Moonlight Sonata. If you left it alone for a while, then you would get an epilepsy inducing scrolly message, another practice that became commonplace on 8bit titles, sometimes used to say hi to your friends and thank co-workers, or in this case, to remind you what you have to do in the game.

It’s not as showy as Manic Miners start screen, but you can be sure that Matthew had been far busier with the game itself.

Jet Set Willy absolutely dwarfed Manic Miner in scale and grandeur, it’s one of the first examples of a free-roam title, no longer were you stuck in a single screen until the task was done, you were allowed free reign in a large mansion where the rooms were properly (And sometimes improperly!) connected. You start

This Freak Brothers inspired screen also contained one of the new additions to Willy games, a rope swing.

You could go full Tarzan or just use it to ascend through the roof!

in the bathroom and can wander banqueting halls, kitchens, pools, beaches, yachts, rooftops, driveways, banyan trees, Chapels, even the depths of hades itself! (Briefly!) All to a staccato rendition of ‘If I was a Rich Man’.

I talked about how people doubted the possibility of having 20 ‘levels’ in a game back when Manic Miner was made, well, Jet Set Willy came in at 60 screens! Some of them certainly weren’t as dense as the previous title, but Matthews superior coding skill was shown again, he had truly topped himself!

But here comes the buts! Matthew was later quouted as saying “Jet Set Willy wasn’t released - it escaped”, people were clamouring for the title, and maybe it was rushed out of the door a little.

In the instructions there was a promise of champagne soaked helicopter ride with Mr Smith over their hometown of choice to the first person who could tell them how many items needed to be collected to complete the game.

Naturally, skilled players nationwide rose to the challenge wanting to truly become part of the ‘Jet Set’! But people began to notice a problem.

See, Jet Set Willy also contained another first, the first example of a ‘buffer overflow’ bug!

An arrow in one of the rooms would not delete itself, but carry on going past the screen, thereby overwriting vital game data, since the program was so greatly compressed, every byte counted.

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By entering ‘The Attic’ screen, you triggered this bug and it in turn made some rooms in the game impassable, killing you instantly!

Now, there were no such thing as online patching and the many other crutches that games makers take for granted these days. so how could Software Projects ride this one out?

Certainly, they could release a poke to fix it, but this would mean admitting the game wasn’t fit for purpose, and it also meant people would have to type in this poke each time they wanted to play the game, but that wasn’t the worst thing, considering the 3 minutes plus load times that were standard practice.

Their solution was as ingenous as it was a little bit cheeky, they took out full page ads and published the following...

“Once you have visited the Attic your very prescence will trigger a chain reaction in the Chapel. The four guardians from there will then go to the Kitchen, West of the Kitchen, Cuckoo’s Nest and the East Wall Base making short cuts through them impossible as you will encounter instant death when entering the rooms.

In this game it is essential that you make a map and leave visiting the Attic until the last possible moment. Needless to say, that from the Attic the only route left to you is the most torturous path back to the Bedroom... Happy Adventuring.”

That basically translates to, ‘We screwed up, so please make more of an effort when you play our fantastic game KTHNXBAI!’ I think this may also be the very first example of a game company making up absolute claptrap to cover themselves and stick it to their customers, a practice that continues to this day! Still, it’s so wonderfully ballsy, you have to give them credit for trying!

Happy Adventuring! Eventually they redacted this story and released a poke, and people could enjoy the game as intended, and it’s a good game, crushingly hard, but good nonetheless.

Still, I think the history is much more fascinating! « 42 ind13.com

Jet Set Willy absolutely dwarfed Manic Miner in scale and grandeur, it’s one of the first examples of a free-roam title...

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@Indie Game developers: Contact us if you want to get your games on future bundles! ind13.com

RETRO CORNER 7 Reasons Why I’ll Die Alone...

7 Reasons Why I’ll Die Alone...

Capcom Picture Clock - As a piece of swag, it’s

The Magnificient World of Chun-li - Released to coincide

unimpressive, little more than a postcard sandwiched

with the Manga movie, this tome contains all the

between two pieces of plastic, But it’s the adorable

information you could ever wish to know about the high-

artwork that makes it amazing, with a fine collection

kicking heroine. Including a section on the Miss Chun-li/

of Capcoms lesser know z-list stars. nearly every series

Miss Cammy competition that would make a certain

shown here has been cancelled by now, apart from Street

youtube trope hater absolutely furious!

Fighter and Resident Evil (Although that ones debatable!) and who knows, there may still be hope for Darkstalkers.

Re-enact all your favourite courtroom dramas with the Phonenix Wright figure collection from enSky. Objection! Overruled! I hold MYSELF in contempt! ...

No wait, that was...

Purchased at the Tokyo Game Show, when I re

Wright t-shirts in my girthy size. The Japanes

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opposed to our ‘booth babe’. Actually, for Cam Must be a nice change of pace for her.

RETRO CORNER 7 Reasons Why I’ll Die Alone...

Welcome to an occasional feature where I take a look at some of the finest tat the gaming world offered, and I purchased. This time it’s all about Capcom’s birthday, here are some of the stranger items that have found a place in my space flat, and the worst part is that it isn’t even all of it!

I really am going to die alone aren’t I? *sigh” Enjoy! - Alan Vader (With thanks to Kumiko for her translation assistance.)

Chun-li Doll - Why do you own a dolly of Chun-li Uncle Alan, you may ask? The answer is NEVER YOU MIND!

Demitri the vampire from Darkstalkers isn’t much like his cousin count Dracula, only female blood will do for him (sexist!), so he has an attack called Midnight Bliss, which automatically converts his victim into a female, something that stood out even more in Capcom Fighting Jam, where his opponents were less ‘other-worldly’. Yujin produced a series of ‘converted’ figures, pictured is Alex from SFIII, but there were also Hydron, a squid/ kraken! And Guile! The midnight bliss has caused much confusion in the Capcom Universe, none so great as the time when the converted monsters decided to raid Morrigans closet for more suitable attire!

Poison 1/6th scale figure, Capcom’s notorius is he/isn’t she character rendered in finest Chinese PVC, you can pretend it’s pallete swap Roxy if you’re uncomfortable with whether fictional characters are ‘sitting on a secret’ or not!

ealised they were sold out of Phoenix

se use the kinder phrase of Companion as

mmy isn’t this more clothes than usual?

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RETRO CORNER Retro Computer Museum

Andy Spencer Chairman, Retro Computer Museum

Brand New, it’s Retro...

Where do I start? I guess at the beginning . . .

My love of gaming started way back in 1978 when my Auntie (Lil) and Uncle (Den) purchased an Atari 2600 with Combat and Space Invaders. I was addicted and I am sure that I played it more than them.

A couple of years passed and another Uncle (Roy) purchased a Sinclair ZX81 with a 16Kb Rampack. This obviously was a step backwards colour wise (!) but you could now actually program the computer yourself.

Addiction set in again - not good for my poor Uncle who lost his computer within weeks of having it. Over the next couple of years I managed to get my hands on an Acorn Atom - from another Uncle (Dave), which again was a lovely little machine but obviously lacking in colour. As you can probably ascertain my Dad has a lot of brothers and sisters. A couple more years passed and my Dad (Colin) purchased himself a Sinclair ZXSpectrum. I was absolutely mesmerised by this wonderful little machine - full colour and sound too. To say that I loved my Dads ZXSpectrum was an understatement.

My first memory was travelling on the local bus service from Hinckley to Nuneaton to visit WHSmiths to actually purchase said machine. We also purchased two games that I still love to play today - namely Mined Out! by Quicksilva and Space Raiders by Sinclair/Psion. It took us hours to load these games as our we had no idea what volume to put our tape deck at. Please do try out Mined Out if you have never played it - very playable!

We then went on to have a Commodore 64 and friends of mine had an Acorn BBC Micro (Model B) and also an Amstrad CPC464. I still have fond memories of both of those systems too.

A little later on I purchased myself an Amiga 500, an Amiga 1200 and then the dreaded PC. Now forward to May 2008 when I decided that my collection of machines was just gathering dust and needed to be used more. I

started a little website (with my wife Linda’s permission) called ‘The Retro Computer Museum’ - it was called this because at the time I only had Computers and NO consoles at all. The website itself was truly terrible and was visited by a few people (namely friends who were just trying to humour me!).

A good friend of mine at the time said he could do a better website with a forum and other bits and bobs added. This became live in July 2008 when the Retro Computer Museum started to actually get attention from a few more people.

As soon as word started getting around about RCM the donations of machines started literally flooding in and after just a few months and a small event held at Swannington Village Hall we found ourselves with some lovely consoles too. This was when I had around 25 or 30 computers of various types and a few TVs people were actually interested in retro gaming and it showed - just over 100 people attended our second event. This has since risen to the giddy heights 500 people at an event we held at Snibston Discovery Museum last Easter.

Due to the success of the first event and the donations continuing to grow we then went on to get storage for the systems as we ran out of room in our garage (at home). This at first involved one room in a massive factory that was split into different units unfortunately that seemed to fill up very quickly. This then moved into two rooms. The more events we did the more donations we received and we outgrew these two rooms very quickly. In 2011 we decided to move premises completely - this gave us two large storage rooms, a workshop and a room to actually setup 25 of the machines. This worked very well for a couple of years but we outgrew this too.

We now occupy a place in Leicester that gives us 6 main rooms, the first being a kitchen/workshop, 3 of the rooms are for storage and the other 2 are hands on gaming heaven - with around 40 machines all fully playable.

We can now hold events at our own place by prior arrangement

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RETRO CORNER Retro Computer Museum

and we also open most Sundays. Our collection of systems is now well over 250 unique machines and over 20,000 bits of software spread across the systems. We also have a huge library of books and magazines - all fully accessible. Of course even though we do have all of this kit we still absolutely love donations of any kind - please do get in touch if you have something you want to donate to us whether it be games, books, systems or even a monetary donation.

As soon as word started getting around about RCM the donations of machines started literally flooding in...

Since the very early days people have joined the team of retro enthusiasts and we now have around 15 or so volunteers that help out when they can. Without this team the Museum would not function and I cannot emphasise enough on their importance to this ongoing project. If you wish to volunteer please do get in touch - there is always something to do.

In 2012 the Retro Computer Museum became a charity and is now run by a Committee of 5 people - of which I am the Chairman so I still have a daily input on what is going on, my wife Linda and my good friends James, Richard and Stuart make up the other Committee members.

We have hosted and attended several events and have been fortunate enough to meet some really wonderful people - many of whom I now class as friends. These include very talented people from lots of software houses across the globe. ÂŤ Find out more by visiting www.retrocomputermuseum.co.uk

Over the years I have played on more systems and games than I care to mention but some of my personal favourites have to be: ATARI 2600

ZX SPECTRUM

ACORN BBC

COMMODORE 64

AMSTRAD CPC464

Adventure

Manic Miner

Crystal Castles

Commando

Roland on the Ropes

Haunted House

Jet Set Willy

Arcadians

Rambo

Roland in Time

Space Invaders

Mined Out!

Ghouls

Mega Apocalypse

Sorcery+

Asteroids

Ad Astra

Repton

Thrust

Get Dexter

Donkey Kong

Transversion

Elite

Wizball

Gauntlet

And of course there are plenty more . . . this is just an insight into what I like to play.

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FEATURE Retro Computer Museum

The Retro Computer Museum in Leicestershire, UK The Retro Computer Museum is a registered charity dedicated to the benefit of the public for the preservation, display and public experience of computer and console systems from the 1960's onwards. Our charity registration no. is 1146912.

Our main focus is on systems that were in use in the home and schools rather than big computer systems and mainframes of early computer development. We have systems ranging from the early Pong consoles through to the Sega and Nintendo console wars and the home computers of the ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64s and Amigas.

Our aim is to provide Retro Gaming and Computing events. We also offer educational visit / tours for Year 6 students upwards - these visits comprise of a talk about the history and the massive rise and fall of home computing mixed in with hands on use of the very early 8 bit systems and eventually up to the ‘newer’ 32 bit systems.

We can tailor these visits to suit the individual needs of your school - these can be held at your school or at our HQ in Leicester - please do get in touch with your exact requirements.

We also offer Retro Gaming Birthday Parties for any age group - young or old!

The Retro Computer Museum has held many Retro Gaming events of its own to date, including partnership events with Snibston Discovery Museum.

The Museum has also made appearances at the 2010 Vintage Computer Festival at Bletchley Park, at Abbey Pumping Station Hobbies and Pastimes Day, at BBC Radio Leicester for the Sparks Childrens Charity, at the 2010 EuroCon event with a line up of British Computers, at Revival 2013 hosting part of the gaming area, at the Silicon Dreams event hosting a small part of the gaming area and more recently at the fantastic SuperByte Festival in Manchester where we hosted the gaming area.

The Retro Computer Museum relies mainly on donations from its members and visitors. We have had over 200 systems donated as part of our collection, along with numerous books, software titles, peripherals, magazines and brochures etc.

We appreciate any and all donations, no matter how small. We also accept broken machines and peripherals as these can be used to repair existing systems.

Please contact us if you feel you have something we may be interested in.

Retro Computer Museum

Unit S1, Troon Way Business Centre, Humberstone Lane, Leicester LE4 9HA T: 07519 816 283 E: info@retrocomputermuseum.co.uk 49 ind13.com

Ophelia Matthews-Smith A young gamer with only a few years games experience, Ophelia approaches the industry with a fresh new eye.

The Evil Ages of Games “Sorry, I can’t play that game because I am only 9,” I usually say.

Why should I even say that, I mean, a gamer needs their games right? What is a gamer without their games? Nothing!

young age of some of us gamers. For instance some of the games had a bit of violence and now the violence has taken over the fun, and it’s way too realistic.

Don’t you ever think why games have so much violence these days?

Well… I do, every second of the day.

Why can’t they make the games funny instead of serious? What is the fun of blood getting splattered everywhere and people dying anyway?

For instance, GTA (Grand Theft Auto) already had violence when it was first made. I could name all the different types of things that most children aren’t allowed to see, and that is with the old GTA… Have you seen how much more has been added?

It’s really unfair that all the best and biggest games that everybody talks about are the ones that I can’t play. I start feeling a bit abandoned by the way the game creators don’t think about the

To be honest, adults don’t play as many games because they’re either at work or meeting their friends. Kids play games most of the day (or would if we were allowed...) so why are kids so ignored when it comes to the big games such as Assasins Creed, Call of Duty or Red Crucible? They should make the games more child friendly instead of just making games for the grown-ups and the way they want to play them.

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NEXT GEN GAMER Evil Ages of Games

Lara Croft and the 18 Rating Disaster My mum and dad bought me the new Tomb Raider game for my birthday. I loved Tomb Raider so of course I wanted to try it out straight away, and was really excited.

The problem is, even the games that I used to play like Tomb Raider, that were meant to be for kids, were ruined by violence and now they are trying to ruin more of the games.

What is the fun of blood getting splattered everywhere and people dying anyway?

What a pity.

My mum and dad didn’t think the 18 rating was serious because they didn’t think that this Tomb Raider would be worse than first one I tried, but they were wrong.

At some points I couldn’t help but scream, and everyone around me got scared too. I got really shocked at some points and threw the controller away from me.

I wonder what the games will be like in the future if this all continues.

Imagine heads getting chopped off in Minecraft or maybe they will make Angry Birds 18 rated with psychopathic birds stealing peoples cars and taking drugs, turning it from Angry Birds to Gangsta Birds.

Days later I got used to the frightening scenes but I still think that it should have less violence in it as it could scare adults, so it was decided that we should stop playing it.

Sometimes I play the old Tomb Raider to get the scenes of the new one out of my head.

Although I love Tomb Raider dearly, if another one comes out, I don’t think I will be buying it unless it is tested, just for me.

In my point of view, I think the kids should make the games because they normally have better ideas, don’t you think? «

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FEATURE Crystalline Green

Alfie Brian Taylor.

Alfie is a young gamer who has his own YouTube channel www.youtube.com/AlfredPlays

The Significance of Indie Games When you think of Indie games, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? From the smartphone you find yourself permanently checking, to the PC you spend the time that you aren’t checking your smartphone on, there isn’t a place where you can’t find Indie games.

What separates these games (and initially adds the spark) from mainstream games is the fact that they are made without a publisher and funding.

Therefore, this gives the developers the chance to be as creative as they want and make the game about whatever they want it to be

about. Compare that to a franchise series, such as Call of Duty, where the publisher has rights to which content each of the two developers of the game can release, which can seriously limit the things they can do and the extremes they can take the game to.

Besides there being such a range of these games available. One of the best feelings I commonly get after playing a game I particularly enjoyed and got into, is that I’ve given the developers, who spend so much time and hard work creating a game with meaning and for our enjoyment, a chance to show us as an audience... what they can do and levels on which they can take their game to.

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FEATURE Crystalline Green

Therefore, if you like the game, you can support the developer.

know it’ll be identical to the game they released previously.

Being somebody who enjoys Indie games myself, they are pretty significant in my life too. For instance, when I’m bored of playing the ‘big shots’ like Fifa and the Grand Theft Auto series, I like to play a game such as Cloudberry Kingdom that not many people are privileged enough to have heard about or to have played.

However, with Indie games, you never know what’s coming next!

A game that recently caught my eye was ‘How to Survive’ (can be purchased on Steam) Why? Because the developers showed some gameplay, added a voiceover and it honestly worked like magic.

Indie games are also the type of games you see people all types of people, from children to business people, playing in multiple different situations. The most common being on public transport when you bizarrely look at ‘that guy’ in business attire desperately tapping away at his mobile in order to complete his level before it gets to his stop.

It’s not only the hard work and effort that makes Indie games so significant. What brings it home for me is that Indie games seem to be the most interesting games. Not only visually but, compared to mainstream games such as Call of Duty, whose main objective is to simply kill people.

Indie games have a meaning and, the majority of the time, have a storyline which really grabs the players’ attention and makes them want to complete the next level and then the one after that and so-on.

What more could you ask for from a game?

One of the greatest things is that, due to the fact they’re made without a publisher, there’s no hype for when a new game comes out. No advertisements all over the place and no constant spamming on websites for this ‘great new game’ when the majority of people

There weren’t any amazing cinematics which the mainstream publishers use to attempt to bribe its audience into buying their game. Without the exception that there is such a high demand for these games on the mobile platform, individual Indie developers are rarely noticed for the masterpieces they create.

In regards to the PC, the people who download and play Indie games aren’t fully appreciative towards Indie games as they are towards the big titles because a misconception.

A common misconception is that a recently released game such as How to Survive won’t be up to par with a new release such as Batman: Arham Origins on all levels, so what’s the point in downloading it? However, the truth can only be revealed once you’ve tried both games.

Give the Indie game a chance before you judge it and compare it to a mainstream!

These are just a few of many reasons why Indie games are so significant to a multitude of people. By considering the points that I’ve raised throughout this article, you can begin to understand not only what Indie developers go through in order to get their games into the public sector, but to realise that Indie games aren’t only a passtime, they’re a lifestyle. «

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