Towards the end of September of last year, we were heading back to university to start our final year and gearing up for the first public beta of Ascension: Arenas of War. We felt confident in the progress that had been made up to that point and we started getting some contact information for people who were interested in taking part in the beta.

It was around this time that we heard about Make Something Unreal Live, a competition run by Epic games in partnership with the university we are all studying at, Staffordshire University. With us wanting to take part, we were told to pull any plans for the beta of Ascension to be eligible to enter.

We had to start with a new idea and thus had to put Ascension on hold whilst we drew up plans for what became Psych (Working Title). We had a great time working on something from the ground up and felt confident in our chances of progressing through the competition.

Fast forward to November and at the start of the month, we got some great feedback on our submitted design and we were informed that we got through to the 12 groups who would be going to pitch our game to a group of industry experts in London on the 3rd December.

A month of intense work followed as we developed a working prototype of our game to be shown off during our pitch as well as writing what would go around the showcase piece which was to be our gameplay footage.

On December 3rd, Myself (Ben), Oli, Steve and new recruit Sam made our way to the Wellcome Trust building in London to pitch. The pitch went as well as we could have hoped for with no technical issues and no major stuttering problems with the pitch I delivered but we were unfortunate in getting any further through the competition. We got some more great feedback for our game and made our way back to Stafford with our heads firmly held high (until we fell asleep on the train that is).

Since then, we’ve made what we feel to be the best decision which is to fully focus on our final years of university. We are yet to fully sit down and discuss the future for Ludorum Studios but we can say that we have a couple of options available to us in terms of game design and aim to stick together should we be able to get the studio in a position that it can support us so we can work on the future full time.

We wish everyone who got through to the final 4 groups of Make Something Unreal Live all the best when it comes to the live finals at the gadget show in April here in the UK.

Cheers, Ben

Sorry for the lack of news recently relating to Ascension: Arenas of War and the beta.

We had been working on the game up until the middle of October until some news came in about an opportunity we felt we couldn’t pass up.

In partnership with Epic Games, the university we are studying at have launched this years Make Something Unreal Live. The main prize for the winning team? A commercial license for PC digital distribution using Epic Games brand new Unreal Engine 4 technology (Check out some footage of it here). One of the main clauses for the competition was that no members of the teams could have shipped their own game. This obviously put us in somewhat of a difficult decision but ultimately, after an internal discussion, we decided that it was an opportunity we couldn’t pass up and we would delay the final work on Ascension: Arenas of War and have a shot at entering.

Luckily, it paid off for us as we managed to get through to the final 12 groups and are working towards having a pitch ready to deliver to Epic and partners at the beginning of December. We’ve also been fortunate to get some more people on board to help us out.

We’ll keep you updated with how we are doing when we can.

Thanks,
Ludorum Studios.

We would like to announce Ascension: Arenas of War…

We hope you liked the trailer and here are some screenshots for you to check out too!

Stay tuned for more updates soon.

Now Playing:

Burnout 2: Point Of Impact –

Oli considers Burnout 2 to be a classic gammon… nuff said…. CRASH MODE!

FEZ –

The seemingly never-ending development of this game finally came to an end. With this, Tom forked out a bit of cash and picked it up. He finds this game charming in its design and simplistic gameplay. Buy this game now.

ICO –

After missing this and Shadow of the Collosus the first time round, Ben drunkenly bought the HD remakes on New Year’s Eve and has finally got around to playing ICO. He’s only a couple of hours in but is loving the charm of the game thus far.

Jak & Daxter HD Collection –

Add another set of games to the list Tom has rebought in a HD collection. He stands by the fact that these games hold up just as well as they did on the PS2, even the first which he considers his favourite.

Legend of Grimrock –

Commence Oli rant…Grimrock is a really interesting take on classic “Rogue like” dungeon crawlers, incorporating all the elements of modern game design to help deliver an up to date yet appreciatively old school dungeon crawler. It is extremely representative of the first person 4 to a square combat which was coined by Phantasy Starr back on the Master System and handles very much the same too. Although slow paced, Grimrock will have you exploring for hours and very rarely gets dull.

Resident Evil (Gamecube) –

Oli has been meaning to replay this reboot for a long time and has finally found the time to start it again. Resident Evil on the Gamecube is a wonderful example of how careful aesthetic design can give a somewhat out dated title lasting appeal and enjoyment.

The Legend of Zelda –

The original Legend of Zelda on the NES was, and still is, a challenging experience from start to finish, something which Oli has been finding out first hand. If anything the age and difficulty of this game is a testament to how far game design has realistically come. A really tough start but once the first dungeon is completed, it’s hard to put down this challenging piece of history.

Still Playing

Battlefield 3 –

V has been playing Battletroll 3 and recently did a sick kill where he did a 360 no scope with a sniper rifle, because it literally had no scope. I used iron sights. Do you get it?

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 –

With more DLC coming Ben’s way, he has started getting back into the multiplayer of MW3. Hasn’t spent too much time with the new maps yet, but new maps are new maps and are definitely adding something to the multiplayer.

League of Legends –

Steve “Im periodically forced to write about this game and I’m running out of things to say now, hecarim seems like a good addition to the characters, mostly been playing Ahri with a support lulu in bot lane, meta doesn’t know how to deal with it, won 8 in a row using it currently.”

Rift –

With the new 1.8 update V has been keeping busy doing all the new content such as fishing, survival skill, leader boards competitiveness. This alongside doing the regular raid content progression and many other continuations from previous blog posts.

Cheers,

Ludorum Studios

Now Playing:

Darksiders –

Being both a fan of Legend of Zelda & God of War makes Darksiders perfect for Tom. He’s a tad late to play this, with the sequel out soon, but he thoroughly enjoyed the story giving him high aspirations for the remainder of the series.

Left 4 Dead 2 –

Tom and Ben have got together with a couple of mates for a playthrough of Left 4 Dead. It’s Bens first time playing through it and he is enjoying what he has seen so far. The inclusion of the Left 4 Dead 1 campaign is a great, free addition provided by Valve.

Metal Gear Solid HD Collection -

This was a must for Tom who is a huge fan of the Metal Gear series and loves paying for games he already owns. These games are just as good as they ever were and look all the more stunning in HD on a console. He’s easily put a good 50 hours into all of them over the past month.

SSX –

Ben and Steve both have this for the PS3. Steve has put far more time into the deadly descents and has spent quite a bit of time on the challenge scene setting scores that are earning him some decent credits.

Street Fighter X Tekken –

Lots of new combos to learn, not enough time to learn them, sigh. Seems alright though, bit confused by the gem system.

Still Playing

Battlefield 3 –

V has been playing a few games of Battlefield 3 whenever he feels the need to steal people’s necklaces, plant sandwiches and pies on the ground and generally try to annoy people using the most overpowered gun in the game, the USAS-12.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 –

With new DLC comes more play time for Ben and MW3. He is enjoying the two new maps and looking forward to the 2^nd content drop this week. His only gripe is after paying for the elite subscription, he feels a little cheated out of his money due to the delay in releases over the Xbox 360 version

League of Legends –

Lulu seems like a positive new character, adding the option to play AP bottom lane thanks to her AP support moves.

Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One –

It took Ben & Tom a while but they finished the story with no trouble whatsoever. We both think that it is great game that gets better as the story progress’. Albeit, this cannot compare to the single player games.

Rift –

V has also been playing mainly during raid days but occasionally will play with his friends Steve and Matt on his Mage alt.

Cheers,

Ludorum Studios

Now Playing

Final Fantasy XIII-2 [PS3] – Steve is currently enjoying the new Final Fantasy game but admits it does have a few problems. He finds the combat a bit unchallenging and admits the story can be too much for some people.

Katawa Shoujo [PC] – Now there has been a lot of controversy surrounding Katawa Shoujo due to its translation meaning “Disability Girls.” Curiosity got the better of Tom who decided to give it a go. He has really enjoyed this games narrative and the way it deals with the issues of disability. Definitely a good start for a first Interactive Graphic Novel.

Metroid: Fusion [3DS] – Despite it being an old release, Metroid Fusion still holds up well today. Combining a mixture of platforming and puzzle solving, Fusion is a brilliant example of well thought out level design and enjoyable gameplay.

Metal Gear HD Collection [PS3] – Now Tom loves the Metal Gear series, perhaps too much. The second he could afford it he purchased this HD collection. We are worried that we may lose him for a good few weeks.

Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One [PS3] – Ben & Tom have been playing the newest entry in the Ratchet & Clank series in co-op. It is fantastic fun the more the story progresses despite being very different than the single player, third person action staple the series is known for.

Soul Calibur V [PS3] – Steve’s main gripes with the game is the removal of endings from Arcade mode and the fact that you never know the reason that you are doing badly is down to you or just the insane AI.

Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception [PS3] – Ben had recently let Ollie borrow his copy of Uncharted 3. He liked it… that is all.

Still Playing

Gran Turismo 5 [PS3] – No matter how stale it  gets, Ben keeps on coming back to this game for the seasonal events. His main gripe with the game is the insane XP needed get to level 40 but with his car collection currently sitting north of 590, he’s well on his way to getting the platinum trophy.

League of Legends [PC] – RAGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE, SO OP! Things Steve wants changes in LoL:
Caits Range; Graves Dmg; Kassadin in general; Kennens AD damage; Garens Sustain; Rivens Sustain; FIZZ!; Gragas’s Health; Why isn’t Orianna good anymore?; Remove Shaco; Fix Eve; Why did they do that to Shen?; AP Sion against Other AP is a joke…that is all.

Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 [PS3] – Short but sweet, Ben has completed book 1 within Lego Harry Potter. There’s a certain charm from the Lego games that he is really enjoying and looking forward to going back and doing the story for book 2 when he finds the time.

Rayman Origins [PS3] – Now Tom really enjoys completing games 100% and has since done so for, what he calls, his favourite platforming game in years.

Rift [PC] – Once again, the main game V has been playing is Rift, and as such this time we will actually mention what he does. After being promoted to guild leader, his responsibilities in a game have sky rocketed. He now has to manage a large group of people, their items, well-being in game, dealing with drama that can arise as well as leading a group of 20 people in raids. Leading people in raids usually consists of shouting at them, barking orders and, at times, he feels like he is playing the game for 19 other people…he might have a bit of a God complex. Also Steve started playing too; he is enjoying the first 20 levels as a Cleric Purifier and a Rogue Ranger.

Gamecube Games

As we mentioned last time, Ollie has been collecting Gamecube games. His collection is now 40+ in number with more incoming from the postman, who he may as well learn the name of. Keep on top of his fruitful journey at http://rkadegamer.wordpress.com.

Cheers,

Ludorum Studios

Now Playing

Catherine [PS3] – You won’t find another game on the market that’s quite like Catherine, but it fumbles too frequently to work.

Killzone 3 [PS3] – Killzone 3 continues after the climactic ending of the Killzone 2. After showing you a brief cut scene set 6 months after the events of the second game, the player is then given the task of reliving the events that lead up to it. It’s a great, heavy shooter but the enemies seem to take a few too many bullets to fall. Overall though, if you enjoyed the second one and want to find out what happened next, it’s definitely worth picking up.

Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 [PS3] – Ben’s a huge Harry Potter fan so it was no surprise to see him playing the Lego Harry Potter game. He’s only just started it so he’s working his way through the story of book one but its simple design and great audio make this a fantastic game to play so far.

Rayman Origins [PS3] – Being really into his platforming games it really is no surprise that Tom picked this up shortly after Christmas. It’s quite possibly the best looking platforming game to be released in quite some time, here’s hoping other publishers follow suit and bring this genre back.

Sonic Generations [PC] – Blending both classic & modern Sonic gameplay, Sonic Generations is a game that is thoroughly enjoyable. Yes the modern Sonic levels are still a bit hit and miss but overall it’s the best effort from Sonic Team in quite some time.

Trackmania [PC] – TrackMania is a weird, wonderful driving game, but everything surrounding the game itself feels like it’s actively trying to discourage you from playing at all. 

To the Moon [PC] – The interactive elements of To the Moon exist solely in service of pushing you through its story, but it’s a story very much worth pushing through. 

Still Playing

Gears of War 3 [360] – That season pass pays for itself with the Fenix Rising DLC being released a few days ago. Even without this Tom would still be playing it as much as ever.

Gran Turismo 5 [PS3] – Still being Ben’s go to game to kill a bit of time. With the new car pack Ben’s wheel is getting all of its money’s worth with that Lamborghini Adventador driven to his heart content.

Rift [PC] – Same old, same old…

Additional

One of our team (Oliver) has just started an ambitious hobby of trying to collect every GameCube game ever released in PAL territory. So far he has picked up a fair few games by buying all stock from Gamestation stores. A bit of help here and there won’t go amiss so if there are any GameCube games you have kicking around let us know.

Cheers,

Ludorum Studios

Well we are close to a month in the office and development is getting pretty thick pretty fast. Were all very busy at the moment all getting on with our own tasks and trying very hard to meet a lot of internal deadlines, some more realistic than others!

I wanted to take the time to talk about whats coming out of (what has been dubbed) the “Art Side`” of the room, with me (Oli) and V (the Romanian stallion).

To roll back a little bit, we moved into the office late December, during that time my attention was needed elsewhere on the project (mostly Flash and Scaleform issues) but V got well underway with concept art for our main characters. I think we all wish that we could have gotten a head start with the modelling and concept work but we also didnt want to rush it, so we left a good 9 months to try our best to get as much as we can done.  It was the first day back in January that the “Art Side” really started to chug into life. A few pieces of concept art were finished and were ready to get onto the modelling stage, which was my cue to shut up and start working on my area of knowledge for the company.

With time strictly not on our side I decided to keep the models inside of max for as long as I could before going near any sculpting software. This meant essentially hard modelling a lot of  separate parts and maintaining a good form and silohette until the last second when the model could be taken for touch ups and in some cases a little destruction. From an outside perspective this may sound like a really bad idea but with the style of characters we have + the fact they need to be done in a ridiculously small amount of time (believe me, I wont sleep), its by far the safer way to maintain a level of consistency. The small amount of sculpting that was needed was basically scuffs and buffs, forcing a little asymmetry and generally breaking up the consistent smoothness the hard surface modelling approach left. Using this approach has made the process somewhat stable and we are able to get work out of the gate at a pretty steady pace.

Hopefully in a couple of weeks time we will be able to show you some of the work we have been up to, but for now….

Now Playing

Assassin’s Creed: Revelations [PS3] – Another good addition to the Assassin’s Creed franchise. It’s about time that they move on from Ezio and this game gives very satisfying conclusion to both his and Altair’s stories.

Dungeon Defenders [PC] – A fun little indie game made in UDK with 4 player co-op and dungeon archetypes. Defend the crystal from the hordes of attackers using randomly generated weapons and towers.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim [PC/PS3] – Dragons and addiction….

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword [Wii] – Tom will stand by this as his game of the year. The Zelda franchise is one of the veterans of the industry and with each new release they keep the old formula engaging.

Runespell: Overture [PC] – Purchased as part of the Indie Royale: Really Big Bundle, Runespell is an interesting mix of combat and poker which works to a high level.

Still Playing

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 [PS3] – More multiplayer action this month in MW3. Favourite game mode at the moment is hardcore kill confirmed.

Gears of War 3 [360] – With the release of the Raam’s Shadow download content Tom has put quite a bit more time into this since the last LudorumPlay post.

Gran Turismo 5 [PS3] – With more seasonal events and more cars to buy, this is a game that just keeps Ben coming back for more.  It’s certainly a game you have to invest the time in to perfect.

League Of Legends [PC] – More seasonal events going on here too, skins and maps are now Christmas themed to suit the season. The new champion; Ahri, The 9 tails fox is also a lot of fun to play.

Rift [PC] – Valentin plays Rift and is in a guild that is semi-hardcore raiding. The raids are fun and take a lot of coordination from a lot of people. He loves the way the game offers something for every type of gamer not just those interested in raiding and end game. He has mastered the Warrior class and there is nothing he cannot do!

Street Fighter: Third Strike Online Edition [PS3] – Street Fighter Third Strike is possibly the most finely tuned fighting game ever made. It continues to have a massive online (and offline) following and is still a game in heavy rotation.

Cheers,

Ludorum Studios

Ben and Steve. Getting started on setting up the hardware

Oli and V beginning the set up

Another shot of the office.

V chilling in another shot of the office

After about half an hour and a wait for the IT guy to hook us up to the internet, we could start work.

Steve and Ben about to start some work

V and Oli looking very professional

V is really excited to start work!

Some intense work going on there with a shot of where Tom does his work to the left.

Thanks for taking a look.

Check back tomorrow for Ludorum Play #2