GameTheNews to Join Europe‘s First Newsgames Hackathon

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The New York Times’ most popular story of 2013 was not an article. It was an interactive quiz. The Times They Are A-Changin. Games as the defining medium of the 21st century are obviously starting to disrupt journalism. In order to accelerate this process the independent game studio, the Good Evil and the Cologne Game Lab are organising Europe‘s first Newsgames Hackathon in Cologne, Germany this spring.

Journalists, programmers and game designers are invited to conceptualise and produce working prototypes in 48 hours. The results will then be presented during this years Clash of Realities, an international acclaimed computer game conference.

The young genre has already been tried out worldwide by innovative media companies like The New York Times, Huffington Post, Wired, BBC, Channel 4, The Guardian and Le Monde.

“In a clear distinction to classical linear approaches Newsgames allow the interactive experience of content and are very well suited to explain systems“, says Marcus Bösch. The german journalist and co-founder of the Good Evil is the Hackathon's initiator.

For several years he has been busy exploring Newsgames. After having given workshops, talks and media appearances on the topic he, together with his game studio, has designed PRISM - The Game: Germany‘s very first Newsgame, published by Arte Future.

Now the Good Evil in cooperation with the Cologne Game Lab, an institute of the Cologne University of Applied Science, wants to bring together journalists, game designers and programmers on May 6th and 7th.  Dr. Tomas Rawlings from GameTheNews, shortlisted for a GamesIndustry.biz Innovation Award, will hold a keynote,“We see newsgames as a means of talking to gamers about the world around them in a language they understand. Games as a form has expanded and we're seeing them being put to use for everything from curing cancer to teaching maths. When it comes to news and current affairs we're right at the start of an exciting journey.“

Attendance to the event is free of charge. Anyone interested can apply online until March 20th: http://newsgames-hackathon.tumblr.com/applyhttp://newsgames-hackathon.tumblr.com/apply Participants from Austria or Switzerland can apply for a scholarship that covers travel and hotel costs thanks to the Neue Zürcher Zeitung and the Forum Journalismus und Medien in Vienna. Deutsche Welle, Germany‘s international broadcaster is the main media partner of the event.

Newsgames Hackathon. May 6th and 7th in Cologne, Germany. The results will be presented during this years Clash of Realities Conference on May 8th.

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Codey Dyer

BBC Radio 1xtra Game by Auroch Digital Launches

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Tuesday 18th March saw the release of new game by Radio 1xtra ‘Fire in the Booth’, developed by Auroch Digital. Released as part of the 1xtra ‘MC Week’ event and featuring voiceover by Radio 1xtra DJ Charlie Sloth and cameos from several other of the station's DJs. Fire in the Booth’ was announced live on air on Wednesday 19th March and is available to play free at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/1xtra/games/rapbattle/. Huge thanks to Force of Habit and Infinite Playground for their assistance with this project.

Fire in the Booth - Title Screen
Fire in the Booth - Ingame Action!
Fire in the Booth - Player vs Sarah Jane Crawford in a rap battle!

Auroch Digital Shortlisted for GamesIndustry Innovation Award!

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Auroch Digital's Game the News project has been shortlisted for Innovation in Social Responsibility at GamesIndustry Innovation Awards! We're incredibly honoured to be shortlisted amongst so many worthy and amazing projects. Here's the full list of the category we're in:

Gaming has always been about fun: bringing some goodness into the world via the medium of play. With this prize we hope to celebrate those companies who choose to give something back to their communities and society at large ­ either through direct work for charity (or by being a charity itself), making staff feel valued or the support of good causes with fundraising drives or sponsorship. With the mainstream press still happy to keep games at the front of the evil scapegoat folder, these are the initiatives which are fighting back.

DonateGames

Like any charity, DonateGames relies on the generosity of its patrons, but by focusing on the donation of unwanted games and hardware instead of cash, this group lets people clean their lofts and their consciences in one fell swoop.

HumbleBundle

What began as a way of garnering attention for indie titles whilst also giving to several charities, the Humble Bundle now attracts the world's biggest publishers. By giving the customer the power over how much goes where, Humble Bundle has made its giving completely transparent and hugely popular.

GametheNews.net

Encouraging young people to take an interest in the world of current affairs isn't easy, but Auroch Digital's project has produced 15 educational short games which bring today's key issues to the fore in a memorable and enjoyable fashion.

Special Effect

Special Effect changes lives. It might not have the scope of some of the projects here, but an incredible bespoke service and tremendous levels of engagement and after care have made it one of the industry's most treasured and admired outfits.

RuneScape - Well of Goodwill Initiative

Proof that free-to-play can definitely be used for good, this in-game fundraiser from Jagex raised over $90,000 for good causes as players donated in-game funds equivalent to thousands of hours of effort.

GamesAid

Supporting a wide range of charities voted for members, GamesAid is never afraid to try something new to raise money. A constant calendar of events and interesting new activities keeps this charity at the forefront of industry minds year round - raising over £1 million for good causes in the process.

A special day for James - Total War: ROME II

A truly personal event dedicated to a single member of the Total War community, A special day for James helped realise the dreams of a terminally ill young man suffering from liver cancer, bringing together the studio's staff and players for a cause which touched more than just one life.

Please vote for us here, if you think we deserve it of course!

Job Opportunity: Accounts Administrator/Office Manager (Full-time post)

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Auroch Digital is looking for a qualified, experienced accounts administrator/office manager, based at Bristol Games Hub.  Must be AAT qualified, with plenty of on the job experience.

Competitive salary for the right person, based on a 40 hour contract.

Please contact Nina with CV and a covering letter; nina at aurochdigital.com

Deadline is Monday 17th March at 12 noon.  Interviews to take place later that week.

No recruitment agencies, thank you!

Note - this vacancy has now been filled, thanks.

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Codey Dyer

Ndemic Creations brings Plague Inc. onto Steam with help from Auroch Digital

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Updated! The game is now out on Steam Early Access. There is much more info on the game's official page. Also see this article on Polygon.

The reception has been excellent so far;

The trailer is below:

 

Twitter and Facebook have been a-buzz with the recent news that the developer of smash hit mobile title Plague Inc will be releasing the much anticipated desktop version, Plague Inc: Evolved very soon. Auroch Digital is proud to announce that we have been working with Ndemic Creations to help make Plague Inc. on desktop a reality. The new version will see the same captivating gameplay with the addition of multiplayer, user-generated content and much more. Plague Inc: Evolved launches to Steam Early Access on the 20th February. The game's official page can be found at plagueincevolved.com and can be followed on Facebook and Twitter.

Plague Inc: Evolved Announcement Image

Part-time Book-keeper Job Opportunity at Auroch Digital

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Auroch Digital have an opening for immediate start for a qualified, experienced book-keeper, initially for 2 days per week. Please send CV and a covering letter to nina at aurochdigital dot com. Note - this vacancy has now been filled. Thanks.

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Codey Dyer

Job Opportunity for an Experienced Designer/Producer

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Update: The application process is now closed.  Thanks to those who applied.  If you wish to send your CV for possible future positions (code/art/design) please do.  Thanks and have a great holiday! Auroch Digital have an opening for an experienced designer/producer for a 3 month contract initially, starting in January. Be part of a growing indie studio working on a wide variety of games projects. This role will be based at Bristol Games Hub. Please send CVs and a covering letter to debbie at aurochdigital dot com by 5pm on Wednesday 18th December, with interviews taking place on Thursday 19th, although do please get in touch if that's an issue. Feel free to share far and wide. Thanks

No recruitment agencies, thank you!

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Codey Dyer

Gamifying 'Jack the Ripper'?

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9th November, 2013: On the 125th anniversary of the murder of Mary Jane Kelly, Bristol based indie GameTheNews announces a new title based on the infamous ‘Jack the Ripper’ murders. Today, Friday 8 November 2013, Bristol-based indie GameTheNews.net announces its latest development, a new title based on the infamous 'Jack the Ripper' murders called JtR125, one of six new collaborations between filmmakers, academic researchers and creative companies as part of the REACT Future Documentary Sandbox, a nationwide programme to explore the theme of Future Documentary funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

125 years ago Mary Jane Kelly was murdered, her badly mutilated body found by a rent collector seeking her arrears on the morning of November 9, 1888. The terrible nature of the murders by Jack The Ripper, who himself was never brought to justice, has ensured the ‘Ripper’ killings remain a mystery that still repulses, contests, fascinates and resonates today.

GameTheNews.net, known for taking a bold approach to difficult subjects using games to address tough news stories, is applying game and documentary mechanics to their latest subject, Jack the Ripper, to find out what lessons are still to be learned. The lead developer on JtR125, Tomas Rawlings of Auroch Digital who produces GamesTheNews, says, “we're not going to make a first-person Ripper game about the killer - we're much more interested in the society that created the conditions that allowed this to happen and the plight of his victims. The fact that 125 years later we're still talking about this suggests to me that there are lessons still to be learned. The events themselves were a catalyst for social change. It was also a key time in the birth of a number of areas of our society, notably the tabloid newspapers and forensic science. We're keen to create an interactive documentary using the medium of games and allow the player to explore the issues and events themselves.”

As part of the Future Documentary Sandbox Rawlings has been paired with Patrick Crogan, games and digital media expert, University of the West of England, and Professor of Media and Journalism at Middlesex, Janet Jones.

Dr Crogan commented, “JtR125 is certainly pushing the envelope of both documentary and game formats. There are some risks with treating historical material the wrong way, and we don’t want to simply repeat the way many commercial games bolster their realism with bits of archival footage of war or other major historical events. With the development of apps other interactive forms there’s real potential to make a powerful and thoughtful experience that opens up new perspectives for people about something like the Ripper mystery.”

Professor Jones remarked, "The idea with JtR125 is to test the break-down of generic boundaries between games and serious documentary so that the world can be reported in a potentially more dynamic and investigative way that might better engage younger audiences accustomed to finding things out through digital play. Maybe in five or ten years time, every BBC newsroom will have a gaming desk alongside Radio, TV and online. We're focusing on how we might create acceptable templates for merging archive, talking head (all the traditional factual production conventions) within a game framework without destroying the experience or breaking the creative paradigm. There are undoubtedly lines to be drawn here and as we develop the Jack the Ripper game we hope to be able to draw those lines more clearly."

Related Links/Tweets:

https://twitter.com/G4C/status/398965685420048385

Chainsaw Warrior Rips onto Steam

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7th October 2013, Bristol, UK: Games Workshop's classic boardgame 'Chainsaw Warrior' launches today on PC via Steam with other PC stores to follow soon. The game was originally released in its physical form back in 1987 and has been recreated as a PC title by Bristol based indie developer, Auroch Digital.

Char_Creation

The PC version was announced back in July and it caused excitement and nostalgia with fans who fondly remembered playing it and interest in those new to the game. In 'Chainsaw Warrior' the player takes on the role of the eponymous cybernetic soldier as he attempts against all odds, to save New York from dire peril. The city is under threat from the twisted forces spewing forth from a strange spatial rift which has opened up in the heart of New York. This extreme warping power is attempting to rip the city from this reality into its parallel nightmare realm.

The original was noted for its challenging solo gameplay – an aspect that has been preserved in the version as Auroch Digital's Design & Production Director, Tomas Rawlings notes: "When I first played this game in the '80s, I knew of its reputation as a seriously challenging game and that's why I wanted to take it on, to win where others had failed. We've kept that level of challenge and added to it in this version that both references the original styling and refreshes it for PC.”

The Steam version of the game comes with Steam achievements, a new leaderboard system and exclusive Steam trading cards.

‘It’s wonderful to see this great game re-worked for today’s platforms’ said Jon Gillard, GW Head of Licensing ‘I can’t wait to get my pistol grip chainsaw revved up and stuck into some zombies’.

The game launched on iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch,Google Play and Amazon Appstore for Android to an enthusiastic fan reception and is expected to follow suit on PC. The game is out on Steam for $4.99/€4.99/£3.99 To keep in the loop with the project you can like Auroch Digital on Facebook or follow them onTwitter. The game's information page can be found at chainsawwarrior.net

Time go get moving as you only have 60 minutes to save New York! #ChainsawWarrior

Coverage so far:

Chainsaw Warrior Launches on Mobile

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23rd September 2013, Bristol, UK: The classic boardgame 'Chainsaw Warrior' first published by Games Workshop in 1987 and converted into a digital title by Auroch Digital launches today on iPhone, iPad & iPod Touch and follows on Samsung Samsung Devices via Chillingo's 100% Indie later this week. (Update: Also now on Google Play & Amazon Apps)


Announced in July, it caused excitement with those new to the game interested in discovering a classic, and nostalgia with fans who fondly remembered playing it. The game sees players trying to save New York from dire peril as twisted forces spewing from a spatial rift attempt to rip the city from this reality into theirs. The fate of the city rests solely in the hands of a lone cybernetic solider known as the 'Chainsaw Warrior'. As the eponymous hero, the player must battle through a zombie infested Manhattan tenement in order to locate the controlling intelligence behind the dark army swarming from the spatial rift. The game was renowned as a tough challenge and this new version remains so.

The digital version of the game has been created by Bristol based indie developer Auroch Digital. Auroch Digital's Design & Production Director, Tomas Rawlings announced the release: "We're really pleased with what we’ve created. The team has done an amazing job in creating a brilliant mix of the best of the boardgame with the possibilities of digital. I feel it’s both a fresh and nostalgic take on a classic game. We hope our fellow gamers enjoy facing the thrilling challenge of trying to save New York. Not all will succeed!”

“It’s wonderful to see this great game re-worked for today’s platforms,” said Jon Gillard, GW Head of Licensing ‘I can’t wait to get my pistol grip chainsaw revved up and stuck into some zombies.”

"It’s always great when a game comes to Samsung Apps as an exclusive,” says 100% Indie co-founder Chris Byatte, “but when it’s got such a dynamic legacy as Chainsaw Warrior, it’s especially exciting. We’re all classic gamers here, and to see important titles like this reborn through the smartphone platforms for a new generation of players is one of the reasons we love working in this dynamic industry."

The game is out on iPad, iPhone for $4.99/€3.99/£2.99 and follows on Samsung Samsung Devices via Chillingo's 100% Indie later this week at the same price point. A wider Android, PC and Mac release is set to follow soon after. To keep in the loop with the project you can like Auroch Digital on Facebook or follow them onTwitter. The game's information page can be found at chainsawwarrior.net

Time go get moving as you only have #60mins to save New York!

Chainsaw Warrior screenshot (iOS)