Preston’s College students are celebrating as the new Soccer Manager Arena, a football gaming app they had a hand in developing, is launched worldwide today (8 May 2017).
BTEC Level 3 Games Development students at the College had the unique opportunity to test the new app earlier this year. Invited to Soccer Manger’s Preston offices, learners spent hours testing the new app, competing against each other and providing feedback which was later used to tailor the game.
Soccer Manager Arena is a strategic football game that allows users to collect their favourite player cards and build decks to compete against other gamers worldwide by going head-to-head during three minute matches at iconic football arenas across the globe. The game is available on Google Play and the App Store.
Christopher Hart, lecturer in design and visual arts at Preston’s College, said: “As a College, we try to link with the industry wherever we can and jumped at the opportunity to work with Soccer Manager as the company’s previous games have a global audience of millions.
“We’re really grateful to Soccer Manager for being so open with us. This experience gave students a real world context of the processes of game development and showed that testing is an integral part of the app production pipeline. Our learners enjoyed the testing event and thought the game was fantastic but what is more, this experience has given them a sense of confidence in their career choice within a challenging industry as there is a company based in Preston that is releasing games on a global scale.”
Soccer Manager was set up in 2004 by four Preston friends, three of whom are brothers, Andrew Gore, Pete Adams, Steven Gore and Chris Gore. The company released its first game, Soccer Manager Worlds in 2005 which has since seen more than twelve million gamers. The firm’s other game, Soccer Manager 2017, was first released in 2014 and has had four million international players to date.
Andrew Gore, CEO at Soccer Manager and a former student at Preston’s College, said: “We are really excited about the game and grateful for the feedback we had from students during its testing stages. We believe Soccer Manager Arena could have a huge global appeal and we’ll be returning to Preston’s College to work with students ahead of the launch of our next game, Soccer Manager 2018.”
BTEC Level 3 in Games Development is a two-year long course at Preston’s College, for school leavers who hope to enter the games industry. The course is very practical and covers subjects including, concept arts, 3D modelling, animation and more. To find out more, visit www.preston.ac.uk
