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 GDC - Day2 |
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 The week-long 2009 Game Developers Conference (GDC), the 23rd annual event, is in full swing, with the GDC Expo, GDC Career Pavilion, Independent Games Festival (IGF), Game Developers Choice Awards, and Game Career Seminar garnering industry attention. Networking also takes center stage at GDC with publishers and developers of all platforms interacting at such events as the GDC Booth Crawl, Suite Night, Game Connection, and GDC World Mixer. For more news and information from the event, visit Computer Graphics World’s Web site at http://www.cgw.com. |
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Industry and Product News |
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Adobe Director 11.5
Adobe Systems Inc. announced a new version of Adobe Director software during GDC 2009. Version 11.5 offers game developers, multimedia authors, and e-learning professionals new features for creating immersive gaming and multimedia applications. With support for a new audio engine, high-definition (HD) video, and advanced 3D features, Adobe Director 11.5 provides a flexible platform to create applications for both online and desktop worlds. |
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Allegorithmic at GDC
Allegorithmic is presenting its new texturing middleware, Substance | air. The new middleware solution is targeted at the development and distribution of online/downloadable games, such as Free2Play, MMOs (massively multiplayer online games), and XBLA/PSN (Xbox Live Arcade/PlayStation Network). An advanced solution for user-generated content, Substance | air aids in game development by reducing the size of downloadable applications and enabling developers to control style without sacrificing creative freedom for the end user. |
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Autodesk 3ds Max 2010
Autodesk Inc. has introduced Autodesk 3ds Max 2010 software, the latest version of its 3D modeling, animation, and rendering product, complete with nearly 350 additional features. The 2010 release provides such creative tools as: a render-quality viewport display and at least 100 new Graphite modeling tools. It also offers capabilities that help artists manage complex scenes with greater ease, as well as increased support for improved software interoperability and pipeline integration. |
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Autodesk Middleware
Autodesk Inc. has announced new versions of its two runtime technologies for the game engine, Autodesk HumanIK 4 animation middleware and AutodeskKynapse 6 artificial intelligence (AI) middleware. Autodesk's high-performance middleware solutions are flexible, production-proven and backed by solid support, says a representative. The products have been adopted for at least 100 triple-A titles, including FIFA 09 and Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning. |
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Gamebryo Lightspeed with Nvidia PhysX
Emergent Game Technologies and Nvidia Corporation have combined the Emergent Gamebryo game-development platform and Nvidia PhysX technology for Wii game development. Gamebryo and the new Gamebryo LightSpeed are the only third-party engines with Nvidia PhysX technology directly coordinated with the Wii toolset. |
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Gas Powered Games and xaitment AI
Xaitment GmbH, a developer and service provider of artificial intelligence (AI) for the games and simulation industries, has revealed during GDC that Gas Powered Games, an award-winning game developer studio, has chosen the German AI engine for its upcoming games. Gas Powered Games will use the xaitment BrainPack bundle. BrainPack, built on xaitFramework 2.5, is intended to provide game developers in the early stages of development with flexible and affordable AI tools to turn their concepts into intelligent games faster and without additional cost. |
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Havok Middleware SDK
Havok, provider of interactive software and services to digital creators in the games and movie industries, has unveiled the newest addition to the company’s portfolio: Havok AI. On display in Havok’s booth at GDC (Exposuite #154) at GDC, Havok AI provides developers with solutions to perform pathfinding and advanced character interaction in highly dynamic game environments. In game development, pathfinding is a technology used to allow game characters to navigate through their environment. |
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Nvidia APEX
Nvidia Corporation announced Nvidia APEX, a new capability to its PhysX technology development software development kit (SDK), during GDC 2009. It provides artists, level designers, and game developers with a set of tools that streamline the process of implementing scalable physics across multiple platforms for next-generation titles. Attendees at GDC are invited to see a live demonstration of Nvidia APEX at the Nvidia booth (#656 in the West Hall). |
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No Helmets Necessary
GDC newcomer Image Metrics is on a mission at GDC: To enable game characters to remove helmets and masks which hide their faces. The company also is showcasing a range of new facial animation service levels. Visitors to the Image Metrics booth (#5416-NH) also gain an in-depth look at the company’s proprietary facial animation technology during a GDC Tech Talk entitled, “End Helmet Tyranny,” scheduled to take place between 4 and 5 pm today. |
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Wacom Intuos4
Wacom has unveiled the long-anticipated Intuos4, a new professional pen tablet that delivers new features and high performance to photographers, designers, and artists seeking optimal control and improved productivity. Inspired by members of Wacom’s professional community, the next-generation Intuos is anchored by the Intuos4’s new pen performance, capable of capturing the slightest nuance of pen pressure against the tablet surface, as well as offering 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity. |
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Special Events |
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Autodesk Presentations
Daily presentations at the Autodesk Booth (#5716) highlight how the company's solutions have helped artists create AAA titles, such as FIFA Soccer 09, Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning, Prince of Persia, and James Bond: Quantum of Solace. Industry visionaries and technology experts also are hosting four free Autodesk MasterClasses and six free Autodesk-sponsored training sessions during the show. For those who cannot attend the show, Autodesk is hosting Virtual GDC on the AREA, its online user community site. |
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Q&A with DeVry Alumni
Game industry pioneers and DeVry University alumni David Crane and Steve Cartwright will are headlining sessions during GDC. A familiar name in game and simulation development higher education, DeVry University is host to various GDC events, including a session this morning. The Speakers Session, “Learning from Legends: Crane & Cartwright’s Core Principles for Game Developer Success,” takes place in Room 3016, West Hall, starting at 9 am. |
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Xsens Xperience
The Xsens Xperience, a panel event in which Moven users share their experiences, takes place this evening. This invitation-only event is targeted at animators, motion-capture specialists, creative directors, and other industry players interested in learning more about Moven. Chris Edwards, CEO of The Third Floor, will discuss previsualization at the event. Other speakers include: David Pierce, director at EA Motion Capture Studios; Jan Bart van Beek, art and animation director at Guerrilla Games, Rick Champaign, product manager, MotionBuilder, at Autodesk; and Hein Beute, product manager of Moven at Xsens Technologies. |
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Show Insights |
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Ambitious Console Contender
Neil Young, CEO and founder of ngmoco, headlined the 2009 Game Developers Conference Mobile (GDC Mobile) this week, with a keynote presentation titled “Why the iPhone Just Changed Everything.” Young, in his keynote, declared the iPhone the most exciting innovation of the last year and explored the opportunity Apple’s device and the ecosystem offers. Adding to the iPhone excitement, Qualcomm’s Mike Yuen and Zeebo’s John Rizzo co-presented a featured talk, unveiling a new gaming device, which they are deeming the fourth console aimed at emerging international markets. |
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Game Physics Session
A thought-provoking and attention-grabbing speaking session this afternoon will focus on returning game physics to the spotlight at GDC 2009. AMD’s Neal Robison and OTOY’s Jules Urbach will be exploring standards-based game physics using OpenCL and ATI Stream technology. They also will explore the developer implications of server-side rendering using AMD Fusion Render Cloud. Further, AMD’s Ward Tisdale will talk about how AMD is working with developers to make games accessible and educational through the AMD Changing the Game program. |
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GDC Sessions
The Game Developers Conference boasts a wide array of sessions in game design, production, and business & management, featuring guidance from some of the industry minds at Bungie, Maxis, and Ubisoft. Visit www.cgw.com for specifics on all the informative sessions at GDC 2009. |
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Announcements |
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Computer Graphics World - CG Forum
Welcome to the Computer Graphics World Forum, a new feature on our Web site that gives those in the CG industry an opportunity to voice their thoughts on a wide array of issues pertaining to CGI. Do you have an opinion about the digital effects in the latest feature film? Do you have a question about a new CG technique? Do you want to know more about the latest hardware and software products? If your opinion or question is related to computer graphics, please share it with your peers on the CGW Web-site Forum. Register Now |
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March 26, 2009
