SAN RAFAEL, Calif., September 1, 2010 — Korean game developers MAIET Entertainment and WeMade Entertainment have both licensed Autodesk Kynapse artificial intelligence (AI) middleware for their respective upcoming titles, "GunZ2: The Second Duel" and a new MMORPG, currently codenamed "LF." The studios licensed the technology to help reduce both development time and overall project cost, enabling them to invest in areas that add value to their games.
"We needed a middleware solution for the Unreal Engine that provided efficient data generation processing for path finding, solid AI for nonplayer characters and light run-time search costs," said Joseph Ryu, managing director at WeMade Entertainment. "Autodesk Kynapse AI middleware was the obvious choice."

 

Developers at MAIET Entertainment also adopted Kynapse middleware to help improve efficiency in their engineering efforts. "In the past, there have been many cases when we had to rewrite the AI code for new game titles," explained Youngho Kim, vice president at MAIET Entertainment. "By eliminating that redundancy, Kynapse middleware will help reduce development time. The middleware offers the performance and flexibility we were looking for."
In addition to MAIET and WeMade, Autodesk has seen a notable increase in the acceptance and adoption of middleware among game developers in the Asian market.
"Developers around the world are facing increased competition, timeline pressures and narrow margins," said Marc Stevens, Autodesk vice president, Games. "Our middleware technology helps reduce development time and costs by offering solutions to common run-time challenges and minimizing redundant development efforts. It also enables studios to deliver more compelling games by allowing them to focus on what makes the game fun and unique."

About Autodesk Kynapse Game Middleware
Autodesk Kynapse game middleware is a leading AI solution for game development and the creation of real-time simulations for nonplayer characters. Production proven in more than 100 titles, this high-performance game AI technology helps simulate advanced dynamic 3D pathfinding, environment perception and large-crowd movement in complex terrains. It also helps simulate spatial reasoning and improve team coordination, and delivers efficient production tools that help streamline game creation.
Autodesk and Kynapse are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product and services offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.
© 2010 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

This was their 4th monthly meetup, and even with the high Montreal heat, the 3rd floor was packed. Good thing we had beer!

Thanks to Nick and Stephen for planning the event!

Stephen demonstrated a few game creation tools for people wanted to create games but aren’t programmers. The first one was a Windows 3.1 application called Klik & Play (running under the DOSBox emulator). The point and click interface is pretty intuitive and even comes with stock images to play with. He created a test game “awkward diner” involving an animated man and a woman and some tables.

Stephen then showed us a similar and more recent tool, Construct which is open-source. It doesn’t have included images to play with, but it does have some built-it sprite behaviors and special effects (shaders, blending). He easily made a happy face move across the screen and have it loop around the screen when it reaches the edge, with no programming required.

The rest of the evening was a mix of indie game demos that people wanted to share and discussing with other aspiring developers.

The first game showed was called Non-Human, a 2D side scroller, based on an old NES cartridge Action-52. It seems to have been built using the Game Maker tool (correct me if I’m wrong).

From then on, discussion was loud that I couldn’t hear the other game titles. There was an space-retro-RTS that looked pretty cool, and a 3D Tron light cycle kind of game.

A few indie developer friends, Jonathan and Jean-Francois:

Well that’s it for this month’s meeting. I’m looking forward to the next one! We’ll let you know when we have more details of when and where it will take place.

(Also posted on NextMontreal.com)

Here are a few updates on Eidos Montreal, working on Deus Ex 3.

From Eidos Montreal’s forum:

My name is Kyle Stallock. I’m very happy to announce I’m the new community manager at Eidos Montreal.
I never thought I’d be here in Montreal working with two of the most acclaimed videogame properties (hopefully two turns to three, and maybe more, in the future). I adored videogames while growing up in the tiny little village of Lake Bronson, MN (population of roughly 250!), and idolized those working in the industry, but working with them…just a dream, right? Apparently not.
[…]

I’ll keep an eye on the forums, oversee the company presence on social networks, blog, help plan events, etc, and more. As they say in the fighting game community, “get hyped.”

[…]
P.P.S. I’ve attached a piece of concept art to this post. Enjoy

More details on Eidos Montreal’s forum…

From GameTrailers:

Check out this video interview with Jean-François Dugas, Game Director on Deus Ex 3:

See how the world of Human Revolution adapts to your decisions in this interview with Game Director Jean-Francois Dugas at GamesCom 2010!

Watch the high quality version on GameTrailers…

L’équipe du SIJM [Sommet international du jeu de Montréal] vous lance un nouveau défi! Vous croyez avoir du talent? Participez à notre concours et courrez la chance de gagner un laissez-passer gratuit pour le Sommet et voir votre chef-d’œuvre publié dans le programme imprimé!

Votre mandat : réaliser une publicité annonçant le SIJM 2011. Quelles couleurs donneriez-vous au Sommet? À vous de décider.

Vos contraintes techniques? Elles sont disponibles ici [PDF].

La date limite? Le 24 septembre.

Envoyez le tout à Géraldine Philippin.

Le gagnant sera choisi selon l’originalité, par un jury composé de l’équipe du SIJM.

Prolific mobile games publisher Gameloft (Modern Combat, Asphalt) [with offices in Montreal] announced its financial results for the first half of 2010, revealing an 11 percent increase in global sales and iTunes App Store revenue growth of 82 percent.

Gameloft’s financial statements report that 2010’s first-half sales revenue, ending June 30th, totals 66.6 million euros ($84.34 million) up from 60.1 million euros ($76.25 million) earned in the first half of 2009. […]

Gameloft attributes its growth to the continuing popularity of its games for Apple’s iPhone, where it has consistently placed in the Top 10 for revenue alongside Electronic Arts thanks to its high-budget 3D games. […]

The publisher, which continues to have licensing links with publisher Ubisoft and released titles like Avatar and Prince Of Persia games on mobile systems, also highlights increased market share for Java and Brew phones.

Read the full article on Gamasutra…

Get a closer look at some of the new gameplay features in [Ubisoft Montreal’s] Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood in this GamesCom 2010 demo.

See the full quality version on GameTrailers…

Depuis aujourd’hui, le 30 août, l’animation 3D et le design numérique ont maintenant leur place sur les bancs de l’université grâce au nouveau programme novateur de baccalauréat offert au Centre NAD dans nos locaux à Montréal, en collaboration avec l’UQAC.

Destiné aux étudiants qui terminent leur cheminement collégial ou universitaire dans un domaine des arts visuels (arts plastiques, graphisme, infographie, cinéma, télévision, photographie, intégration multimédia, architecture, design industriel, etc.), notre programme s’adresse aussi aux personnes engagées dans un processus continu de formation ou déjà sur le marché du travail et qui possèdent une expérience pertinente en arts visuels.

« Fondé sur un partenariat unique, ce baccalauréat se veut une solide formation professionnelle qui permet de maîtriser les fondements théoriques et pratiques de la création 3D dans le contexte d’aujourd’hui » a déclaré Suzanne Guèvremont, directrice du Centre NAD. « Cette formation de trois ans a été développée pour répondre aux besoins de l’industrie en quête de main-d’œuvre de plus en plus qualifiée, tant pour l’aspect artistique que technique. Les employeurs cherchent les meilleurs, ceux qui sont à la fine pointe des technologies et des plus récentes innovations créatrices » souligne-t-elle.

Axé sur le potentiel créatif, la technologie qui la soutient et les réalités de l’industrie qui l’encadrent, le programme s’ouvre sur l’art, la maîtrise des techniques et des concepts propres à l’animation 3D permettant ainsi à l’étudiant de contribuer, de manière réfléchie, à la richesse conceptuelle et virtuelle d’un projet en création numérique. « L’étudiant peut choisir de se spécialiser soit en effets visuels en cinéma et télévision ou en jeu vidéo ce qui lui permettra d’exploiter au maximum sa créativité personnelle dans la chaîne de production 3D lorsqu’il arrivera dans l’industrie » d’ajouter Mme Guèvremont.

Ce baccalauréat de 90 crédits s’inscrit dans la continuité du premier programme universitaire de certificat en animation 3D et en design numérique qui a vu le jour en septembre 2008 au Centre NAD. L’objectif de ce baccalauréat est de permettre à l’étudiant de compléter un portfolio professionnel comprenant plusieurs projets d’envergure qui facilitera son intégration au marché du travail en tant qu’artiste 3D pour la conception de jeux vidéo ou la postproduction numérique.

La première cohorte de 60 étudiants débute aujourd’hui même et nous recevrons 60 nouveaux étudiants pour la session d’hiver en janvier 2011. Pour plus d’information sur le programme, les dates des prochaines portes ouvertes et les critères d’admission, visitez notre site web au www.centrenad.com ou contactez-nous au 514-288-3447.

Plus de détails sur Centre NAD…

Slowly but surely, September is creeping up on us, ready to sucker-punch the summer wind right out of out lungs. We say: to heck with that! Let’s ring the month in with awesome friends, good beer, and excellent indie games! Cranky ol’ September will have no choice but to crack a smile and join in the merriment. Yes: it is time for a MEETUP.

WHEN: Wednesday, September 1, 7:00 pm

WHERE: Brasserie Artisanale l’Amère à Boire, 2049 rue Saint-Denis, 3rd floor

WHO: Anyone interested in creating games! As always, musicians, artists, designers, coders, and aspiring game-makers of all feathers are welcome!

This month, we’ll be doing a demo of some accessible but powerful game creation utilities. There are plenty of great tools for making games that don’t require any prior programming knowledge — perfect if you’re burning to make a game on your own but don’t know how to start, or are just curious to get your feet wet. Approaches, alternatives and secret cheat codes will also be discussed. Let’s get game-makin’!

More info on Mount Royal Game Society…