IO Interactive Grabs morpheme for Game Development
IO Interactive is integrating NaturalMotion's morpheme into its game development pipeline and will be using it to design assets for an upcoming undisclosed next-generation game title. morpheme is robust animation middleware designed to give developers and animators unprecedented creative control over the look of their final in-game animation by allowing them to author and preview blends, blend trees and transition graphs in realtime.
"We chose morpheme as our animation engine because we really liked the visual editor in morpheme:connect," said Steffen Toksvig, CTO at IO Interactive. "We had a great experience with NaturalMotion's support during our evaluation period and this experience continues to be an ongoing asset. We believe morpheme is a great fit for our animation pipeline."
"IO Interactive is one of the leading studios in Europe and across the globe," said Andy Payne, NaturalMotion's VP of sales, Europe. "Apart from creating massive commercial successes, IO Interactive is constantly pushing the limits of game design and development and we are extremely proud that they have chosen morpheme as their animation engine."
morpheme consists of two components: morpheme:runtime and morpheme:connect. morpheme:runtime is a run-time engine optimized for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC, and ships with full source code. morpheme:connect is a powerful 3D authoring application that allows animators to graphically author blend trees and transition logic (based on Hierarchical Finite State Machines), modify and edit parameters through sliders and view the results in real time. morpheme is designed as a flexible and open system and does not require the licensing of any other product. morpheme is also designed to seamlessly integrate with other middleware and DCC applications.
Copenhagen-based IO Interactive was established in September 1998 and is now a part of Eidos. IO Interactive develops advanced computer games for the global market. Using proprietary technologies, IO Interactive products are represented on all major formats such as PC, Xbox360, PS3 and Wii. IO Interactive games are widely recognized for their innovative storytelling, excellent game play and graphics combined with a highly competitive game technology. HITMAN BLOOD MONEY was nominated for several BAFTA's in 2006, including "Game of the Year" and "Artistic Achievement." IO Interactive's upcoming release, titled KANE AND LYNCH: DEAD MEN, is a character-driven third person action game to be released on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.
NaturalMotion Ltd. (www.naturalmotion.com) is the first company to create 3D character animation software based on Dynamic Motion Synthesis (DMS), a technology that utilizes Adaptive Behaviors and artificial intelligence to simulate the human-nervous system. Based on Oxford University research on the control of body movements, NaturalMotion's euphoria synthesizes 3D character animation in real time on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC, thus creating unique game moments and previously unachievable interactivity. NaturalMotion's other DMS product endorphin creates off-line animation an order of magnitude faster than traditional techniques, and is widely used in the film and games industries, with customers such as Sony, Giant Killer Robots, The Mill, Capcom, Namco and Konami. NaturalMotion's third product, morpheme, is the industry's first graphically authorable animation engine designed to give animators full control over the look of their animations in-game.