Codemasters, the U.K.-based computer and videogame developer and publisher, used Kadaras MOTIONBUILDER to produce TOCA RACE DRIVER 2: THE ULTIMATE RACING SIMULATOR. Codemasters was able to save tremendous production time and money on its latest dynamic game due to MOTIONBUILDER's extremely fast realtime interaction, robust tools (such as control rigs and motion blending) and seamless integration with other 3D packages.
TOCA RACE DRIVER 2 offers the most diverse range of motor sports ever seen in a single racing game. Recently launched on PC-DVD and Xbox across the U.S., Europe and Australia, TOCA RACE DRIVER 2 achieved an immediate number one ranking in the U.K.'s Top 40 All-Formats games chart.
"MOTIONBUILDER provides the fastest means of animating characters in realtime," said Simon Enstock, senior animator at Codemasters' Juice Studio. "With MOTIONBUILDER, we were able to animate in real-time using our full detail character models with a smooth playback of up to 80fps. This removed a lot of second-guessing with proxy characters as well as waiting for renders to assess the quality of animations. I am a firm believer that if an animator cannot review their work in realtime, then they are wasting time and money from the start."
Codemasters spent approximately one year working on the cutscenes and story elements of game, which included everything from writing the story to post-production. In that time, they produced around 30 minutes of full motion video with a team of just six artists, four of who worked on character animation using MOTIONBUILDER.
MOTIONBUILDER was used to apply and modify the motion-capture data that drove the characters. The production team collected full performances of each actor at the motion-capture shoot and used MOTIONBUILDER's character and animation tools to adjust the data, fine-tune movements and create realistic interaction with other performers and props by creating plot paths for any props that interacted with the characters. All of the game's skeletal animations were done in MOTIONBUILDER, and the final animation was exported to 3ds max for lighting and rendering.
"MOTIONBUILDER made the character animation side of the project extremely fast and painless, which allowed us to invest more time in polishing the overall product, added Enstock.
TOCA RACE DRIVER 2: THE ULTIMATE RACING SIMULATOR follows the player's progression through the ranks of the racing world. Its reality TV style captures the competitive intrigue of 12 drivers battling their way to the top: driving for a Grand Prix team. It offers a great selection of inspirational cars to be driven through 31 championships that cover a huge variety of motor racing styles.
TOCA RACE DRIVER 2contains a diverse range of motorsports, including: Open Wheel Grand Prix, Super Truck racing, Stockcar Oval Racing, Rally, Rallycross, Ice-Racing, Formula Ford, Classic Racing, Convertible Racing, Street Racing, GT Racing and Performance Cars, as well as the DTM and V8 Supercars licenses.
MOTIONBUILDER is a powerful character animation solution for feature film, series broadcast, television commercial, FX, game and interactive 3D artists. MOTIONBUILDER's intuitive and precise character animation tools and innovative story timeline are groundbreaking technology assets, which allow animation to be created almost instantaneously. With support for OpenGL and the latest technologies provided by companies such as NVIDIA, MOTIONBUILDER also offers unprecedented speed and realtime functionality for photorealistic rendering.
Over the past decade, Kaydara has become a leader in the development of real-time 3D character animation and motion capture solutions for the entertainment industry. Kaydara's product portfolio serves a vast and varied range of clients in the TV, film, game development and Web content industries, including Sony Computer Ent. of America, Midway Games, Acclaim, Mainframe Ent., Capcom and the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. Kaydara is headquartered in Montreal, and has an international presence with sales offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information about Kaydara or its products, visit www.kaydara.com
