endorphin Used To Create The Getaway: Black Monday
Oxford, UK, 8th December 2004 -- NaturalMotion Ltd., an innovative British developer of dynamic motion synthesis technology, today announced that Sony Computer Entertainment Europe used endorphin in its newly released title The Getaway: Black Monday.
The popular sequel to The Getaway, which sold over 3 million copies, was released on November 12th 2004. The game focuses on the seedy underworld of London's violent gangland, and The Getaway: Black Monday has a host of improvements including ground-breaking photo-realism of the original and new locations, improved car physics and three playable characters.
Naresh Hirani, Director, The Getaway: Black Monday comments: "endorphin allowed us to push the boundaries of what we could show in the game to a whole new level. In one scene from The Getaway: Black Monday, a character tumbles to her death through a glass skylight; this scene would not have been possible without endorphin.
endorphin has allowed us to expand what is achievable in game design to the point where we are limited only by our imagination, without sacrificing the quality that we demand in all of our titles."
Among other things, endorphin allows game developers to simulate towards desired end poses, thus creating seamless transitions between the resultant animation clips. Due to its real-time synthesis technology, NaturalMotion estimates that endorphin can cut animation costs by up to 80% for action-related titles.
Costs and Availability
endorphin 1.5 is available now from $12,795 USMSRP.
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Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd.
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, based in London, is responsible for the distribution, marketing and sales of PS one and PlayStation 2 software and hardware in 102 territories across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Oceania. At the end of September 2004, over 39 million PlayStation units had been shipped across these PAL territories, over 100 million worldwide. Between its European debut on 24 November 2000 and the end of September 2004, over 25 million PlayStation 2 units have been shipped across the PAL territories, over 74 million world-wide, making it one of the most successful consumer electronic products in history.
PlayStation and the PlayStation logo are registered trademarks, PS one and PS2 are trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
More information about PlayStation products can be found at http://www.scee.com and www.playstation.com.
About endorphin
endorphin is the industry's first Dynamic Motion Synthesis software. Based on AI and dynamics research, endorphin synthesises 3D character animation in real-time, thus dramatically cutting asset production time and costs. Used in projects such as Troy (Warner Bros.) and with announced customers including Sony Europe, Sony America, Moving Picture Company, Uncharted Territory, Namco, Rainbow Studios and others, endorphin is rapidly becoming the tool of choice for high-end animation in visual effects, games and animation studios.
About NaturalMotion Ltd.
NaturalMotion Ltd. is the creator of Active Character Technology (A.C.T.), a break-through in 3D character animation based on Oxford University research on the control of body movements. Founded in 2002, the company's management team includes Nick Alexander (Chairman), former CEO of Sega Europe, Torsten Reil (CEO and co-founder), a graduate in Complex Systems from Oxford University who was recently named as one of the world's top 100 innovators by MIT's Technology Review, and Colm Massey (CTO and co-founder), a trained mathematician (Trinity College Dublin) and previously head of the award winning Virtual Human Project at MathEngine Plc.
The privately-owned company has received funding from the games, film and finance sectors. Its development team of software engineers, biologists, physicists and animators is located in Oxford, UK. For further information please visit NaturalMotion's website www.naturalmotion.com
For further information, please contact:
Sadie Paris, Bubble & Squeak T: 020 7659 2254 E: sadie@bubblesqueak.co.uk
Véronique Froment, Bubble & Squeak T: 603 537 9248 E: veronique@bubblesqueak.com