Former Microsoft and THQ exec joins Instinct Technology

Next-gen software tools provider Instinct Technology has announced the appointment of Mike Gamble, a former Microsoft and THQ executive, to the role of business development director.

Gamble will be responsible for overseeing the company's flagship product, the Instinct Studio game development suite, as it makes the transition from Beta status to full commercial release. He will also focus on building relationships with technology firms, developers and publishers.

"Every so often, a company emerges with just the right product at just the right time and I'm convinced that this is one of those occasions," Gamble commented.

"With development budgets under ever-increasing pressure, there has never been a greater need for high-quality tools at a competitive price - which is exactly what Instinct Studio delivers."

Instinct Studio offers a range of features and techniques, including real-time, per-pixel lighting, normal mapping, specular highlighting and volumetric stencil-buffer shadowing. IT describes it as a "one stop shop" which includes a variety of WYSIWYG tools, such as resource management, hot loading and real-time previewing.

The suite has been designed to integrate with existing middleware solutions for specialist functionality, such as physics, AI and multiplayer networking. It will go on show at the Develop Conference in Brighton between July 11th - July 13th.

"Having invested a great deal of time, money and inspiration into Instinct Studio, we needed someone with a unique range of skills and experience to present us to the creatives and decision makers in game development," said Instinct CEO Frank Gallagher.

"Mike is, without question, the perfect man for this role and we look forward to giving him every support he needs to make a significant impact."