GDC: NaturalMotion unveils Morpheme technology

Animation technology specialist NaturalMotion has announced the launch of its latest tool, an advanced platform and toolchain for animation which is aimed at developers working on PS3, Xbox 360 and PC titles.

The new technology, called Morpheme, consists of a runtime engine which ships with full source code and has been optimised for its target platforms, and a 3D authoring application called morpheme:connect which is designed to allow animators the ability to modify and edit complex animation trees and blends dynamically, and view the results in real-time.

NaturalMotion is best known in game development circles for its euphoria and endorphin products, which are based on the company's Dynamic Motion Synthesis technology. Morpheme, by contrast, doesn't use DMS and is designed, the firm claims, to complement the euphoria technology.

"We developed morpheme to improve the workflow for next-generation game developers," explained NaturalMotion CEO Torsten Reil. "By backing up a next-gen animation engine with a strong 3D authoring application, animators and programmers are now able to work hand-in-hand, in real time, to create fluid in-game animation that truly reflects the quality of the source data."

Morpheme is being shown off for the first time in public at GDC this week, and is shipping immediately.