Perforce SCM

Wokingham, UK, 29 May 2008 -- Perforce Software has announced that Eden Games, a leading game company, is using the Perforce Software Configuration Management (SCM) system to manage its software source code. Eden Games, developer of well-known games including ‘Alone in the Dark’, ‘Test Drive Unlimited’ and ‘Need for Speed’, chose Perforce to help shorten project delivery times.

One of the biggest challenges facing today’s video game developers is the need to get to market faster; therefore, efficient collaboration across development teams is vital. Frédéric Jay, head of the research and development team at Eden Games said, “Our quality requirements demand that we use an SCM system that gives us absolute control over all game versions and the internal production tools that we deliver.

Perforce gives us this control, ensuring our development integrity by grouping multi-file updates into atomic changes.

“Perforce is stable, effective and powerful, with sophisticated branching and merging capabilities that manage multiple software releases, which is not the case with all SCM systems. It’s also able to handle large numbers of concurrent developers, whose security privileges and group roles are easily managed through a graphical administration tool. Finally, the majority of our users find it easy to use.”

Perforce replaces Eden Games’ previous SCM system, which the company felt had reached its limit. One of the key benefits of Perforce to game developers is its extensive API support for custom integrations.

Numerous existing plug-ins are available for a wide variety of third-party content creation tools.

Today, 80 developers at Eden Games use Perforce. In the future, to give everyone a central repository for all digital assets, access to the system is planned for all 150 people involved in the creation of Eden Games’ products. “We believe this will help make our products become commercially available even more quickly,” Frédéric Jay added.

‘Game Developer’ magazine recently released its annual Top 20 Game Publishers list and of those companies, Perforce is used by 17 of them, noted Dave Robertson, director of European operations at Perforce Software. “Games firms tell us that the speed, flexibility and reliability of our software are the primary reasons they choose us.”

Perforce also recently received ‘Game Developer’ magazine’s Front Line Award for the best game development tool. This is the fifth year Perforce Software has been honoured by the magazine.

More Detail

Eden Games stores all source code in a single Perforce repository, with an incremental back-up every evening, augmented by a full back-up each week. In addition, the system has been tailored to address three specific projects:

‘Alone in the Dark’—with 50 developers, this titles uses a common code trunk, with a game delivery branch and several development branches supporting future releases.

‘Test Drive Unlimited’—with 30 developers, this title uses a common trunk and several development branches. This project also utilises porting branches for a variety of platforms, including the PC.

Internal resource integration tool for video games—used by the developers for both of the above titles, this internal tool follows the changes in the production workflow imposed by recent gaming platforms (PS2, Game Cube, Xbox) and ‘next gen’ platforms (Xbox 350 and PS3).

About Eden Games

The company EDEN Studios was created in 1998 by one of the development teams of the Infogrammes Group (now ATARI). The developers at EDEN Studios have, to their credit, the design of a large number of famous games, including ‘Asterix the Gaul’, ‘The Smurfs’, ‘Tintin’ and ‘V-Rally’. In 2002, Stéphane Baudet, Frédéric Jay and David Nadal, the original founders of EDEN, sold the company to the Infogrammes Group and became known as Eden Games. Several new games have appeared on the market since then, including ‘Need for Speed Porsche’, ‘Test Drive Unlimited’ and ‘Alone in the Dark’.

About the Perforce SCM System

Perforce, the Fast Software Configuration Management System is an award-winning tool that manages and versions source code and digital assets for enterprises large and small. Perforce is easy to install, learn and administer; seamlessly handles distributed development, and supports developers across a large number of platforms. Perforce ensures development integrity by grouping multi-file updates into atomic changes; enables concurrent development; and intelligently manages

multiple software releases using its Inter-File Branching system.

About Perforce Software

Founded in 1995, Perforce Software Inc. develops, markets, and supports Perforce, the Fast Software Configuration Management System. Perforce Software is headquartered in Alameda, Calif., and sells worldwide. The company has international operations in Europe, Japan and Australia. In addition to application software companies, Perforce customers represent a broad range of industries including game development, electronics, pharmaceutical and financial services.

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Media Contacts

Kate Vaughan

Perforce Software Europe

+44 (0) 845 345 0116

kvaughan@perforce.com

Maxine Ambrose/Jane Lee

Ambrose Communications

Tel + 44 1491 412944 (Maxine) + 44 1273 470199 (Jane)