Subatomic Studios turned to Autodesk
3ds Max 3D animation software to create “Fieldrunners
2,” available today for the iPhone. This long-awaited sequel to the
award-winning† tower defense mobile game is recognized as one
of the Apple App Store’s earliest successes. 3ds Max helped the studio
deliver an enhanced sequel to the hit title, while reducing development
costs and shortening the time it took Subatomic to bring the new game to
market.
“With mobile game
development, it’s all about balancing high-quality and speed of
execution. This marketplace evolves so fast, you have to make a game in
nine months; otherwise, it’s going to be history. As a company we have
evolved to create games faster and Autodesk has made that job a lot
easier for us,” said Sergei Gourski, chief financial officer and lead
technical artist at Subatomic Studios.
“I think a lot of developers underestimate the amount of time and money
they can save working with 3ds Max. The software pays for itself very
quickly,” added Jamie Gotch, CEO of Subatomic Studios.
Although “Fieldrunners 2” looks two-dimensional, Subatomic Studios
developed the title on a 3D game engine and built all of its assets in
3D with 3ds Max software. This enabled the studio to create stand-out
graphics and more fluid animation. The third dimension added depth to
the game’s scenes, which enhanced the gameplay by creating a new
approach to maze-building.
“It would have taken anywhere from several weeks to several months to
animate a single game asset by hand, depending on its complexity. By
using 3ds Max we were able to compress this down to just a few weeks per
asset. Plus, we found even bigger time savings when it came to
iterating. The software let us try things out very quickly and see our
work in-game with just the click of a button,” explained Gotch.
The software also helped Subatomic optimize “Fieldrunners 2” for iOS,
and it can be used to more easily prepare the game for release on
additional platforms in the future.
“3ds Max allows our engineers to very quickly tweak the animations to
fit the memory needs of a device or platform. We are able to cut a
game’s size down by 30 to 50 percent, by selectively exporting
animations. This is hugely beneficial for mobile game development, when
you can make a big impact on the game with just a few extra kilobytes,”
said Derrick Barth, technical artist.
To learn more about how Subatomic Studios used 3ds Max to develop
“Fieldrunners 2,” visit http://area.autodesk.com/fieldrunners2.
About Autodesk
Autodesk, Inc. is a leader in 3D
design, engineering and entertainment software. Customers across the
manufacturing, architecture, building, construction, and media and
entertainment industries – including the last 17 Academy Award winners
for Best Visual Effects -- use Autodesk software to design, visualize
and simulate their ideas. Since its introduction of AutoCAD
software in 1982, Autodesk continues to develop the broadest portfolio
of state-of-the-art software for global markets. For additional
information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com.
† “Fieldrunners” received the Independent Games Festival
(IGF) Mobile awards for Best Mobile Game of 2008 and Excellences in Art.
Autodesk, AutoCAD and 3ds Max are registered trademarks or trademarks
of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA
and/or other countries. Academy Award is a registered trademark of the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. All other brand names,
product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.
Autodesk reserves the right to alter product and service offerings, and
specifications and pricing at any time without notice, and is not
responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in
this document.
© 2012 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.
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