TOOLS NEWS | BUILD
NaturalMotion’s animation engine morpheme 3.5 release adds sophisticated network logic to various features and also includes runtime retargeting
we want to be able to support them. What we’ve seen recently is a new set of platforms, including Vita and mobile devices, that are capable of high-end 3D experiences and developers are keen to exploit this. The benefits of dependable, powerful middleware are the same on these platforms as on more traditional consoles.
How does NaturalMotion’s increasing position as a game developer impact the way you advance and develop your animation technology? Is there interplay between your tech and game teams? As a technology provider, it’s really useful to have an in-house customer. As we develop new morpheme features, we’re able to have our animation team test them out straightaway. The same team is responsible for designing the animation networks used in our games, so they always have real-world feedback, which is invaluable. Of course, we’re always listening to our
external customers as well. Many – possibly the majority – of morpheme’s features are developed in response to feedback. NaturalMotion Games is focused on building
high-end mobile social games, and it’s been the main driver behind our development of the iOS and Android versions of morpheme.
DEVELOP-ONLINE.NET
There are a lot of animation tools out there. Why should somebody choose morpheme 3.5? Morpheme is a mature product used in a great range of projects. Our support team is second to none and ensures that not only do our customers have the best possible experience, but that the product is developed to solve the issues encountered by real games. I also believe that the quality of our tools outshine our competition, making it simple and intuitive to create even complex animation systems. Finally, morpheme is the only system to
provide developers a completely seamless mixing of animation blends, IK, retargeting, and physics simulation in a unified visually- authored network.
Why is the introduction of features that allow sophisticated network logic particularly important? Morpheme animation networks are essentially trees of nodes connected together to define how animations are blended and modified by IK, physics or other procedural techniques. The creator of the animation network can define the input variables and messages that are used by the game to control the blends and state transitions. With
morpheme version 3.5 we have added the ability for nodes in the network to themselves set those input parameters and send messages to the network. Logic that otherwise would have to live in game code can be brought into the animation system. This is particularly useful when working
with procedural animation. It’s possible, for example, to have a node read the position of the character’s hand and then use that to drive the head-look IK target. Our animation team has prototyped some pretty cool IK systems using this, and we’re excited to see what our customers come up with.
And you feel optimistic about the future of morpheme 3.5 and the animation sector? I think we’re in an interesting time, not just for animation, but for game technology as a whole. On the one hand, we have the triple-A console teams pushing ever further in terms of quality and performance, and on the other, we have seen the growth of mobile developers just starting to find out what’s possible with new hardware. As a middleware vendor, we have to make sure we can provide solutions that scale for everyone. For character animation, I’m confident that morpheme 3.5 does just that.
www.naturalmotion.com
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