New technology: GameToolkit

#1

We’re looking to get feedback from game developers and artists.

We have a few videos we put together to show a few of the effects you can do with our system. The videos only show a small subset of the technology at this point, but you may find them interesting, and there’s much more to come. We’re just at the point where we can show this to a wider audience; maybe generate some more interest among the developers.

Whatif Productions has developed a complete solution for developing 3D real-time (PC and console) games and we are now looking for creative teams to partner with. We are trying to find the ideal partner and game design to best showcase our system’s capabilities. We would be the tech group working directly with an outside group’s creative to ensure the success of the game and full support during production.

You can download the videos here…
http://www.whatif-productions.com/video.htm

GameProcessor Sampler
Shows some of the effects you can do.

Intro to GameProcessor Content Development
Step by step how to create and export a simple interactive setup using 3ds max, to blend materials and shape.

Pre Alpha Art Tools Overview
Step by step how bones and meshes are blended, also an overview of a few of our art tools.

People have asked about the technology behind our blending system… GameProcessor uses a unique system we call possibility mapping.
A possibility map is a multi-dimensional space filled with the poses the artist chooses. Each pose contains a distinct set of characteristics or appearances for the entity. In the case of data from 3ds max, these characteristics may include geometry, materials, UVs, bones, position/rotation/scale, environment maps, special effects, light settings, etc. Other data from outside sources can also be added to the possibility map, including behaviors, sounds, etc.

The space between the poses is where the blending occurs. GameProcessor uses possibility maps to provide a wide range of interaction with the entity, through user input, artificial intelligence, behavioral explanations, etc.

As the entity travels through the possibility map, the pose percentages dynamically adjust, transforming the entity. The poses in the space can be thought of as a point cloud of data, with the possibility map linking these poses together. The shape of the cloud can be tuned by the artist from within 3ds max to create different types of interactivity. One of the strengths of possibility maps is that an artist can express his/her vision without requiring programmer involvement.

The n-dimensional nature of the possibility map allows the artist to arrange how the different attributes are added into the final solution. Unlike the three dimensions of traditional Cartesian space, possibility maps can contain up to 256,000 dimensions. Poses can be placed into separate axes of this space. This allows the user/ai/etc. to choose which axes to move through to create the current state of the entity. Movement through the dimensions of the possibility map and movement through the dimensions of the rendered scene are completely separate, although they can be linked if needed.

Rather than linear interpolation, GameProcessor automatically generates an easecurve between each pose in the possibility space, generating smooth transitions between all poses. Since the ease curve softens the transitions between poses, artists don’t need to hack the speed of their animations to cover up jerky motions caused by traditional animation blending in games. Blending in GameProcessor is not limited to triangle borders, it can be masked at the pixel level.

In the videos you can see a character example with a demon, minotaur, alien, and robot. The possibility map has been created using three axes of poses. Two axes are used for blending vertex shape, materials, UVs, bone weights, etc. The third axis is used to blend bone position/rotation/scale. So in GameToolkit the character can blend between the four characters, and between the four bone animations at the same time.

Additionally, we’re working on an IK-like system for adjusting bones based on collisions, so that for example feet won’t slide when they connect with the floor or when they are climbing an incline or stairs.

I can tell you, as an artist, that it’s a lot of fun to play with our system. I can do so much with it, without waiting for others to integrate my work into the interactivity pipeline. I can play with things right away. Very exciting. I can’t wait until we have others developing a game with us.

We’re pretty excited about what’s possible, and we think real-time 3D artists and coders will be interested in the system. We’re curious to hear what you think, or if you have any questions.

[edit… same product, new name]

#2

hey!!

when i click on the link nothing happens.
i can’t copy paste it either ??

cheers!!

my comp is acting strange, so i guess your link is probably fine.

#3

Hmmm. It works here. Anyone else having trouble? Maybe if you open a new browser window first, then cut/paste the link? Or maybe it’s a good time for a reboot…

#4

hey!!

someone had disabled java script on the comp.
dunno if that was it but i enabled and rebooted. works fine now.

some of those things look very cool.
but i’m afraid i’m not an exec of a games company.
just a student doing games design. :slight_smile:

looks fab to me tho. if that means anything to you. :slight_smile:

cheers!!

#5

This looks very promising Posm - great work!
I am not affiliated with a group of developers but if i was i’d certainly like to testdrive this.
Well - if you need a helping hand creating content just drop me a PM.

#6

so your lookign for retail projects not free projects for this?

is that a skybox creation tool btw?

#7

Thanks for the interest.

GameProcessor isn’t a skybox generator per se, although you can use it to setup a pretty advanced skybox with interactivity and behavior. I generally create skybox bitmaps with 3rd-party software like 3ds max, then bring them into GameProcessor to add movement and dynamics.

GameProcessor is a professional system for the development and playback of games. It will initially be introduced as part of the development of a complete game with Whatif providing the tech resources and a partner supplying the creative and design expertise. The system will be licensed to professional game developers at a later date TBD / pricing is TBD. The eventual goal is to streamline the system to make it possible for the “general public” to develop content too.

An artist will eventually be able to make a full game from scratch. Whatif will be involved in the first few productions to ensure the tools and “engines” provide the developer’s “wish list” of features. We do think that programmers will have a role in the professional production process but we are refining the system to allow technically experienced artists to develop games without the requirement of programmers.

Does that help?

[edit… same product, new name]

#8

okay so your trying to put coders out of a job… May the rule of the artist begin!!!

heh only joking

#9

Haha, to the contrary. Programmers will definitely have their part.

It seems too often in the current game development workflow that artists and game designers can be hampered by the need for programmers to implement many of their ideas. The programmers have many other interesting tasks on their plates, and usually would prefer to work on game features rather than iteratively implementing art or gameplay assets.

GameProcessor is designed to allow a game designer or artist to quickly create and playtest their own designs. There’s a lot of room here for people to create deep interactivity, without having to resort to writing code.

Code has its place though, coders can easily extend the capabilities of the system by designing Enhancers, extensions to the system.

[edit… same product, new name]

#10

Looks interesting. I would like to give it a run through at some point.

Please keep posting updates here.

Thanks for sharing…

#11

You’re welcome. We like the feedback and questions. Keep them coming!

We uploaded some recent screenshots in our gallery today. Here is one showing some of the volumetric lighting.

The spotlight effect is really cool. Fun to play with, a nice volumetric lighting effect. I remember how cool it was in the intro for Half-Life when we got to see some beams of light coming through gaps in a tunnel
but those were hard-edged semi-transparent boxes, amazing at the time but understandably not very realistic. In GameProcessor the effect has soft edges and true volume
it has density as you move through the light beam. You can project any kind of 2D or 3D texture through a light, and it runs very quickly, virtually no impact on performance. A “god rays” kind of effect can easily be done. A caustics effect can also be done very simply, by projecting a looping sequence of images through the light, to get caustic beams that travel through the water onto sea creatures and the sea floor, creating volumetric beams and also casting shadows. Wispy 3D fog can be done, clouds, steam, fire, etc. etc. I was just playing with this on Wednesday, very fun. It’s very fast too, using optimized graphics processing for the volume.

[edit… same product, new name]

#12

hey I have a question as to part of the technology in blending.

can you specify an axis of the possibility map to ONLY affect certain verts… or does it take the whole model and blend it between the points?..

aka one axis could be jaw movement without affecting other parts of the body, or hand/finger movement

or something like that I don’t know if I am describing it correctly.

oh other question will there be a demo of this for non developers to play with or will it be only full price development software?

#13

can you specify an axis of the possibility map to ONLY affect certain verts… or does it take the whole model and blend it between the points?..aka one axis could be jaw movement without affecting other parts of the body, or hand/finger movement
Yes, through a feature we call Veils. We use veils to combine two or more attributes of a model at the pixel level. Veils work something like the way bitmap masks can be used in image-editing software. The lighter portion of the image controls one attribute, while the darker pixels let another show through, and the intermediate values mix the attributes. Except in our case, the veil controls more than just images
you can mix vertex data (position, normals, bone weights, etc.), materials, UVs, etc. Veils can be pre-created bitmaps, or they can be created dynamically via collisions, lighting, etc.

So, with veils you can mask a particular blendable attribute at the pixel level, and you can place that into any axis or axes you choose (up to 256,000 axes), using any number of attributes you need (up to around 4 billion).

For the demon/minotaur character you see in the videos, we used veils to combine different sets of normal maps
each character has a static normal map for the main body features (musculature, etc.), and a sequence of tiled/looped normal maps for animated bump effects (worms, sweat, pulsing veins, etc.). I must say from an artist’s perspective this is very cool.

The veils can also be slid across the model via UVs, so for example you can “grow” into another character by starting the veil at the character’s fingertips, and sliding the veil UVs up its arm, blending more and more of the other character into the current model. Or you could just keep the veil UVs static, to control just fingers or jaw, as in your example. Multiple veils can be used at once, so you could have multiple independent controls at the same time if you need.

will there be a demo of this for non developers to play with or will it be only full price development software?
The current plan is to release GameProcessor as a professional system at full cost. Having said that, there are very good reasons for us to allow non-developers to work with the tools, but as of today the release of the tools for that purpose is TBD.

Thanks for the good questions. If I didn’t answer them well enough, let me know
some of this can be difficult to describe.

[edit… same product, new name]

#14

Looks interesting! Any support for Maya?

#15

Glad you like it.

For now we have a 3ds max exporter, but it can be converted to work with other 3d packages. In the short-term it depends on the developer we will be working with. If they use a particular 3d software, we will work with them to support it. For the long term, other software support is TBD.

#16

wow, can’t wait to see a game from that.

#17

Hmmm, I read through and watched all I could stand to in one sitting, but I didn’t really see or read about the ‘gameplay’ implementation, other than the ultra-vague ‘Explanations’ explanation. Lots of graphics stuff, but nothing descibing any ease of designing interaction.

Are you aiming for Quest3D or Virtools Dev in concept?

Cheers

#18

Looks interesting, but I also wonder if it will be something in the direction of Virtools or 3D Game Studio? If so, I am very interested if the pricing is right :slight_smile:

#19

The Toolkit looks very powerful. Obviously with game-engines like Unreal, Lithtech, or Q3A even experienced programmers have to take a few months just to figure out what’s what. It looks like Game Toolkit eliminates having to go through that process. From what I understand, once this SDK is complete and you’re ready to make a game, you don’t release the source code, is this right? It’s just a set of tools, but only your developers update source code as necessary, correct? I don’t think this will be a problem, because I think this software would be most perfect for beginner developers (first few titles.) It’s understandable that most first time game developers would rather spend the time focusing on the actual content of the game, rather than constantly imrpoving the engine. It’s difficult to find experienced graphics, AI, Physics, networking programmers when you’re making that first or second game anyway, so I guess you guys help to eliminate that by providing a powerful tool all ready.

Now, my main question is how far along is your company with the development of the Game Toolkit? Also, what will be the licensing options if that’s available at this point? Is it possible to license parts of the SDK that best suits a certain project? Additionally, so far I’ve only seen geometry morphing (which is awesome,) but are there any additional tools to help and create the levels, or some kind of an entity/AI editor? Or is all of that done in Max, and then exported into Game Toolkit format via Max Scripts? I’d like to know once this software is complete, what can a company expect when they purchase a license? Exactly what would come with it?

Now, I think that’s enough questions for now :slight_smile: I understand that you may not have answers for all, and may not be allowed to answer some of the questions at this point in time too… so that’s why I asked a bunch. I do like this idea very much. So far it sounds like a great substitude for the 3D Game Studio… which works for some, but IMHO is not very powerful or intuitive (user friendly.) I think the most important factor for this product will be the cost. Lithtech Jupiter, for example, is around 10K per person, so it makes it very flexible and affordable to smaller companies, but at the same time offers great graphics, physics, etc. just like Unreal or Q3A (we don’t need to mention how much those cost.)

Anyway, before I start telling you how to do your job, I’d just like to tell you that I’m really looking forward to the first game developed with your SDK!

Awesome job!

Aleksandr Tenyotkin
Lead Artist, Riga Studios

#20

Thanks for the questions!

(paraphrased
) How does GameToolkit compare to Quest3D, Virtools Dev, 3D Game Studio?
This one is a little difficult to answer. GameProcessor is really a new paradigm for the creation of interactive content, it can’t accurately be compared to existing systems. There’s some more information on our website that might help illuminate this… start with the links on this page:
http://www.whatif-productions.com/game_toolkit.htm

(paraphrased
) How is interaction designed? What are Explanations?
Explanations are Whatif’s approach to ‘simulating’ events in a game-world as time passes. They encompass character behaviors, game logic, user interface rules, A.I. decision making, collision-events, mathematical equation solving, sensory formulas (what-to-draw/hear/smell/etc.), and anything else that is simulated.
You can find a lot more about Explanations here…
http://www.whatif-productions.com/explanations.htm

How far along is your company with the development of the Game Toolkit?
We’ve been working on the system for eight years and we’re ready right now to partner with a creative team to work on our first production.

Are there any additional tools to help and create the levels, or some kind of an entity/AI editor? Or is all of that done in Max, and then exported into Game Toolkit format via Max Scripts?
The tools in 3ds max are preliminary at this point, enough to get started. It is our intention to work with the creative group we partner with to develop a full set of game creation tools that fit our common production goals. We aim to only integrate tools into third-party art-content software (like max) where it makes sense to do so. Standalone tools are also being developed as part of the GameProcessor system. We’ve integrated a few tools inside 3ds max because they naturally make the artists’ jobs easier… and these tools have been designed from the start to be converted to work with other 3d packages, as needed.

source code? possible to license parts of the SDK? What can a company expect when they purchase a license?
A licensing opportunity won’t be available until our first game is released, but you can expect GameProcessor to contain tools consistent with a AAA game development product. GameProcessor will be released as a full game development system.

I hope this helps answer your questions. It’s a pretty exciting time for us, being able to share some of the information about the interesting things we’ve been working on.