Autodesk Now a Member of Epic Games' Integrated Partners Program

Autodesk and Epic Games announced that Autodesk has become a member of Epic Games' Integrated Partners Program (IPP).

This has allowed Autodesk to integrate its Autodesk HumanIK animation middleware with Epic's Unreal Engine 3 (UE3). Kynapse artificial intelligence (AI) middleware was also previously integrated with UE3. Publishers and developers licensing this game engine now have access to a production-ready solution for dynamic in-game character animation, as well as 3D navigation and spatial reasoning.

"Epic constantly pushes the technology behind Unreal Engine 3, and working with renowned partners like Autodesk is critical to providing our licensees with best in class development tools," said Michael Capps, president of Epic Games. "Autodesk is a leader in 3D design software for games, and we are pleased to welcome them to the Integrated Partners Program."

"Autodesk is working to help game designers create the most realistic characters possible," said Michel Kripalani, director of business development, Games Technology Group at Autodesk.

"Believable characters have life-like movement and can navigate their environments intelligently. Integrating HumanIK, along with Kynapse, into UE3 makes it much easier for publishers and developers to achieve this level of realism, which is demanded by gamers today."

Optimized for next-generation platforms, Autodesk HumanIK middleware consists of a run-time, full-body inverse kinematics (IK) solver, as well as a run-time retargeting engine for characters of differing size, proportions and skeletal hierarchy. HumanIK allows animators and game designers to alter animations on the fly, letting characters interact dynamically and realistically with their environments. HumanIK has been licensed for several titles including Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed, as well as Electronic Arts' DEF JAM: ICON, FIFA Soccer 07 and NBA STREET Homecourt.

Autodesk Kynapse is a world leading AI solution for game development and real-time simulations. Designed to give nonplayer characters (NPCs) spatial awareness so that they can realistically navigate digital environments, this high-performance engine supports dynamic 3D pathfinding, 3D topology analysis, and team coordination. Additional advanced pathfinding capabilities include dynamic environment evaluation and support for large-crowd pathfinding in complex terrains. Kynapse has been adopted for more than 70 AAA titles.

Epic Games' Integrated Partners Program establishes a formal business relationship with exceptional companies making cross-platform technologies which integrate with, and are complementary to, UE3. Under the IPP, Epic provides continuous UE3 source code access and full technical support to IPP members. Companies who join the IPP agree to provide a high level of technical support for UE3 licensees through Epic's established support channels, keep their implementations up-to-date with the latest engine versions and collaborate with Epic on potential promotional and co-marketing efforts.