Multimedia Fusion
- For the latest version of this product, see Multimedia Fusion 2.
Multimedia Fusion, often referred to as MMF, is a software authoring tool mostly used for game development or prototyping. The program is created by the Clickteam. Clickteam bought the rights to the name "Multimedia Fusion" from IMSI. This program is part of the Klik range. It is the latest in the Klik range so far, and features an upgraded image editor, internal values and movement for more than just active objects, the ability to change "ink effects" (blending) at runtime, a vastly superior assortment of extensions compared to previous versions, the ability to use DirectX and ActiveX controls, and many more features, as well as fixing quite a few bugs. The program uses a "point and click" programming language much like a table (the Event Editor) to "program" an application. Recently three bonus packs were released, introducing some new objects with new features, such as alpha blending per pixel, named variables and isometric grid.
Extension Development
As with Click and Create and The Games Factory, Multimedia Fusion allowed users with knowledge of C++ to develop extensions using an SDK. This has led to a community of websites devoted to listing extensions, and hundreds of developers aiding in increasing MMF's power.
Clickteam have also recently sponsored some independent developers to create extensions for use in the latest version of Multimedia Fusion (Version 1.5) in the form of three "Bonus Packs". Each bonus pack has some "Pro only" extensions, which only install for users of Multimedia Fusion Pro.
Extensions must be developed, for technical reasons, with the Microsoft Visual Studio's IDE and compiler.
Coding language
MMF is not based on any form of scripting language. It differs from its competitor Game Maker, by not having a programming language as an optional feature.
Instead of the usual programming language, MMF uses a visual grid-based system. The horizontal rows represent "Conditions" and the vertical columns represent "Actions"; when the condition(s) are met the action(s) will execute. This can be viewed as a list of "if-then" conditions that is continually checked during runtime. For example, a basic condition might be 'Object 1 Collides with Object 2', which if fulfilled will perform the actions specified in the columns representing each object.
Newer versions
A new version of Multimedia Fusion, Multimedia Fusion 2, was released on June 30, 2006. It is available in three different varieties: The Games Factory 2, Multimedia Fusion 2 and Multimedia Fusion 2 Developer, in order of least expensive to most expensive, with more features being in the latter versions than the former. A full feature list can be found here.