Gamebryo
 | This article contains promotional content. (February 2012) |
| File:Gamebryo logo.jpg | |
| Developer(s) | Gamebase USA & Gamebase Co., Ltd. |
|---|---|
| Stable release | Gamebryo 3D and LightSpeed
|
| Preview release | Gamebryo 4.0
/ March 2012 |
| Written in | C++ |
| Operating system | Cross-platform |
| Type | Game engine |
| Website | Official website |
Gamebryo is a game engine that facilitates and simplifies video game development by providing a complete toolset, flexible workflow, rapid prototyping capabilities and a high-performance runtime. Gamebryo 3D and LightSpeed engines are owned by Gamebase Co., Ltd. and Gamebase USA and have been chosen by top video game developers including Trion Worlds, 2K Games, Disney, Ubisoft, Tencent, Firaxis Games, Sony, Shanda and NCsoft for numerous cross-platform game titles.
History
Gamebryo was originally created by Numerical Design Limited (NDL) as the NetImmerse engine in 1997. NDL was merged into Emergent Game Technologies (EGT) in 2005. Gamebryo then evolved to Gamebryo LightSpeed. Both Gamebryo and LightSpeed were updated and marketed. During 2009 the development staff of Gamebryo was downsized,[1][2] and by July 2010 the engineering office in Chapel Hill, North Carolina was closed. On November 11, 2010, assets of Emergent Game Technologies, Inc., were offered for acquisition, including its Intellectual Property (“IP”), in whole or in part.[3]
In December, 2010, Korea-based Gamebase Co., Ltd., a longtime partner of Emergent, finalized the acquisition of Emergent assets and technology, and established a newly-capitalized U.S. company, Gamebase USA[4]. Gamebase USA is based in in the Research Triangle Park region of North Carolina and is focused on continually building the Gamebryo game engine. The newest version, Gamebryo 4.0, is going to be introduced in March 2012.
Features
The Gamebryo system is provided to developers as a suite of modular C++ libraries. Game developers can combine and extend the libraries to create their game specific functionality, thus avoiding investing time into the development and optimisation of generic functionality that is common to most games. Gamebryo's design emphasises a rapid prototyping approach aimed at an iterative development process.
The Gamebryo engine currently supports a range of recent gaming platforms including Microsoft Windows (DirectX 9, 10 and 11), Linux (OpenGL), Nintendo GameCube, Wii/WiiWare, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3/PSN, Xbox and Xbox 360 (including Xbox Live Arcade).
Gamebryo 4.0 is the newest version of the engine, it endeavours to merge the original Gamebryo system with its LightSpeed spin-off. This is intended to provide the best of both in a single product thereby eliminating the need for separate toolsets.
Licensing
A Gamebryo license can be purchased as either binary (headers, libraries and tools) or with full source code, so developers can debug the engine and use it as reference for any customizations. Additionally, Gamebryo comes with searchable documentation. Gamebryo is genre agnostic and is used in many 3D domains for AAA games, casual titles and serious games/simulation technologies. Educational licenses are also made available for universities and schools running 3D technology courses.
Games Using Gamebryo and LightSpeed
Gamebryo is used throughout the video game industry worldwide. Below is a sample of game titles that have used the engine:
References
- ^ Leigh Alexander. "Emergent Announces Restructuring, Layoffs", Gamasutra, October 2, 2009.
- ^ Michael French. "Restructuring and job losses at Emergent", Develop, October 2, 2009.
- ^ Steven R. Gerbsman. Sale of Emergent's Assets http://boic.wordpress.com/2010/11/11/emergent-game-technologies-inc-date-certain-ma-of-its-assets-and-intellectual-property/, Gerbsman Partners Blog, November 11, 2010.
- ^ Leigh Alexander. Longtime Partner Gamebase Revealed As Gamebryo Buyer http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/32168/Longtime_Partner_Gamebase_Revealed_As_Gamebryo_Buyer.php/, Gamasutra, December 22, 2010.
- ^ "Bethesda Speaks On Gamebryo Engine, Final Fallout 3 DLC". Slashdot. 2009-07-09. Retrieved 2009-11-19.
External links
- Gamebryo official website
- Wallis, Alistair (2007-05-11). "Tooling Around: Emergent's Gamebryo". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2007-05-26.
- NifTools NifTools is a project that aims at providing tools and specification for the files used by the NetImmerse/Gamebryo game engine.
- DevMaster.net overview of the Gamebryo engine
- Peter.corrosivetruths.org A look into the history of Gamebryo usage in previous Elder scrolls games.