Image Metrics Performance Capture Technology Gets Its Game Face on for Some of the Videogame Industry's Biggest Titles
Photorealistic Facial Performance Animation Pipeline Used to
Develop Characters for Several High Profile Titles From Leading
Publishers Such As 2K Games, Epic Games and Rockstar Games
LOS ANGELES--(Business Wire)--
Image Metrics today announced that its proprietary
performance-driven facial animation solution was used to create
emotionally engaging characters for a number of renowned videogames,
including long-awaited sequels Top Spin 3 from 2K Games, Unreal
Tournament 3 by Epic Games, as well as Midnight Club Los Angeles and
Grand Theft Auto IV by Rockstar Games. Each of these games utilized
Image Metrics' video-based facial performance capture solution to
deliver titles with enhanced realism and believable characters.
"Creating dynamic and realistic characters that engage the player
is increasingly critical to the success of today's video games," said
Kelvin Duckett, chief operating officer at Image Metrics. "We're
pleased to be able to partner with innovative studios like 2K Games,
Epic Games and Rockstar Games to deliver superior facial animation
pipelines in the shortest possible time while also creating vivid,
lifelike characters to inhabit the games they've designed."
Shipping this spring, the third installment of 2K Games' popular
tennis series Top Spin lets gamers play as some of the world's
greatest tennis pros or design their own digital identity, complete
with physical details and style of play. Image Metrics produced ten
minutes of facial animation for the title, focusing mainly on in-game
reaction shots. The company also provided its first in-game software
component, created to ensure that user-generated characters have the
same facial animation capabilities as the game's built-in tennis pro
characters.
In Unreal Tournament 3, the latest installment in Epic Games'
popular sci-fi shooter series, new characters use a vast arsenal of
upgraded, futuristic weapons to battle other players online or go up
against unmatched artificial intelligence. Image Metrics held a
two-day recording session at Epic's North Carolina studio to create
the necessary video for the game, and provided performance capture
animation for six characters in all cut scenes. Unreal Tournament 3
has shipped for PC and PlayStation 3 in North America.
"It was critical to maintain our high level of cinematic quality
while reducing the amount of manual animation effort," said Dr.
Michael Capps, president of Epic. "We chose Image Metrics to be our
partner on Unreal Tournament 3 and were quite pleased with their
effort and the end result."
Available for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on April 29, 2008, Grand
Theft Auto IV (GTA IV) by Rockstar Games introduces main character
Niko Bellic, who has just arrived in Liberty City from Eastern Europe.
Notorious for creating some of the most cutting-edge gameplay today,
Rockstar Games turned to Image Metrics to take facial animation to the
next level in GTA IV. Image Metrics produced all of the facial
animation the eleventh installment in the blockbuster gaming
franchise. With the enhanced computing power of the latest gaming
consoles, Image Metrics is now able to deliver characters that include
3000 polygons in their faces, bringing rich expression and emotion to
the game.
Unsurpassed realism in both the physical environments and human
characters has gamers eagerly awaiting the next installment of
Rockstar Games' Midnight Club auto racing franchise, Midnight Club Los
Angeles, available for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in spring 2008.
Image Metrics provided facial animation for the game's rugged drivers,
adding even more depth and attitude to the characters featured in the
popular title. Whether drifting through a tight turn in Tinseltown or
aggressively overtaking another driver on the 405 highway, the focus
of the characters behind the wheel in Midnight Club Los Angeles is
written all over their faces thanks to Image Metrics' contributions to
the title.
Providing the first and only markerless and make up free facial
animation solution in the film and games animation industry, Image
Metrics' technology captures the minute details in each pixel of a
particular individual's performance, allowing impressively realistic
personalities to shine through the game's digital characters. 2K
Games, Epic Games and Rockstar Games selected Image Metrics for their
Top Spin 3, Unreal Tournament 3, Grand Theft Auto IV and Midnight Club
Los Angeles games because of the simplicity of the Image Metrics
technology pipeline and the Company's rapid turn-around time, as well
as its experience in translating human movement into incredibly
realistic facial animation.
To contact Image Metrics for a meeting at GDC, please call
310-656-6565 in the U.S. or +44 161 242 1800 in the U.K.., or visit
www.image-metrics.com
About Image Metrics
Image Metrics is located in Santa Monica, California, with R&D
headquarters in Manchester, U.K. Image Metrics provides the
entertainment industry's first and only marker and makeup free
performance driven facial animation solution. The company's
proprietary performance capture process uses pre-existing or newly
recorded video of an actor's facial performance shot with any video or
high definition camera. All detail seen in the recorded video is then
analyzed and mapped onto the computer-generated model, providing an
unprecedented amount of detail that results in the actor's personality
shining through the synthetic character. Developed over the past seven
years by a team of Ph.D. physicists, the technology has been
successfully applied in more than 40 video games, movies and
commercials worldwide.
About Epic Games
Epic Games, Inc., based in Cary, NC and established in 1991,
develops cutting-edge games and cross-platform game engine technology.
The company has created multiple million-selling, award-winning titles
in its Unreal series, recently shipping Unreal Tournament 3 for PC and
PlayStation 3. Epic's breakthrough game, Gears of War, sold over 4.5
million copies and was awarded overall Game of the Year for 2006 by
the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences, Game Developers Choice
Awards, GameSpot, GamePro and many others. Epic is also responsible
for the Unreal Engine, which is the underlying technology for a wide
range of games, including the Game Critics Awards' Best Console Game
and Spike TV's 2007 RPG of the Year Mass Effect by BioWare and the
2007 BAFTA Best Game and Spike TV Game of the Year BioShock by 2K
Games. Epic's Unreal Engine 3 is the current holder, and four-time
consecutive winner, of Game Developer magazine's Front Line award for
Best Engine. Epic was also recognized as 2006 Studio of the Year by
Spike TV, 2006 Developer of the Year by Official Xbox Magazine and
2007 Large Company of the Year by the North Carolina Technology
Association. Additional information about Epic can be obtained through
the Epic Games Web site at www.epicgames.com.
About Take-Two Interactive Software
Headquartered in New York City, Take-Two Interactive Software,
Inc. is a global developer, marketer, distributor and publisher of
interactive entertainment software games for the PC, PlayStation(R)2
and PLAYSTATION(R)3 computer entertainment systems, PSP(R)
(PlayStation(R)Portable) system, Xbox(R) and Xbox 360(TM) video game
and entertainment systems from Microsoft, Wii(TM), Nintendo
GameCube(TM), Nintendo DS(TM) and Game Boy(R) Advance. The Company
publishes and develops products through its wholly owned labels
Rockstar Games, 2K and 2K Sports, and Global Star Software; and
distributes software, hardware and accessories in North America
through its Jack of All Games subsidiary. Take-Two's common stock is
publicly traded on NASDAQ under the symbol TTWO. For more corporate
and product information please visit our website at
www.take2games.com.
About Rockstar Games
The Rockstar Games label was founded in 1998 to create the most
innovative and progressive interactive entertainment. It is a wholly
owned subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Take-Two
Interactive, Rockstar Games, Rockstar North, Rockstar San Diego,
Rockstar Vancouver, Rockstar Toronto, Rockstar Leeds, Rockstar
Lincoln, 2K Games, Global Star Software and related logos are
trademarks of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.
Epic, Epic Games, Unreal, Unreal Tournament and Gears of War are
trademarks or registered trademarks of Epic Games, Inc. in the United
States of America and elsewhere. All other trademarks are the property
of their respective owners.
Bender/Helper Impact for Image Metrics
Shannon McPhee, 310-473-4147
shannon_mcphee@bhimpact.com
Copyright Business Wire 2008
