ATLANTA, May 28 /PRNewswire/ -- Valkyrie Studios Inc., a new
Chicago-based game development company, is using Maya(TM) for Microsoft(R)
Windows NT(R) as the software backbone behind their innovative new PC game
called SepterraCore. For Valkyrie, Maya's superior animation abilities, the
incredibly flexible UI and ease of use, combined with the fact that it will be
available on the Windows NT platform, made it an irresistible solution.
"We wanted to have an environment where artists can focus on the creative
work of building an amazing game without having to fight with inferior tools,"
explains Alisa Kober, vice president of art production at Valkyrie. "Maya is
the first package I've used where I feel connected to the work in a very
direct way."
Valkyrie is a recently formed company of seasoned game developers whose
first title "SepterraCore" will be released in early 1999. Valkyrie is
creating a highly-detailed fantasy world where players can explore hundreds of
locations and situations within seven distinct ecosystems which make up the
world of Septerra. Maya has proven to be the best tool for achieving the
quality that Valkyrie requires for this innovative and demanding project.
Maya is a dramatic new approach to character animation and visual effects
which further strengthens Alias|Wavefront's current leadership in 3D graphics.
Alias|Wavefront recently announced that the native Windows NT implementation
of Maya, with the same functionality of the IRIX(R) version, will be available
in June 1998. The advanced modules, Maya FX(TM) and Maya Artisan(TM), will
also be available on both platforms.
Fast Animation With Attention to Detail
Maya's feature film quality animation system provides the realism and
depth that Valkyrie is looking for. "We have over 70 characters and
200 backgrounds with stunning visuals in SepterraCore and with Maya software's
tools we can achieve the rich detail we are striving for without sacrificing
speed," explains Kober. Another key to Valkyrie's ability to manage such a
large number of characters is by taking advantage of Maya's unique animation
capabilities which allow them to quickly set up a model and easily adapt
others without having to re-animate them.
Artists at Valkyrie are also taking advantage of Maya's texturing tools
for their pre-rendered backgrounds that range from an extremely organic Kenyan
swamp to a modern industrial cityscape. The structure of Maya's texturing
tools offers considerable time-savings since artists can set mapping
coordinates and then use the Connection Editor to swap textures on the fly
using the same pre-set mapping.
A User Interface for All
Maya features a number of workflow innovations designed to significantly
enhance user productivity by speeding both the learning process of novices and
the throughput of expert users. This explains Brian Babendererde's enthusiasm
for Maya. Babendererde is Valkyrie's vice president of game development and
the mastermind behind SepterraCore. Babendererde had previously only looked
over the shoulders of other artists who were bringing his ideas to life in 3D.
Maya was the first solution he witnessed that looked like something he, as a
traditional artist, could relate to.
"I started from ground zero with no previous experience with 3D tools. I
worked with the Maya tutorials and after one week I was actually creating
models," explains Babendererde. "As an artist, it made sense to me visually
and I didn't feel like I needed to be a mathematician or architect to achieve
what I wanted."
Senior animator David Pindara, who came to Maya with years of experience
working with 3D tools, appreciated the customizability of Maya's UI. "The Hot
Box was a great idea. It is so amazing to be able to get at the tools you
need quickly and easily without having to sift through dozens of sub-menus,"
describes Pindara. "I've customized the Maya UI to my needs and I can now do
things in easily half the time I used to with other tools."
Platform Choice
By offering Maya on both IRIX and Windows NT platforms, Alias|Wavefront is
giving game developers the choice of using the best animation tools on
whichever platform makes sense for them. For Valkyrie, having Maya available
on their preferred platform was a key advantage both in terms of cost savings
and in terms of workflow.
"As a start-up company, it is a huge benefit for us to have Maya on NT and
have one system for everything. We don't have to worry about data transfer,
network snafus or other challenges associated with trying to work across
platforms," explains Pindara, "and since we develop games for the PC it makes
life a lot easier to do it all on one system."
Valkyrie was founded in 1997 and consists of 16 artists, game designers
and programmers. Before founding their own game development company, the
principals at Valkyrie spent many years working at Viacom on products such as
"Beavis and Butt-head in Virtual Stupidity" which won PC Gamer's Adventure
Game of the Year in 1995. Valkyrie's first title SepterraCore is for Top Ware
Interactive Germany and is scheduled for release in early 1999.
SOURCE Alias|Wavefront
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Alexandra Walsh of Alias|Wavefront,
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