Boutique Game Studio Credits Autodesk Powerful Software for Streamlined Animation, Modeling and Rigging Workflow
SAN FRANCISCO — (BUSINESS WIRE) — May 2, 2013 — Autodesk Inc., (NASDAQ: ADSK) announced that indie casual game development studio Phyken Media used Autodesk Maya 3D animation software to develop its immersive turn-based strategy game “ Wizard Ops Tactics” – available today for Apple iOS and Android Google Play. Under a tight deadline and strict budget, Phyken Media’s team of three digital artists leveraged the 3D capabilities of Autodesk Maya to create an impressive volume of high-quality art, models and other 3D assets.
“Building a mobile game like ‘Tactics’ with such a small team requires talented artists and robust technology, which is why we turned to Maya which allowed us to create many new characters and over 200 unique animations,” said Phyken Media President Kunal Patel. “With Maya we could ramp up production quickly and get right to work. We used the software on our first ‘Wizard Ops’ arcade shooter and a large part of our team learned it in school. Maya really allows us to do whatever we want.”
“Wizard Ops Tactics” is an asynchronous strategy game set in an isometric wizard universe that includes sound effects by “Police Academy” actor Michael Winslow. Players build wizard armies equipped with wands, spells and heavy artillery for tactical missions. Users then deploy their units and challenge friends or random opponents to attack. Alternating turns, battle ensues until one wizard army ultimately wins out.
“There is a tremendous benefit to developing 3D games for the mobile platform. 3D enhances realism by leveraging the power of today’s mobile graphics while also enhancing the gameplay in ways that are difficult to achieve using 2D alone,” said Marc Stevens, Autodesk vice president, games. “Phyken is a prime example. With a small but talented team, they were able to create enticing 3D characters and environments in Maya that will distinguish their game from similar games on the market.”
Each unit of the game features 30 to 40 extraordinary explosive animations involving artillery and sorcery – from fireballs to lightening, grenades and more — and gives gamers a 360-degree view of the action. To make the gameplay authentic, Phyken relied on Maya on the Mac to develop flexible 3D models, textures and lighting, and complete complex rigs and animation that bring additional depth and detail to the game’s characters and environments.
After all of the game assets were finalized, Phyken exported them to the Unity Game Engine via Autodesk FBX asset exchange technology. Project Manager Justin Lynch shared, “We’ve always found that Maya and Unity 3D complement each other. We were able to create all of our 3D assets in Maya, export them as FBX files and literally drag the files into the Unity Engine, type in the key frames and press ‘go’– making the whole process a lot less time-consuming.”
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