X-Forge 2 Engine Available to Tapwave Zodiac Game DevelopersPosted on Friday, September 03, 2004 @ 01:50:55 pm E.S.T
Fathammer, a leading developer of advanced mobile technologies and publisher of console-quality games, has partnered with Tapwave® to offer a Zodiac-optimized version of the X-Forge 2 engine. The engine will be available to registered Tapwave developers on special terms. Tapwave developers who want to create cutting-edge games with stunning visual quality can use X-Forge 2 to develop 2D and 3D games in any genre (especially first-person shooters, racing and action/adventure games).
The X-Forge 2 game engine is significantly improved and includes several new innovations. Not only has performance been greatly enhanced, but the engine and tools are notably easier to use and learn, helping game developers make better games faster and with lower costs. What's more, the X-Forge 2 engine uses less memory and delivers a much higher frame-rate performance.
Fathammer and Tapwave have strengthened their alliance by expanding their publishing and distribution relationship. Fathammer will be developing and bringing to market Street Hoops and Hockey Rage 2005 for the Tapwave Zodiac mobile entertainment console. The company will also develop other premiere titles for the Zodiac that will be available starting in the US and select European markets by the end of 2004.
"The Tapwave Zodiac is a great platform to showcase our engine and 3D games," said Matti Airas, CEO of Fathammer. "Tapwave and Fathammer have a close partnership and look forward to continue building this relationship with our latest technologies".
"Our vibrant game development community is core to our business and we will continue to partner with companies that create the best tools for our developers. Fathammer is one such company." said Byron Connell, co-founder of Tapwave. "With the X-Forge 2 engine, the sky is the limit and we're excited about our developers pushing the technology to the max for the Zodiac mobile entertainment console,"
The X-Forge development system is built around a complete game engine, providing tools, documentation and examples for every phase of advanced mobile game development. X-Forge 2 was designed from the ground up for mobile devices. The X-Forge game engine completely abstracts the underlying operating system and device hardware, allowing game developers to develop once on Windows and then deploy to multiple mobile platforms.
The Zodiac mobile entertainment console was designed from the ground up to work hard and play even harder. The console comes with the latest Zodiac 1.1 software suite, which includes many new enhancements like background music playback (e.g., listen to music while you play games, view a photo slideshow or read an e-book) and the ability to sync your personal organizer data with Microsoft® Outlook® using Chapura® PocketMirror®. Housed in a sleek and ergonomic 6.3 ounce, anodized-aluminum design, the Zodiac console not only provides an unparalleled mobile gaming device with analog control, 3D graphics, stereo sound, vibration effects, and wireless multiplayer gaming, but also everything required for a rich multimedia experience including music, pictures and video. From a work perspective, the Zodiac offers the added benefit of running a Tapwave-enhanced version of the Palm Operating System (5.2T), providing immediate access to thousands of existing applications, tools and games already available on the operating system.
The console is offered in two models – the Zodiac 1 for $299USD (32MB RAM) and the Zodiac 2 for $399 USD (128MB RAM). Both models, game titles and accessories are available nationwide at US retailers including CompUSA and J & R Computer World. Tapwave is also expanding into international markets - starting with the UK this holiday season.
About Fathammer
Fathammer is a pioneering leader in Advanced Mobile Gaming, providing high quality 3D games and development tools for mobile platforms. Fathammer provides its industry leading X-Forge® 2 Game Development System and developer support services to game publishers and developers as well as mobile device manufacturers and wireless operators. X-Forge Powered games bring console quality 3D gaming to a wide range of mobile devices. Fathammer Ltd is a privately owned company and has offices in Helsinki (Finland) and Seoul (Korea). More information can be found at http://www.fathammer.com .
About Tapwave, Inc.
Pioneers of a new product category called mobile entertainment gear, Tapwave is changing the way people manage their lives, play and interact on the go. Founded in May 2001, Tapwave is a privately funded company in Mountain View, CA. Through a wealth of consumer electronic experience and strong partnerships, Tapwave is developing a portfolio of innovative, media-centric products that combine the power and function of advanced handheld computing with the fun of a console-quality entertainment experience.
Since officially launching the company a little more than a year ago, Tapwave has garnered numerous accolades and industry awards for its first product – the Zodiac, including: 1st place in PC Magazine's "Last Gadget Standing" competition at CES 2004, Handheld Computing's "Most Innovative PDA for 2003", Mobiletrax's Mobility Award, CNET's Editor's Choice Award, PC World's 2004 Next Gear Innovations Award, and Popular Science BOWN (Best of What's New) Award. More information about the company can be found at http://www.tapwave.com . Posted By: Adam Paoli - 185 Reads
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