Veteran Flash 3D Developer Hauwert Joins Unity Team

Freelance consultant and developer Ralph Hauwert, a key player in the development of 3D content for Adobe's Flash, has joined Unity Technologies as a senior developer to assist in the development of the company's Flash export tool. Hauwert's work includes efforts on browser-based MMO Glitch and the PaperVision3D open source 3D Flash engine, as well as non-gaming projects such as the Anne Frank Annex online. He will work on the continuing development of Unity's Flash Player export toolchain, first announced at GDC 2011 alongside the beta launch of Adobe's 3D-accelerated Molehill Flash framework. The export tool is expected to go into beta later in 2011. "With this new toolchain, we will ensure that our customers can continue to deploy their content to the broadest possible range of users," Hauwert said in a statement. "Furthermore with the power of the Unity platform, the Flash publishing toolchain allows for unparalleled content creation options for Flash." "When a guy like Hauwert is joining, you know you are doing something right," Unity Technologies VP of Engineering Steffen Toksvig said in a statement. "We are very excited to have him on the Unity team as we expand our platform reach on the web." The move comes just weeks after Unity closed a $12 million funding round which it said will help fuel a planned Asian expansion.