LucasArts To Use Trolltech QT Platform

Application development platform maker Trolltech has announced that Lucasfilm will use its Qt framework to develop its digital entertainment software, an arrangement covering use of Qt by Industrial Light & Magic, LucasArts, Skywalker Sound, and Lucasfilm Animation. Qt, Trolltech's flagship product, provides a development platform for creating applications that run on major operating systems, including Windows, Linux and Mac. Qt is intended to streamline the development process, particularly in the area of rich GUI (graphical user interface) development, and enable software differentiation. Other major studios using Qt are Walt Disney Feature Animation, Sony Pictures Imageworks and Duboi. Most companies who standardize on Qt as their application development platform typically find a savings of 30-50% in development time, In particular, Qt focuses on an application’s look and feel, aiming to make it current with the latest operating system features. Steve Sullivan, director of R&D at Lucasfilm, said, “We used Qt for a few small projects and were impressed with its ease-of-use and support for cross-platform development. We were convinced our company could leverage this on a larger scale in our mainstream artist tools."