NaturalMotion Endorphin Chosen For Tekken 5

Oxford, UK-based NaturalMotion Ltd. has announced that Namco Japan has chosen its real-time character animation middleware Endorphin to help create its upcoming arcade/console title Tekken 5. Endorphin uses AI and dynamics simulation to create 3D character animation in real-time, thus accelerating 3D animation pipelines in games and visual effect studios. Among other things, endorphin allows game developers to simulate towards desired endposes, thus creating seamless transitions between the resultant animation clips. Announced game-related customers for the Endorphin software include Sony Europe, Sony America, Namco, Rainbow Studios, and movie SFX customers include Moving Picture Company and Uncharted Territory. The technology was recently used for the battle scenes in the Warner Bros. movie Troy.