Ringling College Licenses CryEngine 2

Ringling College of Art and Design has become the first academic institution to acquire a license for the use of Crytek’s CryEngine 2 middleware for educational purposes, enabling students to work with advanced visual tools as they study animation and scene rendering. Remarking on the agreement, College President Dr. Larry Thompson said, “We are thrilled Crytek has chosen Ringling College as its inaugural partner for educational licensing. We view this CryEngine 2 agreement as a validation of the exceptional and innovative academic program we have created here and feel privileged to have Crytek as one of our newest business partners.” Computer Animation Department Head Jim McCampbell says the opportunity to use CryEngine 2 creates a unique opportunity for the student body. “Our job as an institution is to prepare them to take their place in a future where computer games, 3D graphics and computer animations may well become the overwhelmingly dominant commercial and creative art form," he says. McCampbell hopes that licensing the middleware will help prepare graduates to work with industry standard technology in real-time, avoiding the cost and time investment of render farms. “The ranks of the Ringling alumni reads like a who’s who of the computer graphics world, as do the companies they work for. Our own director of animation is an alumnus, which shows you how highly we regard their graduates," said Faruk Yerli, managing director of Crytek.