Academy Award-winning motion-capture solution provider Vicon announced the launch of FKextreme, a system catering specifically to game developers and small studios. Introduced this week at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, Calif., the extensible setup is optimized for capturing both in-game motions and cinematic sequences with up to two performers.
‘There has been a perception in the marketplace that Vicon motion capture is out of reach of small to mid-sized animation facilities and game developers,’ says Robin Pengelly, business development manager for Vicon Ent. ‘FKextreme is an incredibly affordable and accessible motion capture system that delivers better price performance than any other professional mo-cap system targeting these customers. Over recent years a number of low-cost systems have been released, but they have significant limitations and technical roadblocks for production use. Vicon has taken our flagship system and pipeline and brought the price within the reach of small studios and first-time game producers.’
Based on the same Vicon motion-capture technology in place at major game development studios around the world, FKextreme is comprised of Vicon’s redesigned MX3+ cameras, new processing software and a full customer support package. It also features a new graphical user interface (GUI) that takes the user step-by-step through the process of running a motion-capture system. Also included is a sophisticated plug-in suite for many 3D packages including Autodesk MotionBuilder. The suite allows for real-time pre-visualization and enables skeletal data to be transferred from multiple characters and layered in real-time via a live remote control interface so users can essentially use MotionBuilder as an animation-recording tool.
Vicon motion-capture systems are currently in place at such leasing game companies as Electronic Arts, Sony Computer Entertainment of America, Activision, Ubisoft, Microsoft Games, Midway Games, Square, Capcom, Konami, NAMCO, Nintendo and Sega, as well as top film effects studios including Industrial Light & Magic, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Animal Logic and Rhythm & Hues. For more information on the company and its products, go to www.vicon.com.
