EKI One AI Middleware Debuts, Licensed For Odessa Twins

German company Artificial Technology has reveleaed its EKI One middleware for the first time, saying that Hamburg-based studio Twintime will utilize the technology for Odessa Twins, an upcoming action-adventure title for the PC. Artificial Technology's modular middleware is designed to enhance virtual world characters with artificial intelligence and emotional behavior. The engine serves as the software's "motor" of its three-component system, incorporating path-finding and movement algorithms into characters, as well as cognitive, planning and decision-making systems. The second component, the EKI One Configurator, provides users with a palette of tools to access the engine's capabilities, enabling developers, programmers, script designers, and game designers to apply artificial intelligence settings to characters. EKI One's third component allows the software to be adapted to specific games and customized to individual needs. Founded in 2005, Artificial Technology announced in January that it secured €720,000 (approximately $1 million) from German investors Bayern Kapial and Falk Strascheg Holding. Its support team currently consists of ten AI developers, as the company aims to add additional staff. Though Twintime hasn't yet announced a publisher or any concrete details for Odessa Twins, the developer has said that the game will feature "voice-enhanced gameplay" and a female protagonist inspired by the Tomb Raider series and Beyond Good and Evil. Said Twintime CEO Dieter Eichert: “After performing an extensive search, we are confident that Artificial’s highly motivated, capable, and creative team is the perfect partner for us to turn Odessa Twins into an entirely new kind of gaming experience. Artificial Technology will add a key ingredient to our prototype: artificial intelligence.”