Emergent Announces Gamebryo Casual Engine

Game engine company Emergent has announced a new Gamebryo Casual development platform, with production software and design tools aimed specifically at casual game developers. "Emergent’s action is poised to support this growing market, who truly embraces the idea that there is no such thing as a small game," says the company. According to Emergent, Gamebryo Casual will have the same production software and design tools available in Gamebryo 2.5, adding features that the company says are "especially suited to the casual market where downloads need to be small." Gamebryo's geometry pipeline, the company explains, reduces filesize for downloadable titles. Gamebryo Casual also optionally integrates with Allegorithmic's ProFX texturing middleware, which the company says can contribute reduced filesize when adding detailed textures. Emergent's licensing model for Gamebryo Casual can be scaled, says the company, based on the specific budgets and timelines of individual developers, but MMOs are excluded from the scaled model. "Emergent is looking to take the casual game industry beyond what is possible today," says Emergent CEO Geoffrey Selzer. "We see a future where short format games have the same level of graphics, interactivity and gameplay as big budget releases. To get there casual developers will need the same world-class tools and support that AAA titles can afford today."