GarageGames Releases Torque Wii Version 1.5

Co-developers GarageGames and Pronto Games have announced the release of the latest version of its Torque engine for Wii and WiiWare development, including "a host of updates," most notably adding the 2D drag and drop functionality of Torque Game Builder to the console solution. Built upon both the company's 3D Torque Game Engine and its 2D Torque Game Builder, Torque for Wii has built-in support for Wii's controller, making it a complete package for both disc-based and downloadable Wii games. Features in the Wii specific engine include "extensible Wii Remote support, Wii optimized skinned mesh rendering, compressed texture, interior support, and hardware blending for terrain textures" as well as "a powerful WYSIWYG tool chain for designers, scripting language support, a comprehensive Lot Check compliance component, and Wii graphics and audio abstraction layers." Said GarageGames business development VP Brett Seyler, "We're thrilled to have had one of the first affordable solutions out there for Wii game development and with the huge success of the Wii platform, developer interest Torque for Wii has been off the charts. Torque for Wii continues to improve and mature and with this technology in the hands of some very talented studios, we're going to see a lot more more great games like Pronto's Destiny of Zorro come to the Wii."