NaturalMotion Details Morpheme 3 Release With Kinect, Move Support

The latest release of NaturalMotion's Morpheme animation middleware, version 3.0, is available today, and the company says it's added full support for Microsoft's Kinect and Sony's Move controller inputs. NaturalMotion describes specific nodes for Kinect that filter and re-target data onto existing rigs or allow for indirect gesture-based character control. The company also says Morpheme 3.0 features performance enhancements like "substantial" reductions in memory usage, improved workflow and more debugging tools. It's also added new transitions including "Active State" and "Self", aimed at making the creation process faster and more transparent. The tool's preview functions have also been enhanced, according to NaturalMotion, with the aim of easing prototyping and testing interactions among multiple characters. A new asset management system has been introduced with the intent to help developers better organize their clips and build physical characters more quickly. A "Node Wizard", intended for programmers, has been introduced to allow for more customization and better visibility on runtime executions and debugging within Connect. Morpheme is available for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and PC, and its licensees include Ubisoft, Codemasters, CCP, Disney, BioWare, Robomodo and numerous others. Says NaturalMotion CEO Torsten Reil: "Morpheme 3.0 puts unprecedented control in the hands of both animators and programmers, allowing believable character performances to be quickly created and tested, and then executed in-game with the incredible efficiency."