Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/6960
e soldier runs through a ruined urban landscape, the hulk of a burned-out vehicle smoldering in the distance. Suddenly, an alien crea- ture looms in front of him. Reacting quickly, he aims his Lancer assault rifle and fires away at the beast, blasting away bits of its armor until, at last, the monster crumples to the ground. But as the warrior moves forward, he can hear other battles raging, and he knows that within moments he'll be confronted yet again. A scene from yet another sci-fi blockbuster at the local multiplex? It could be. But in this case, it's just another encounter in the fast-paced video game Gears of War 2. is third-person shooter—in which the player assumes the role of one of the characters and views a 3D virtual world from the cinematic perspective of a virtual camera—is hugely popular, selling more than five million copies, winning numerous awards, and grossing more than many Hollywood films. e fast-paced action and stunning visuals come about in large part thanks to the game's underlying technology, the Unreal Engine 3. De- veloped by Epic Games, a cutting-edge game developer based in Cary, North Carolina, the Unreal Engine is a game development platform providing an array of technologies, content creation tools, and support infrastructure tailored specifically for the unique needs of game devel- opers and creators of other 3D animated content. According to its de- velopers, every aspect of the Unreal Engine is designed to put as much power as possible in the hands of artists and designers. Not Just Playing Around First used in 1998 for Epic Games' own first-person shooter Unreal, the Unreal Engine has since been the basis for many popular games, includ- ing BioShock, Medal of Honor: Airborne, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Epic's Unreal technology also provides the platform and tools needed to develop other complex 3D projects. HKS, one of the world's lead- ing architectural firms, is using the Unreal Engine to bring 3D building models to life on projects such as the W Hotel in Dallas and the Dallas Cowboys football stadium. By leveraging the interactive gaming tech- nology of the Unreal Engine, the architects and their clients can walk through and experience virtual buildings in real time at their own pace. Producers of Nickelodeon's award-winning children's TV series La- zyTown utilize the Unreal Engine to blend live-action and puppetry on a physical set with a greenscreen and computer-generated background content in real time. As the actual camera moves around the actors and physical set, the backdrop scene also moves in real time, opening up creative possibilities never before possible. In addition to its technical wizardry, the Unreal Engine provides a high degree of portability, supporting multiple platforms, including personal computers running Microsoft Windows operating systems, as well as video gaming consoles, such as the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3. e Unreal Engine's constantly evolving tool set and support for nu- merous platforms have made it one of the most popular development systems currently available. But it's in the world of video games where the engine's reputation shines. More Demanding than Movies Video games are among the most demanding of applications. In order to achieve the high degree of interactivity and visual fidelity expected by players, video games require high-end hardware—powerful laptops or desktop machines with multiple processors and sophisticated graphics cards or the latest gaming consoles. If the games themselves require this kind of horsepower to play, imagine what it takes to create these titles. n n n n Gaming February 2010 40