Kynapse is the artificial intelligence middleware product, developed by Kynogon, which was bought by Autodesk in 2008 and called Autodesk Kynapse. In 2011, it has been re-engineered and rebranded Autodesk Navigation. [3]
Since the discontinuation of Autodesk Gameware, the product is obsolete.
Kynapse has been used in the development of more than 80 game titles including Mafia II , Crackdown , [4] Alone in the Dark 5 , [5] Fable II , Medal of Honor: Airborne , Sacred 2: Fallen Angel , Watchmen: The End Is Nigh , Sonic the Hedgehog (2006), The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar [6] and the Unreal engine. Kynapse is also being used by companies such as EADS, [7] BAE Systems or Électricité de France to develop military or industrial simulation.
A game engine is a software framework primarily designed for the development of video games, and generally includes relevant libraries and support programs. The "engine" terminology is similar to the term "software engine" used in the software industry.
Autodesk, Inc. is an American multinational software corporation that makes software products and services for the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media, education, and entertainment industries. Autodesk is headquartered in San Rafael, California, and has offices worldwide. Its U.S. offices are located in the states of California, Oregon, Colorado, Texas, Michigan, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Its Canada offices are located in the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta.
Havok is a middleware software suite developed by the Irish company Havok. Havok provides a physics engine component and related functions to video games.
In video games, artificial intelligence (AI) is used to generate responsive, adaptive or intelligent behaviors primarily in non-player characters (NPCs) similar to human-like intelligence. Artificial intelligence has been an integral part of video games since their inception in the 1950s. AI in video games is a distinct subfield and differs from academic AI. It serves to improve the game-player experience rather than machine learning or decision making. During the golden age of arcade video games the idea of AI opponents was largely popularized in the form of graduated difficulty levels, distinct movement patterns, and in-game events dependent on the player's input. Modern games often implement existing techniques such as pathfinding and decision trees to guide the actions of NPCs. AI is often used in mechanisms which are not immediately visible to the user, such as data mining and procedural-content generation.
Autodesk Media and Entertainment is a division of Autodesk which offers animation and visual effects products, and was formed by the combination of multiple acquisitions. In 2018, the company began operating as a single operating segment and reporting unit.
PhysX is an open-source realtime physics engine middleware SDK developed by Nvidia as a part of Nvidia GameWorks software suite.
In computing, procedural generation is a method of creating data algorithmically as opposed to manually, typically through a combination of human-generated assets and algorithms coupled with computer-generated randomness and processing power. In computer graphics, it is commonly used to create textures and 3D models. In video games, it is used to automatically create large amounts of content in a game. Depending on the implementation, advantages of procedural generation can include smaller file sizes, larger amounts of content, and randomness for less predictable gameplay. Procedural generation is a branch of media synthesis.
SpeedTree is a group of vegetation programming and modeling software products developed and sold by Interactive Data Visualization, Inc. (IDV) that generates virtual foliage for animations, architecture and in real time for video games and demanding real time simulations.
Life simulation games form a subgenre of simulation video games in which the player lives or controls one or more virtual characters. Such a game can revolve around "individuals and relationships, or it could be a simulation of an ecosystem". Other terms include artificial life game and simulated life game (SLG).
The Genie Engine is a game engine developed by Ensemble Studios and used in several computer games, such as Age of Empires, Age of Empires II and its expansions and Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds. Some of those games have been ported to the Apple Mac.
Kynogon was a computer software company that provided AI middleware to the video game and the simulation industries. The company was acquired by Autodesk in February 2008, and its flagship product was titled Autodesk Navigation. Autodesk ended the sale of Navigation in July 2017.
provides middleware for video games running on Windows, Linux, iOS, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii U, handheld consoles, and other platforms.
Trinigy was an independent company focusing on the development of advanced 3D graphics technology with its headquarters in Southern Germany, with offices in Austin, Texas (US) and Seoul, South Korea.
Q is a 3D engine / tech development platform / interoperability standard developed by the London-based developer Qube Software.
xaitment is a German-based company that develops and sells artificial intelligence (AI) software to video game developers and simulation developers. The company was founded in 2004 by Dr. Andreas Gerber, and is a spin-off of the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence, or DFKI. xaitment has its main office in Quierschied, Germany, and field offices in San Francisco and China.
Autodesk Gameware is a discontinued middleware software suite developed by Autodesk. The suite contained tools that enable designers to create game lighting, character animation, low level path finding, high-level AI and advanced user interfaces. On July 12, 2017, Autodesk removed Scaleform, Beast, HumanIK and Navigation from their online store, and announced the ending of support for the products.
MAK Technologies, formerly doing business as VT MAK, Inc. is a software company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts that provides commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) modeling and simulation software. The company develops and sells software for distributed simulations that system integrators, governments, and research institutions use to build and populate 3D simulated environments. Users include medical, aerospace, defense, and transportation industries. In addition to offering COTS software, MAK provides the following services: simulation content creation, software customization, interoperability, research and development, and training.
Scaleform GFx is a discontinued game development middleware package, a vector graphics rendering engine used to display Adobe Flash-based user interfaces and HUDs for video games. In March 2011, Autodesk acquired Scaleform Corporation and Scaleform GFx became part of the Autodesk Gameware line of middleware. On July 12, 2018, Autodesk discontinued Scaleform GFx and is no longer available for purchase.
Xiaoyuan Tu is a Chinese researcher and computer scientist specializing in machine learning, behavior modeling, physics modeling, biomechanical modeling, motion control interfaces, and intelligent virtual characters. She holds a Ph.D in computer science from University of Toronto and currently serves as a lead scientist and software engineer at Apple Inc, researching and developing next generation motions control and recognition technology.