BUILD | SOFTWARE
KEYRELEASE
WebVision
Felix Roeken has overseen the life of an exciting product in the VisionEngine during his tenure as Trinigy general manager. Now a new browser game engine framework called WebVision is set light up the browser-based games market. Stuart Richardson caught up with Roeken to find out more…
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elix Roeken understands the development process acutely. This is something that comes across when considering not just the assurance in his words, but the history behind both the man and the company of which he is general manager, Trinigy. The German 3D tech firm, which also has offices in Texas, is best known for for its popular and ever-improving Vision Engine. Recently however, it released a new browser game engine framework called WebVision, to be made available to everyone who has licensed the Vision Engine. But it doesn’t end there. “It has been a busy year for us both in terms of technology and business,” Roeken explains. “In March, we launched Vision Engine 8 with a number of new features, tools, workflow improvements, partner integrations with Havok and Perforce, and optimised performance for all platforms. We just announced support for Autodesk FBX and WebVision.” Roeken is proud of the pace and volume of work his company is undertaking, and is keen to clarify the effects of this ethos. “2010 has also been a huge year of expansion for us as well as an all-time record year in revenue. We’ve seen tremendous global interest for our new technology. We’ve opened an office in Northern Germany. We’ve been hiring in all regions. What’s gratifying is that all of this growth has come organically, with no VC in the background.” 56 | SEPTEMBER 2010
And on the subject of the WebVision, its genesis and what Trinigy hopes to achieve with it as a new platform, Roeken is just as keen to open up. “Games delivered through and played in browsers have really grown in popularity over the last few years. But what we’ve also seen is that there is now larger demand for browser-based games that both look and play like console games,” he explains. “WebVision is a development framework integrated with the Vision Engine that lets developers of browserbased games capitalise on the Vision Engine’s extensive feature set and cross-platform performance in order to bring games with stunning visual quality and immersive gameplay to browsers. WebVision is included free-of-charge in the Vision Engine SDK to Vision licensees, and supports all common PC browsers, including Explorer, Firefox, Chrome and Opera.” ALL PART OF THE PLAN Over the years a certain level of quality has become expected from the technology that Trinigy produces, and the support it gives to the users of it. In order to ensure that these hallmarks of the company’s success are maintrained, Roeken has plans. “We’re focusing a lot of energy on expansion, which includes hiring for various positions and opening new offices. Our development staff is already busy on the next version of the Vision Engine, which unfortunately we can’t talk about yet. And of course, we
are already planning our next steps with WebVision,” he says. “On a more personal note, we’re really looking forward to witnessing the release of some key Vision-based titles, like Arcania – Gothic 4, as well as the unveiling of some great titles that are yet to be made public.”
There is now larger demand for browserbased games that both look and play like console games. Felix Roeken, Trinigy And Roeken knows why he believes people should pick up WebVision at the first possible opportunity. “WebVision serves the growing segmentation in browser games by offering developers a development environment for creating graphically rich environments and complex, immersive gameplay. It has all the power of a fully-fledged game engine, as well as Vision’s renowned modularity and flexible workflow. It includes Trinigy’s premier support. And, if you’re a Vision Engine licensee, it’s free-ofcharge,” he laughs. “The beauty of WebVision is that developers can use it in a variety of
ways. It can act as an additional game platform, a tool to create marketing and sales demos, a new method of generating revenue. The possibilities are endless, and I look forward to seeing all the different ideas our customers come up with.” BACK TO THE FUTURE The future is not something that weighs heavily on Roeken, and it feels safe to assume that his optimism is something that is shared across Trinigy. “It is no longer a retail world, nor is it a triple-A vs. casual world. More and more gaming platforms and distribution channels are segmenting the market. On the one hand, that’s good, as it will generate more channels of revenue in the games market. “On the other hand, games will have to either cover a much broader range of platforms or strongly focus on niches or specific platform experiences. Consequently, business models and revenues for publishers will further evolve and diversify to meet these changes,” he forecasts. “Middleware providers will have to tackle and serve this new world. It will take agility and foresight. “For Trinigy, changing our licensing long ago, focusing time on making the Vision Engine as flexible and modular as possible, and launching WebVision are just some examples of how we’re evolving to meet market needs. As the market transforms we’ll continue to evolve. Stay tuned.” www.experiencewebvision.com