December 10, 2000 - Paris, France

Virtools Offers Free Content for Websites through New Game Release Volcano Racer, Demonstrating the Potential of its Technology

Volcano Racer erupts into the gaming world, signaling the arrival of next-generation gameplay. By no means an ordinary web game, Volcano Racer surrounds the user with screaming graphics and incredible split-hair reactivity. This adrenaline rushed game is filled with powerful content and is now available, free of charge, to all gamesites. Go to www.translucency.com/volcanoracer to get your Volcano Racer install kit, including the game file, an HTML Page to load the game and a GIF button to download the plugin. Take advantage of this content to drive traffic to your website at no charge.

In the game, the user skillfully maneuvers across the race course in an air-cushioned vessel. Fleeting past dynamic futuristic scenes, users control the vessel as if by sight and reflex alone. Moving fluidly, users are challenged by three other rival vessels of different skill levels which adapt to the level of the player, offering an exciting and competetive venture.

The game is an excellent example of the remarkable results made possible with the power of Virtools technology. Utilizing Virtools Dev 1.0.1, the game was created in a record-breaking time of 480 man/hours (60 days) spread over a short 6-week production cycle. The 3-person team was composed of a graphic designer (using 3DS MAX and Photoshop), a Virtools scripter and a game designer. The use of Virtools Dev allowed for swift production and kept costs to a minimum.

Another notable advantage of using Virtools Dev was the ability to develop a rapid yet quality prototype. "Two weeks into the production cycle, we had a playable game. This was crucial - at that point we knew we were headed in the right direction. We were able to test continually and fine-tune gameplay from Day 1," said Francois Dujardin, project lead and Virtools scripter.

Overall, the game developers were unanymously satisfied with the efficiency and reliability of Virtools Dev. Olivier Crozet, game designer and scripter, put it perfectly when he stated, "Virtools Dev gave us the power to produce a game with complex content in a limited time - and a very reasonable budget."

About Virtools
Headquartered in Paris, Virtools produces a suite of interactive 3D development tools and is swiftly earning a strong reputation for itself. Creation permits non-programmers to create rich interactivity through graphs and behavior building blocks, and Dev gives cutting edge game developers access to the underlying code for the power, flexibility and control they need to bring creative ideas to realization. The tools are used extensively by industry leaders to create games, entertainment and web 3D. Both products streamline the production process, are well adapted to episodic content, and are used by industry leaders including Havas Interactive, Microids, Hypnotix, Babel@stal, Appeal and TerraTools GmbH.

For more information, please contact:

Virtools
+33 (0) 1 42 71 86 90
info@virtools.com