***The Motion Factory Receives New Round of Venture Funding
(April 2)
The Motion Factory announced the completion of a new round of
venture funding from BankAmerica Ventures, SofInnova, and Digital
Media Group. With the newly committed funds totaling $2 million,
The Motion Factory plans to accelerate the development of the
Motivate system and will invest in expanded customer support
services. The company also recently announced development is
underway to support Sony PlayStation 2, Sega DreamCast, and Apple
Macintosh platforms.
Motivate is a suite of tools for creating interactive,
intelligent, 3D characters and environments. Motivate's animation
engine features Real-time Motion Synthesis, allowing character
motion to be generated on-the-fly in response to dynamically
changing environments.
The Motivate system includes the Motivate Runtime Engine, which
manages real-time character animation; the Motivate Development
Tools, which streamline the character authoring process; and the
Motivate SDK, which allows game developers to extend and
integrate Motivate. The Motivate Server technology allows
Motivate to be used for multi-player, network-based titles. Later
this year, in addition to Windows 95, 98 and NT, run-time engines
for Sega DreamCast, Sony Play Station 2 and the Macintosh
platforms will be available.
Wave Issue 9036 4/6/99 Article 1-03