GarageGames, a prior interview in 2O2P Magazine, has announced its new neXt-generation engine: TorqueX. This engine is built for XNA and Microsoft Xbox 360 technology.
"Manage your project, not your code" says the new Torque X engine. This is GarageGames answer to the R&D that they've done with XNA.
So, what is XNA and Torque anyway? XNA is a development foundation for software folks to build games without all the complexities that you typically run into when trying to build a gaming application for multiple platforms. Of course, the platforms are all Microsoft targets, but hey...they built the libraries too! This means developers can write for the PC and Xbox 360 transparently. Rock on.
Torque is a game development library made by GarageGames for building complex games and simple side scrollers. They have a full suite of tools or the Torque Game Builder application for side scrolling development. BOTH these applications will soon be XNA enabled (hence the X in TorqueX).
Marble Blast Ultra was designed by the folks at GarageGames and implements the Torque engine. They share these tools with commercial and indy developers for very little cost ($100.00 for Indy and $500.00 for commercial).
What is the end game and why is this news important?
Microsoft is going out of their way with the new XNA project to bring game development to those hobbiests that would love to build a game for a console system and PC. They want to flood the market with tools so that games are designed by many more studios and are all supported on one nice happy architecture: Microsoft.
GarageGames gives you the second level of tools. You have XNA as your foundation and TorqueX as your enhanced library for graphics, physics, sounds, and (hopefully) networking.
This is a huge move by these two companies to expand the reality of gaming to those less funded enthusists and cheapens the entrance fee for bigger commercial studios. It means more games faster and with a higher degree of creativity, enthusiasm, and fun. Will there be some crappy games? Sure, but at least there will be MORE.
And think about this: A platform is only as good as its compilers and libraries. Without tools nobody will build. The pyramids were not created without proper tools and supplies and neither are games.
See it for yourself: TorqueX
Thanks to SGRETH for sending in the information
"Manage your project, not your code" says the new Torque X engine. This is GarageGames answer to the R&D that they've done with XNA.
So, what is XNA and Torque anyway? XNA is a development foundation for software folks to build games without all the complexities that you typically run into when trying to build a gaming application for multiple platforms. Of course, the platforms are all Microsoft targets, but hey...they built the libraries too! This means developers can write for the PC and Xbox 360 transparently. Rock on.
Torque is a game development library made by GarageGames for building complex games and simple side scrollers. They have a full suite of tools or the Torque Game Builder application for side scrolling development. BOTH these applications will soon be XNA enabled (hence the X in TorqueX).
Marble Blast Ultra was designed by the folks at GarageGames and implements the Torque engine. They share these tools with commercial and indy developers for very little cost ($100.00 for Indy and $500.00 for commercial).
What is the end game and why is this news important?
Microsoft is going out of their way with the new XNA project to bring game development to those hobbiests that would love to build a game for a console system and PC. They want to flood the market with tools so that games are designed by many more studios and are all supported on one nice happy architecture: Microsoft.
GarageGames gives you the second level of tools. You have XNA as your foundation and TorqueX as your enhanced library for graphics, physics, sounds, and (hopefully) networking.
This is a huge move by these two companies to expand the reality of gaming to those less funded enthusists and cheapens the entrance fee for bigger commercial studios. It means more games faster and with a higher degree of creativity, enthusiasm, and fun. Will there be some crappy games? Sure, but at least there will be MORE.
And think about this: A platform is only as good as its compilers and libraries. Without tools nobody will build. The pyramids were not created without proper tools and supplies and neither are games.
See it for yourself: TorqueX
Thanks to SGRETH for sending in the information
