GDC 08: Sony reveals PhyreEngine, free cross-platform engine

Game Developers Conference 08 - Image 1Quite a number of announcements were made by Sony in this year’s Game Developers Conference. While most are probably talking about the fact that there are 2.8 million PSN gamers, developers have been going crazy at the new PhyreEngine from Sony Computer Entertainment. For more on this, be sure to check out the full article.

GDC 08  - Image 1

It’s hard to keep track of all the exciting news coming from the Game Developers Conference 2008. One such announcement that may have slipped under the radar was the unveiling of Sony Computer Entertainment’s free cross-platform graphic engine, PhyreEngine, at the PSN session.

The PhyreEngine pack includes full documentation and over 70 samples, as well as the full source code and artwork of various sample game templates.

PC-based programmers will probably be happy to find that the engine is compatible with both OpenGL and Direct3D as well as other tools such as COLLADA, 3D Maya and 3D Max exporters and even Bullet, Havok, and Ageia Physics.

Creating native PlayStation 3 programs with this new engine has been simplified with the addition of the option for simple recompiling which is supposedly all that’s needed to make a game run on the said console.

As with any new engine, developers will probably be wondering how long Sony plans on supporting PhyreEngine. Fear not because Sony has promised “ongoing development and support.”

The last, and perhaps most important feature of this engine is its focus on cross-platform development. Like most, we found ourselves thinking “we’ll believe it when we see it.” Well, apparently most of us have already have.

PhyreEngine was used to create three games, namely flOw, GripShift (PS3, Xbox 360), and Colin McRae: DiRT (Xbox 360, PS3, PC). Note that only flOw is platform exclusive and the other two titles have enjoyed considerable success on other platforms.

If you’re as excited about this new engine as we are, then you’d better keep checking back here because it is expected that more details about it will be revealed in a Sony GDC panel to be held later.

While waiting, here are a few slides from the event that you might want to check out.

PhyreEngine - Image 1 PhyreEngine - Image 2 PhyreEngine - Image 3

Via PS3 Fanboy

Add a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *