Unreal Engine 3, the game engine that powers Bulletstorm, Gears of War 3 and BioShock Infinite, now works in Flash.
Epic’s Unreal Engine 3 really gets around. If you play videogames, it’s almost certain that you’ve played at least a couple that were built on UE3 technology. Some are obvious – Unreal Tournament 3, anyone? – but others might surprise you, like Lucha Libre AAA: Heroes del Ring, Leisure Suit Larry: Box Office Bust or Zumba Fitness. And with the addition of Flash support, that stable is poised to get a whole lot bigger.
Imagine, if you will, Facebook games that don’t suck. There are already a few that fit that description but UE3 support in Flash opens up a realm of possibilities that go way beyond anything we’ve seen so far. Quake Live has already demonstrated that “real” browser-based gaming is possible but making it happen through Flash is a whole different ballgame. Epic claims the technology will allow developers to “animate millions of objects with smooth 60 frames per second rendering and deliver console-quality games on Mac OS, Windows and connected televisions.”
“With UE3 and Flash, games built for high-end consoles can now run on the Web or as Facebook apps, reaching an enormous user base,” Epic CEO Tim Sweeney said in a statement. “This totally changes the playing field for game developers who want to widely deploy and monetize their games.”
Looks like you’re going to be playing games on Facebook after all.
Published: Oct 6, 2011 03:06 pm