Blitz Games' mature-focused sub-division, Volatile Games has announced that its next-generation zombie thriller Possession will make use of the Endorphin 2.5 animation software. Developed by the Oxford-based NaturalMotion, Endorphin 2.5 uses artificial intelligence to create 3D character animations in real time, as well as new transitioning, blending, and behavioral techniques not found in earlier versions. With this software, Volatile expects to create more realistic, fully interactive character animations faster and easier than had it used traditional keyframe or motion capture techniques.

"Incorporating endorphin 2.5 into the Possession animation pipeline has been one of those rare experiences where you receive a significant increase in quality and a saving in time all in one go," said Chris Swan, Volatile Games Project Manager. "Our next-gen title relies heavily on our zombies and civilians attacking each other in very detailed and original ways. There's only so far that you can go with real-life actors of course, which is where endorphin steps in. In minutes we can literally load in some motion capture footage, set up a few behaviors on the characters, and let endorphin work out the rest! The resultant animation is incredibly convincing (we haven't had to touch up a single animation so far), while the save in hand-animation time is huge."

Swan continued, "Additionally, endorphin is very enjoyable to use, thanks to its intuitive layout, robustness and very close level of support. The speed with which it operates is also highly impressive. Using multiple next-gen character rigs we still find that endorphin only takes seconds to calculate the results of our complex attack scenes. This makes it very easy for us to quickly export multiple resultant animations from a single attack, and then choose which one is our favorite!"

Possession is currently in development for the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, and will allow players to control a huge number of humans and zombies in single and multiplayer games alike. To see it in motion, click on the media gallery below for a demonstration of the incorporation of Endorphin 2.5, as well as earlier movies created before the implementation of the new technology.

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