Ratchet & Clank(R) and Resistance(TM): Fall of Man Creators Kick Start
 Industry-Wide Tech Sharing by Providing Free Source Code, Tips and Tutorials

 

    SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Independent console games developer
Insomniac Games, creators of the multimillion-selling Ratchet & Clank(R) and
Resistance(TM) franchises, today unveiled a tech-sharing initiative dubbed
'Nocturnal' in which it will share elements of its technology source code and
presentations free of charge with the worldwide development community.

    "The Nocturnal initiative is designed to encourage greater communication
and information sharing among the development community because it will
ultimately enable us all to create better games at a lower development cost,"
said Mike Acton, engine director, Insomniac Games. "And, in the end, it's all
about making great games."

    Nocturnal is being deployed in separate phases. The first phase,
Insomniac's "R&D" site (http://www.insomniacgames.com/tech/techpage.php),
launched in August 2007, and has been updated every Wednesday with new
presentations, research and articles since. Phase two will be launched
shortly, and will open some of Insomniac's source code under a liberal
open-source license.  Source code will be documented and downloadable from a
wiki at (http://nocturnal.insomniacgames.com). Insomniac will further support
Nocturnal by releasing additional source code, research and presentations in
the future.

    "We feel that the time has come to share what we have learned, and learn
from others to improve our solutions to the common problems that present
themselves when making a game," said Geoff Evans, an Insomniac senior tools
programmer who helped develop and launch Nocturnal.

    Insomniac is allowing developers to use elements of its proprietary
third-generation PLAYSTATION(R)3 (PS3(TM)) tools chain source code for any
purpose, for free. Source code makes up the technological building blocks that
drive software development. It is often closely guarded by companies as they
create their technology. However, this has led to many functions and pieces of
code being re-written time-and-time again, wasting resources across the
industry and ultimately affecting consumers' gameplay experiences. 

    "We see Nocturnal as a long-term project that may be valuable for those
who want to develop similar technology as us, but without the same effort we
needed," Acton explained.  "We also believe Nocturnal may be valuable for our
fans to gain insight to our production processes, while communicating our
ideas with a larger group gives us the opportunity to generate feedback on our
approaches and ultimately improve them."

    Insomniac Games is the first studio developing a third-generation PS3
title with its work on Resistance 2(TM). The company's second-generation
title, Ratchet & Clank Future(R): Tools of Destruction(TM), was acclaimed for
its CG-movie-quality graphics upon its release in 2007.

 

    About Insomniac Games
    Insomniac Games is a wholly independent console videogames developer that
has released award-winning hits for the PlayStation(R) game console, the
PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system and PLAYSTATION(R)3 for 14
years. The company created the first three Spyro the Dragon(TM) games, the
Ratchet & Clank(TM) franchise and Resistance: Fall of Man(TM), which have
combined to sell more than 25 million units worldwide.  Insomniac Games is
currently developing Resistance 2(TM), which will release this fall,
exclusively for PlayStation 3.

    In addition to making blockbuster videogames, Insomniac is known for
ranking among the top four "Best Small Companies to Work for in America" in
2005 and 2006 and among the Top 10 for 2007, according to the Great Places to
Work Institute and Society for Human Resources Management.  Insomniac is
currently hiring for a variety of positions
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q86tZxuWngo).  More information can be found
at http://www.insomniacgames.com/ or by listening to Insomniac's "Full Moon
Show" podcast, available on iTunes and the studio's website.