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Firaxis Games Uses the Scaleform GFC UI Engine for Sid Meier's Civilization IV
The New User Interface Experience |
GREENBELT, MD, October 25, 2005: Scaleform Corporation, a leading provider of rich user interface and scalable vector graphics engines, announced today that Firaxis Games, one of the most successful PC game developers, has licensed Scaleform's GUI Foundation Class (GFC) library for multiple new titles including Sid Meier's Civilization IV, which ships to North American retailers today.
"Firaxis is the first studio to formally adopt the Scaleform GFC engine as part of its game development tool set and kick off the Scaleform Early Release program. We are very excited to have Civ IV as the launch title for Scaleform GFC," explained Brendan Iribe, President of Scaleform.
With over 6 million units sold and unprecedented critical acclaim from fans and press around the world, Sid Meier's Civilization is recognized as one of the greatest PC game franchises of all-time. An in-depth strategy game in which players lead their chosen civilization throughout all of human history, in their quest to become the world's most powerful ruler, Civilization IV received a review score of 9.4 out of 10 from IGN (currently, the second highest score given in 2005). Sid Meier's Civilization IV uses the Scaleform GFC graphical user interface engine for all multiplayer and in-game UI elements.
Firaxis chose Scaleform GFC to help speed their development time and make use of GFC's sophisticated control system in this latest version of the award winning Civilization franchise. "The Scaleform GUI system has been extremely valuable in helping us create a streamlined, easy-to-use interface in Civ IV," said Jeff Briggs, Founder, President and CEO of Firaxis Games. "We are particularly happy with the quality and support of Scaleform GFC, and look forward to many more successful collaborations."
Scaleform's Early Release Program for Scaleform GFC is designed to provide game developers with a series of support services in adopting Scaleform GFC. Early Release customers get enhanced after-hours support and early access to future Scaleform products.
"Scaleform's Early Release Program was a powerful vehicle for Firaxis to obtain the type of support we needed to help make Civ IV the best experience yet. Scaleform's technical support assisted Firaxis in reducing engineering risks and focusing more on developing game play," said Bretton Wade, Director of Technology at Firaxis.
Leading up to the official Scaleform GFC product launch in March 2006, Scaleform intends to work closely with Early Release customers including Firaxis, to put the finishing touches on its visual development tool set.
About Scaleform
Scaleform Corporation was established in 1998 to produce tools and middleware for the video game and application software development market. Since its inception, Scaleform has worked to create the Scaleform GFC (GUI Foundation Class) suite - a cross platform, hardware accelerated vector graphics engine and GUI toolkit that allows users to design, develop, and deploy a variety of interactive entertainment content across a wide range of platforms including PC, Console, and Mobile devices. For more information,
www.scaleform.com.
About Firaxis Games
Firaxis Games, founded in 1996 by veteran gaming executive Jeff Briggs, is one of the world's premier independent game development studios, and home of legendary designer Sid Meier. FIRAXIS has created some of the most successful and award-winning computer and video games on the market. The company's most recent hit titles include: the recently released Sid Meier's Civilization IV, Sid Meier's Pirates! (PC and Xbox), the blockbuster Sid Meier's Civilization III series, and Sid Meier's SimGolf. Firaxis legacy titles include Sid Meier's Civil War Series!, and Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri series. For more information on Firaxis Games visit www.firaxis.com or contact Kelley Gilmore at kgilmore@firaxis.com.
Sid Meier's Civilization, Civilization, and CIV are all registered trademarks of Take 2 Interactive. Sid Meier's Gettysburg, SimGolf, Pirates, and Firaxis are all registered trademarks of Firaxis Games.
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