| Q&A |
 Stephane
Groud, Product Manager & Paul Beardow, Chief Technology
Officer.
Swerve Technology, Superscape Group PLC.
29/06/04 |
| Q1 |
A brief presentation of Swerve technology. |
| A1 |
Superscape
specialises in 3D technology for Java (JSR-184/M3G) and native
wireless environments (including BREW(TM)). Swerve is a complete
solution comprising a software-only 3D engine (Swerve Client),
a powerful development tool (integrated into 3ds maxTM) called
Swerve Studio, and a large catalogue of 3D games available for
licensing based on high profile IP from leading brands such
as Disney, Universal, 20th Century Fox, Activision, Sony. Key
players such as ARM, Motorola, Siemens, Samsung and the above
leading IP holders have already endorsed Swerve to push mobile
entertainment to the next level. In November 2003, Superscape
was the first company to announce an end-to-end implementation
of the JSR-184 standard. Since then, several Swerve Powered
devices have been announced and a large catalogue of compliant
content has been developed, with new titles announced on a regular
basis (swervepowered.com). |
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| Q2 |
Wich
plateforms (OS/hardware) can run Swerve contents? |
| A2 |
Swerve
Client, Superscape's implementation of the M3G API (JSR-184
standard) is both OS and Language agnostic. It is available
for J2ME environments (the same engine can run both J2ME and
native content) as well as a BREW extension for operators supporting
the BREW platform. Swerve Client has already been ported to
more than 15 different platforms, including MIDP 2.0, Symbian,
Linux, Brew, Pocket PC (2000, 02, 03) and several RTOS. It can
easily be embedded on any device. |
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| Q3 |
What
are the main diferences between creating a 3D games for a wireless
divice and for a standard plateform? |
| A3 |
There are at least 3 areas where differences: processing power
(including memory), controls layout, file size.
Processing Power
Despite recent advancements in the processing power and memory
configuration of mobile devices (some devices now boast processors
running at several hundred Mhz, with several MB of RAM), mobile
phones are still limited gaming devices compared to consoles
and PCs. When designing a game for a wireless device, limiting
the polygon count to the absolute minimum, optimising textures,
instancing objects and animations is critical to ensure the
final product will smoothly run.
Controls
It is also important to keep in mind that the controls on a
wireless device are in general not as friendly as on a PC where
a full keyboard is available, and may limit what type of game
is playable on a certain device.
File Size
The economics of mobile networks are all about delivering the
highest value at the lowest possible cost (small file size).
The reduced file size of M3G compliant games enables operators
to take their customers to a whole new experience at minimal
cost (games are usually 250kb). This also means that developers
have to keep this threshold in mind when developing a game. |
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| Q4 |
Is
it longer and more expensive to create a game for wireless plateforms? |
| A4 |
Creating
a 3D game for a wireless platform is significantly less expensive
than for a console such as PS2 or the PC platform, both in term
of project duration and headcount. It is nevertheless a bigger
undertaking than traditional 2D J2ME games development. |
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| Q5 |
Are
today's 3D performances enough for 3D gaming? |
| A5 |
Yes.
The ratification of the JSR-184 standard in November 2003 as
part of the Java Community Process has provided a key building
block for the rise of 3D gaming on mobile devices. Swerve, the
first end-to-end solution (engine, tools and content) commercially
implementing this new API, enables high-quality 3D games within
the constraints of today's devices at frame rates enabling compelling
gameplay. |
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| Q6 |
Will
you support forthcoming 3D hardware acceleration from Intel/ATI/nVidia/PowerVR
? Will you take advantage of pixel/vertex shaders engines? |
| A6 |
From
the beginning, the JSR-184 standard was developed to accommodate
the rise of 3D hardware accelerators, enabling improved rendering
while still retaining the benefits (in terms of development)
of the scene tree approach specified by JSR-184. Swerve Client
has been designed from day 1 to take advantage of this added
processing power to execute many of the rendering functions
required in JSR 184 through OpenGL ES, the world's standard
for interfacing with hardware accelerators from ATI, nVidia
and PowerVR. Swerve Client is therefore available in two editions
(Swerve Client SR and Swerve Client ES), the latter specifically
built to sit on top of OpenGL ES. |
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| Q7 |
What
are the benefits of being JSR184 compliant? |
| A7 |
J2ME
is widely recognised as the key enabler of mobile gaming through
its wide ranging adoption in large volumes of handsets, its
portability across devices and the fact that it is perfectly
suited for the OTA delivery of games to mobile devices, a key
feature of the instant gratification/entertainment proposition.
With the advent of MIDP 2.0 and its improved gaming features
(multi key presses, sound, etc.), the ratification of JSR-184
extends the set of features available to mobile Java game developers
to another dimension.
JSR-184 compliance is a sign of credibility within the industry
as compliance with the standard can only be achieved by passing
the TCK (250,000 tests in total, making it a more stringant
test than MIDP 2.0 itself). It is also interesting to note that,
increasingly, network operators, handset manufacturers and brand
owners have put their weight behind this solution for 3D graphics
on mobile devices.
Being JSR-184 compliant also brings the following benefits,
at the heart of the standard's definition:
- Generic 3D graphics engine (not just a game engine. Can be
efficiently used for UI, messaging, gaming, etc.)
- Low file size for OTA delivery of content
- High level scene tree for faster, more productive development
- Easy interface with OpenGL ES, giving access to hardware acceleration
For developers, targetting several JSR-184 compliant handsets
means that the 3D assets used in one version of the game for
a specific device can be directly reused in another version
(unlike 2D graphics which need to be adjusted to new screen
size resolutions).
For handset manufacturers, JSR-184 compliance for a handset
means access to a growing catalogue of games, rapidly portable
across different devices. |
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| Q8 |
MPEG
4 integrates 3D profiles. Is there any interest of supporting
this standard in wireless 3D applications? |
| A8 |
We
have started examining the M3G/JSR184 API as a solution for
Java programming of 3D in MPEG4. Therefore if and when MPEG4
is adopted into mobile devices, the API will be consistent
with existing development methods. Currently MPEG4 3D appears
to be too demanding in its processing requirements to be widely
adopted, although other parts such as simple profile video
have found their way onto devices. |
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| Q9 |
Is
it possible to developp industrial 3D applications with Swerve
Studio? |
| A9 |
As
long as these are targeted at mobile users and are developed
to fit the constraints of mobile devices, Swerve can be used
to represent any type of 3D graphics on a mobile device.
Many industrial devices utilize the ARM processor core, so
although we are focussed very heavily on the mobile space,
there is no reason from a technical standpoint why Swerve
could not be used on other devices, and the benefits of high
performance on constrained processing devices would still
apply.
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