Tuesday 23 September 2008

Two-year project for a revolutionary MMO Technology Suite

Nottingham-based Monumental Games has won almost £300,000 of funding from the Technology Strategy Board as part of a project to “revolutionize the Monumental Technology Suite”. The £700,000 project, which will focus on making the massively-multiplayer engine accessible to all and providing a browser-compatible development route, kicks off this month with the aim of commercializing the results within two years. The Monumental Technology Suite currently has over 40 licensees worldwide.

“This is the first year that the Technology Strategy Board has invited applications from the creative industries, and it is encouraging to see recognition for the contribution made by such industries to the UK economy,” said project chairman and Monumental CTO Rocco Loscalzo. “This award for Collaborative Research and Development has enabled us to kick-start a commercially viable but inherently high-risk project, and we can’t wait to get going with our partners,” he added.

Monumental Games will lead the project, partnered by Staffordshire University, Media and Game Technologies, PlayGen and Digital Native Academy. In early September developer Monumental announced that it had seen its staff headcount almost double over the last six months as the firm ramped up development on its flagship MMO title Football Superstars (pictured) and began work on two as-yet-undisclosed projects.

No comments: