Subatomic Studios created Fieldrunners 2, the long-awaited sequel to the award-winning tower defense mobile game, using Autodesk 3ds Max 3D. 3ds Max helped the studio deliver an enhanced sequel to the hit title, while reducing development costs and shortening the time it took Subatomic to bring the new game to market.
Although "Fieldrunners 2" looks two-dimensional, Subatomic Studios developed the title on a 3D game engine and built all of its assets in 3D with 3ds Max software. This enabled the studio to create stand-out graphics and more fluid animation. The third dimension added depth to the game's scenes, which enhanced the gameplay by creating a new approach to maze-building.
"It would have taken anywhere from several weeks to several months to animate a single game asset by hand, depending on its complexity," commented Jamie Gotch, CEO of Subatomic Studios. "By using 3ds Max we were able to compress this down to just a few weeks per asset. Plus, we found even bigger time savings when it came to iterating. The software let us try things out very quickly and see our work in-game with just the click of a button."
The software also helped Subatomic optimize "Fieldrunners 2" for iOS, and it can be used to more easily prepare the game for release on additional platforms in the future.
"3ds Max allows our engineers to very quickly tweak the animations to fit the memory needs of a device or platform. We are able to cut a game's size down by 30 to 50 percent, by selectively exporting animations. This is hugely beneficial for mobile game development, when you can make a big impact on the game with just a few extra kilobytes," explained Derrick Barth, technical artist.