3D graphics

AppWizard
May 10, 2025
Conor MacNeill, a game development professor at Niagara College, highlights the excitement of students presenting their capstone projects at the Welland campus library. The game development program has grown from about a dozen graduates to a large community, now including collaborations with Brock University. Students are now creating VR games, a significant development compared to the program's early years. First-year student Mark Lampman and fourth-year student Dante Bell showcase their projects, with Bell's team, Slugworks, presenting a game called "Green Thing from the Planet Jupiter." This game features a competitive chase between a green alien and a cat, requiring significant time commitment from the team. The GDLaunch event has evolved, with students actively promoting their games through various marketing strategies. Approximately 25 alumni attended, many looking to hire graduates. The gaming industry is expected to grow through 2027, providing promising opportunities for students. After GDLaunch, 64 graduates attended the Level Up Showcase in Toronto, where their game won second place for Achievement in Audio. The event attracted around 5,000 attendees, showcasing the innovation and dedication of the students.
AppWizard
May 9, 2025
Quake has been officially recognized as one of the four inductees into the World Videogame Hall of Fame for 2025. It is a pioneering first-person shooter that introduced mouse controls and real-time 3D graphics, and its extensive mod support contributed to its longevity. Quake's server-client architecture laid the foundation for online gaming and esports. The game's legacy code has influenced many franchises, including Heretic, Hexen, Doom, and Call of Duty. John Romero, co-creator of Quake, expressed his delight at the induction. The 2025 inductees also include Defender, GoldenEye 007, and Tamagotchi.
BetaBeacon
April 4, 2025
Most Android devices now support Vulkan, with the latest version, Vulkan 1.4, introducing a feature called Host Image Copy that can greatly improve game performance on upcoming Android 16 devices. Host Image Copy allows for faster app loads, reduces stutter, and lowers GPU memory usage by enabling the CPU to copy image data directly between host memory and GPU image memory.
AppWizard
March 21, 2025
DirectX Raytracing 1.2 is a rendering API developed by Microsoft that aims to improve ray tracing efficiency in gaming. It introduces enhancements such as opacity micromaps, which can increase performance by up to 2.3 times in path-based gaming, and shader execution reordering, which could double performance in certain scenarios. Nvidia has committed to providing driver support for this API across its GeForce RTX GPU lineup, and Microsoft is also working with AMD, Intel, and Qualcomm for compatibility. Additionally, techniques like neural block texture compression and neural supersampling are being explored to enhance real-time path tracing. A preview software development kit for DirectX Raytracing 1.2 is set to be released in April.
BetaBeacon
March 14, 2025
Vulkan is now the official graphics API for Android, providing developers with more direct control over the GPU and improved performance in multi-threaded applications. Over 85% of active Android phones now support Vulkan, making it the preferred graphics API. Additionally, Google has partnered with Unity Technologies to make Vulkan integration easier with the Unity game engine and has collaborated with MediaTek to optimize the Android Dynamic Performance Framework for MediaTek chips.
BetaBeacon
February 6, 2025
Steel Paws is a new third-person beat 'em up game from Yu Suzuki set to arrive exclusively on Netflix Games. Players will ascend a mysterious tower, battling enemy robots with mechanical buddies and encountering random elements on each level. Despite recent issues with the Netflix Games catalogue, Steel Paws has the potential to be a great exclusive release.
BetaBeacon
February 5, 2025
- 8 Ball Pool is one of the most popular pool games on the Play Store with online multiplayer mode and tournaments - Pooking Billiards City is a popular billiards game with a decent single-player mode and unique table shapes - Snooker Stars focuses on snooker with customizable camera and online multiplayer mode - Pool Ball is an indie pool game with AI mode and pass-and-play mode - Pool Billiards Pro is a basic but popular billiards game with single-player and multiplayer modes - Pool Stars offers 2D and 3D perspectives, multiplayer, career mode, and custom challenge mode - Pool Tour offers pool puzzles and various challenges to keep the game fresh - Real Pool 3D features Facebook sign-in, online games, social clubs, and collection of pool cues - Real Snooker 3D is an arcade snooker game with 3D graphics, different difficulty levels, and table patterns
BetaBeacon
February 3, 2025
Animus - Stand Alone is an RPG and action game being developed by TENBIRDS. The game is set in a dark and spooky world where the player's goal is to escape dangerous locations by defeating groups of enemies and bosses. The game features highly detailed 3D models, monsters, and cool effects. The character in the game has the ability to heal, block hits, move sharply, and combine two types of attacks.
BetaBeacon
December 27, 2024
Android apps and games that are free for a short time include Evertale, Defense Zone 3 Ultra HD, Sphaze, Last Plant on Earth, Rooftop Snipers, Dino Rush, and Out There Chronicles - Ep. 2.
BetaBeacon
December 12, 2024
Card Thief is a game by Arnold Rauers where players navigate through different cards to steal loot while staying hidden in the shadows.
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