During the Ubisoft Developers Conference, the company announced the extension of the “Forge”, its winning R&D model, to several studios around the world, with teams now operating in Canada, China and France. Let’s find out all the details together.
Ubisoft La Forge expands
La Forge is the connection point between academic research and video game production. His job is to merge the data and the Ubisoft resources to the experience of university researchers. In this way it is then possible to bring innovation to the gaming industry.
After five years of research and experimentation, Yves Jacquier, Executive Director of Ubisoft La Forge, reflects on the expansion of the network. Jacquier said:
Our goal is to keep growing while preserving our DNA. Giving Ubisoft insights into new technologies that enable our teams to create unique and immersive experiences through responsible, people-centered development.
La Forge is raising his international implementation in a unique collaborative model. With more than 70 prototypes, 30 of which already integrated in technological manufacturing, La Forge represents the majority of the group’s technological R&D activities. His goal is to create ever more realistic worlds and support game creators. In addition, they also want to create high-performance tools that can improve player experiences.
Over the years, La Forge has already proven the leadeship tecnologica Ubisoft in the industry, thanks to innovations that stand shaping the future of games.
Here we find solutions such as Choreographan animation technology invented by Ubisoft that allows an extended motion-matching. This makes the movement of the characters more natural e intelligent. Choreograph was used for Far Cry 6. We find then FaceShiftera solution that assists programmers in the automatic generation of ultra-realistic faces for non-player characters. Finally there is SmartNavwhich allows non-player characters to move exactly as the player would.
Privileged access to Ubisoft resources, interdisciplinary teams and La Forge’s winning model for applied research are all key aspects which attract experts in cutting-edge fields, such as artificial intelligence, from diverse backgrounds. For more information you can consult the official website.