GDC: Epic to reveal new Unreal Engine 3 functionality

Unreal Engine creators Epic Games are to showcase two major new features of their next-generation engine in demos at private theatre at the Game Developers Conference next week in San Francisco.

The first of the new features that the company will show off is support for seamless worlds in the engine, which allow developers to create vast environments with no load delays through the background management of geometry and assets.

The other major feature being demonstrated is a new visual scripting system called UnrealKismet, which allows designers to build complex game behaviours through a visual interface without input from programmers.

Staff from the companies will also be delivering three sessions at the GDC conference program - with CEO Tim Sweeny presenting a session on "Game Technology and Content Creation for the Next Generation" on Wednesday at midday, art director Jerry Flaherty talking on "Art Content Creation for the Next Generation Unreal Engine" at the same time, and lead designer Cliff Bleszinski discussing "Dissecting Interactive Design" on Thursday at 5.30pm.

Developers and publishers interested in seeing the Unreal Engine 3 demonstrations at the show should contact Mark Rein by email at mark.rein@epicgames.com citing three possible day/time combinations and stating the number of people who wish to attend.