Havok's Project Anarchy makes game development affordable, supports Windows 8 and soon Windows Phone 8

Windows Phone 8’s multiplatform game engine support has improved steadily since the mobile OS’s launch at the end of 2012. Developers have access to several middleware options: Unity, Havok, Marmalade, and Autodesk Scaleform, all in various degrees of commercial readiness. And now Havok has taken their support a step further with the release of Project Anarchy.

Project Anarchy is a complete end-to-end mobile 3D game production engine. It packs four of Havok’s core software releases into one powerful suite – basically everything you’d need to create a 3D mobile game. Games created with Project Anarchy can then be deployed to multiple platforms with a minimum of effort – including Windows 8. Full Windows Phone 8 support is scheduled for release later in the year, but developers can contact Havok now to request beta access.

Want to see what Project Anarchy can do? Check out the Windows Phone 8 demo game in the video above, as demonstrated by Danie Conradie, lead engineer at Havok.

Four development tools

Project Anarchy consists of the following:

• Havok Vision Engine is a powerful and versatile multi-platform game engine capable of rendering a diverse range of game scenes at smooth frame rates. The engine provides a clean C++ API and a suite of tools ranging from a WYSIWYG editor to lighting and audio tools.
• Havok Physics is the fastest and most robust collision detection and physical simulation technology available. Havok Physics has become the gold standard within the games industry and has been used by leading game developers in over 400 launched titles.
• Havok Animation Studio is a state-of-the-art animation system built for high quality game character development. Havok Animation Studio includes the Havok Animation Tool for artists and designers, and an optimized animation runtime. Havok Animation Tool allows developers to quickly prototype character features and author character performances in a WYSIWYG environment.
• Havok AI is a fully featured pathfinding solution. Havok AI takes care of high-speed navigation mesh generation and provides out of the box components like local character steering. Together pathfinding and steering provide a full palette of solutions for character motions in a wide range of scenes.

Free for some

Developers of any size can sign up and start using Project Anarchy to make games on the following platforms for free right away. The only restrictions are the required inclusion of a splash screen, agreeing to co-market games at Havok’s discretion, and an x86 version must be produced for any Android or Tizen games.

• iOS
• Android (ARM and x86)
• Tizen

Project Anarchy users also have the option of upgrading to a commercial license that includes source, additional support, and other products such as Havok Cloth and Havok Destruction.

Microsoft platforms extra

The only downside I can see to Project Anarchy is that development and deployment for Microsoft platforms requires the purchase of a Pro license. When we spoke to Havok a few months ago, Windows Phone 8 support was slated to be included in the free package, as referenced in our video interview. Plans change though, so here we are.

The following platforms require a Pro upgrade:

• Windows Phone 8
• Windows 8 and RT
• PC (Development is included in the free package but you can’t deploy.)
• Xbox 360
• Others (possibly next-gen consoles)

We actually held off on publishing this article over the weekend as we investigated the costs of a Pro license for developers. Unfortunately, Havok could not provide specific pricing details at this time. My understanding is the pricing simply hasn't been set yet. But the Project Anarchy FAQ does say this:

“For commercial licenses on additional platforms (beyond iOS, Android, and Tizen) you are looking at a cost relative to a small studio of about 5-10 game developers using Unity.”

For more information, visit Havok’s Project Anarchy website and shoot Havok an email from there. Developers, let us know how Project Anarchy works out for you!