SAN FRANCISCO, Mar 20, 2002 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

"It's Your Game" at GDC as Discreet Highlights Its Best-Selling Professional 3D Animation Software and Award-Winning Game Design and Content Editor

This week at the Game Developer Conference 2002 (GDC) in San Jose, Discreet, a division of Autodesk, Inc. (Nasdaq:ADSK) is showcasing its top-selling and award-winning software: 3ds max, gmax, character studio and reactor. The theme -- "It's Your Game" -- reinforces Discreet's commitment to game developers and gamers alike with product demonstrations and its new gmax-ready room -- that showcases the latest crop of gmax-ready games, including:

    --  Microsoft Dungeon Siege, Flight Simulator 2002 Professional
        Edition, Train Simulator, and Combat Flight Simulator 3
    --  EA Games Command and Conquer: RENEGADE from Westwood Studios
    --  Auran TRAINZ

Discreet will provide product demonstrations and detailed information at its booth in the San Jose Convention Center, Booth #1426, throughout the show. The gmax-ready room is in meeting room #C-2.

"Discreet prides itself as the long-standing leader and provider of best selling and dependable 3D animation software for game developers, storytellers, animators and artists -- resulting in amazing 3D graphics and captive game play experiences for the gaming public," said Paul Lypaczewski, general manager of Discreet, and executive vice president, Autodesk, Inc. "We continue to fuel the talent pool with the latest 3D game development technology in 3ds max and gmax, allowing animators to keep raising the bar in creating the most realistic and life-like graphics that deliver unparalleled experiences for gamers."

    Highlights at the show:

gmax: Introduced to the public at GDC last year, Discreet's free version of its game design and content editor has garnered more than 125,000 registered users in less than six months since its availability. gmax has gained industry recognition and momentum as a valuable creative and business-enhancing platform that expands PC game content and game play. Microsoft's Flight Simulator 2002 Professional Edition and EA Games' Command & Conquer Renegade from Westwood Studios are currently shipping with gmax game packs, and Microsoft's Combat Flight Simulator and Dungeon Siege titles will be "gmax-ready" when released later this year.

gmax dev: Game developers utilize the gmax dev developer's edition, as an integrated development solution during production, providing a common code base for building in-house tools and allowing developers to quickly customize gmax to provide game-ready data for PC or console titles. These tools can be turned around quickly and released as a gamepak once the title ships, allowing video game enthusiasts to "mod" (modify) game content, including creating new 3D models, levels and characters.

GDC attendees will also be able to visit the gmax-ready room, presented by Discreet, Intel, NVIDIA Corporation (Nasdaq:NVDA) and IBM, where they can play the latest gmax-enabled games and hear top gaming developers discuss the creation of their famous titles. Prizes will be given away including an Intel Pentium 4-based system, an NVIDIA Quadro4 graphics board, games such as Microsoft's Flight Simulator 2002 Professional Edition, EA Games' Command and Conquer Renegade, and more.

3ds max: Game developers worldwide recognize Discreet's 3ds max software as one of the most popular professional 3D animation programs -- with an install base of over 175,000 registered users. At this year's GDC, Discreet will demonstrate its most advanced character animation and game development advantages in 3ds max, operating on the Intel Pentium 4 platform, optimized for accelerated performance. Discreet is also partnering with NVIDIA to offer advanced and certified 3ds max and gmax functionality for NVIDIA's new Quadro4 family of professional graphics solutions.

    Pricing and Availability

Available worldwide through Discreet sales channels, 3ds max is listed at a MSRP of US$3,495. Visit Discreet at: www.discreet.com or call 800/869-3504 or 514/393-1616 for more information on 3ds max and gmax dev software.

About gmax

The consumer version of gmax software is Discreet's free award-winning game design and content editor, based on its best-selling professional 3D animation software, 3ds max 4. Game developers utilize the gmax dev developer's edition as an integrated development solution during production, customizing it to the exact requirements of any real time 3D engine and providing a solidified environment for building tools and transporting data from the content creation side to the final engine. Developers may optionally convert their customizations into a publicly releasable gmax game pack, extensions to gmax that allow export of animated content such as models and characters into the corresponding game title. The gmax consumer software application is available now as a free download here.

About Discreet

Discreet, a division of Autodesk, Inc., is a worldwide leader in digital content creation, management, and distribution tools. Discreet develops systems and software for visual effects, animation, non-linear editing, broadcast production, and integrated infrastructure and workflow solutions. Discreet serves a broad range of markets involved in content creation, delivery, and use, including film and television postproduction, broadcast production, games, animation, multimedia for corporate, government, and education, and the rich media for the web.

Note to Editors: Discreet is a division of Autodesk, Inc. Discreet, 3ds max, character studio, and gmax and reactor are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc./ Autodesk Canada Inc. in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

CONTACT: Discreet Public Relations Kevin G. Clark, 415/547-2457 kevin.g.clark@autodesk.com or Access Communications Peter Nguyen, 415/844-6215 pnguyen@accesspr.com URL: http://www.businesswire.com Today's News On The Net - Business Wire's full file on the Internet with Hyperlinks to your home page.

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