Press Release
Highly anticipated Vanguard: Saga of Heroes MMORPG using the EMotion FX Character Animation System at E3

ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS – May 10, 2006 - Mystic Game Development, a pioneer in real-time character animation middleware, today announced that Sigil Game Online's Vanguard: Saga of Heroes was built using Mystic's EMotion FX real-time character animation technology as a core component. The MMORPG game, which received coverage in all 3 major US PC magazines recently, is being shown at E3 in LA this week.

“Having met and worked with the Sigil team since 2004, we set out to evolve EMotion FX as it was then, into the production SDK it is now. Put it this way, imagine having 2000 different characters and having to animate them all individually. Instead, you animate just 1 character and play back the same motion data on all characters, so saving a huge amount of animator time" said John van der Burg, Development Director at Mystic Game Development. "We are delighted to see what Sigil has been creating and look forward to playing the game".

“To give a character over 500 unique motions and very detailed character customization down to a per bone level needs a special Animation product” continues John van der Burg, from Mystic Game Development. “When you are creating a game with the scope and scale of Vanguard you need the right animation engine and the right support"

“EMotion FX has given us the ability to have myriad distinct player character models while allowing us to share most of the mesh assets and animations,” said Kevin McPherson, Senior Programmer at Sigil Games Online. “I have found the API easy to integrate, well written, and it supports the variety of complex features we needed for our character and animation systems. These systems include asset sharing through retargeting and shrink-wrapping, customization, look-at controllers, and motion blending/mixing.I recommend EMotion FX to developers that are looking for a total character solution.”

About Mystic Game Development
Founded in Rotterdam, The Netherlands in 1999, Mystic Game Development is a pioneer in real-time character animation products used by leading game developers such as Mythic Entertainment, Sigil Games Online, Webzen, SimBin, Nexon Corporation, IMC Games, Piranha Bytes, EGN Co., and DragonFly GF Co. For more information visit www.emotionfx.com.

About Sigil Games Online
Based in Carlsbad, California, Sigil Games Online is a studio dedicated to creating massively multiplayer online (MMO) games. Founded in 2002 by Brad McQuaid and Jeff Butler, key figures in the development of award-winning EverQuest, the company plans to be a driving force in the continued evolution of this unique genre. Sigil Games Online is comprised of an all-star team of experienced developers with an impressive pedigree of commercially successful and critically acclaimed online games. For more information, visit www.sigilgames.com.