Adobe goes after game developers with 3D engine in Director 11

Adobe next month will release Director 11, an update to its graphics assembly, that it hopes will lure game developers with its better 3D imaging.

Adobe is expected to detail the latest features of Director at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco on Tuesday.

(Credit: Pearson Prentice Hall)

Director 11 is used to build games, as well as graphics-rich presentations, and learning applications. It uses the Shockwave plug-in to render 3D graphics.

The latest version includes physics, or movement between images, using the Ageia PhysX engine and support for DirectX 9, which can take advantage of recent graphics cards.

It will make it easier for designers to create more realistic 3D images, such as colliding cars on a racing game, said Rick Jones, senior product marketing manager at Adobe. The inclusion of Flash Player 9 enables the inclusion of animations and slick graphics for things like game menus.

When Adobe releases Director 11 next month, the price will be $999, rather than $1,199, which is the cost of the current version. Upgrades are $299 and a new student edition is available for $99.