San Francisco, Calif. - Dassault Systèmes (DS) announced the public beta of 3DVIA Studio and 3DVIA Scenes, two applications that enable new communities of Web users to create, publish, and share realistic 3D experiences online. The new 3DVIA offerings combine the power of social media with content creation apps and reusable 3D content assets to simplify the 3D content creation process. Both applications are being made available on www.3DVIA.com, and are free to all users during the public beta period.
3DVIA.com is an active and growing community of more than 150,000 users, made up of 3D enthusiasts, artists, creative professionals and programmers, and features the 3DVIA Store and user-generated content warehouse, a rapidly expanding database with over 21,000 reusable 3D models and assets.
3DVIA Studio is a new 3D development environment for programmers and artists who want to create complex, interactive games, simulations, serious games and Web-based applications. 3DVIA Studio is downloadable software that allows skilled users to create virtually any online 3D experience they envision through a flexible programming interface, an open architecture, and a 3D hosting platform located at www.3DVIA.com. Users can syndicate their 3D creations to their own Web sites through an embed code
technique similar to the process found on many online video sites.
The real power for 3DVIA Studio comes from a new social development concept enabling approved 3DVIA users and third-party developers to create and distribute custom components—extending the applications functionality beyond the basic feature set. These custom “add-on” components will be uploaded and shared through the 3DVIA Store, establishing a very valuable 3D content creation platform for users well into the future.
3DVIA Scenes is a Web-based, multiuser 3D application platform targeted at creative professionals and 3D enthusiasts looking to adopt 3D content creation without the need for complicated programming. It features a simple drag-and-drop interface enabling users to easily build their online applications using 3D models and pre-programmed 3D “smart objects” developed and shared through the 3DVIA content warehouse. The 3D smart objects can range from simple animated elements like lamps and doors to more complex applications that integrate data from external sources. The ability for 3DVIA Scenes users to remix content online allows non-technical users to leverage the power of the highly skilled 3DVIA community.
The two new applications being released to the public are free for non-commercial use during the beta period, with the goal of capturing feedback from new users and the existing 3DVIA community. 3DVIA will openly and actively engage with users to help shape the future product direction. Both products are expected to emerge from their beta phases with a “Freemium” business model, allowing a basic edition of each program to remain free while offering a premium version for commercial use. Interested parties may contact 3DVIA to discuss the details of the premium version. Dassault Systèmes also announced the upcoming release of the first game title built with 3DVIA Studio – “Billions, Save Them All,” a social game to be released on Facebook.com later this year.
The new applications and the complete 3DVIA Platform are being showcased at the 2010 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, March 11-13, in 3DVIA’s booth (#1432).