Game Arts picks BigWorld for online RPG

Japanese RPG specialist Game Arts has chosen to use the Bigworld Technology Suite in its latest MMO, Hokuto-no-ken [Fist of the North Star] Online.

The developer, which is part of the GungHo network of companies, is best known in the West for the Grandia series of RPGs, the third of which was released on PS2 last year. The company also worked with Square Enix on the Xbox 360 space shooter Project Sylpheed.

The deal marks the first adoption of the Bigworld Technology Suite in Japan, which is supported in the territory by Solid Networks.

Keita Otsuka, president and CEO of Solid Networks said: “It is such an honor to have Game Arts be the first development company to adopt the BigWorld Technology Suite in Japan.

“The BigWorld Technology Suite has been introduced to the US, Asian and European markets and continued to expand its market share. It is our mission to provide an efficient and stable development environment as well as various other services to the growing online game industry and contribute to its further expansion.”

Hajime Tanigawa, project director of Hokuto-no-ken Online at Game Arts, added: “It’s no exaggeration to say that BigWorld Technology has provided a number of key benefits in the development of Hokuto-no-ken Online. The benefits include: improvement of the visual quality of the client; securing high stability; fault tolerance; availability of the server, and; rapid implementation environment of the content.

“Adopting BigWorld technology has allowed us to focus on the pursuit of entertainment quality in the game itself and allows us to efficiently create a rich gaming experience in the high-paced development process.”