Houdini Exporter Beta

Time for Some Art Pipeline Love
We just recently created an exporter (by we I mean Chris Robertson) for Side Effects' Houdini 3D art app and are looking for some beta testers to put it through the gauntlet. Information on Houdini and why you should be a Houdini tester are in the paragraphs below. For more information on Houdini click here. Email me if you're interested.

A Little Bit of History
One of my jobs as the 3rd Party Manager is to track down resources that make using Torque a better experience. One of the most frustrating and confusing parts of making a game with Torque was getting art into your game world. On top of this, industry-grade art tools cost thousands of dollars to use. So I set out to find a professional quality tool, make it work with Torque and provide a non-stripped down version on an Indie budget. That journey led me to Houdini.

Why Houdini?
From the very first conversation I had with Side Effects it was very clear they held the same Indie philosophy that GarageGames has: providing professional level tools to the masses. Houdini Apprentice HD is a non-commercial use license of their full Houdini package, priced at $99. There are no features stripped out. This means that an Indie, hobbyist or beginner can begin using a professional level tool without having to pay expensive commercial fees upfront. Houdini has proven itself in the film space with such films as Beowulf, Transformers, Resident Evil: Extinction and Spider-Man 3, just to name a few. They have been looking to get into the game space for a while and were just waiting for the perfect opportunity, i.e. GarageGames.

Why Should I Be a Tester?
I know what you're asking yourself: "Why should I use Houdini when I'm already comfortable with [insert another art tool here]?" I have two responses to that: A) Houdini is an awesome tool that is intuitive and fun to use, has good documentation and could be a better experience than what you are currently using, and B) This exporter is much more than just another art exporter. I am very serious about making our art pipeline a smooth experience because I think there are few things as rewarding as seeing your game come to life visually. We are using the Houdini Exporter as a test bed for how we want to create our future exporters. The feedback that comes out of this beta will go a long way to improving the art pipeline for not only Houdini, but for our engines as a whole.

Qualifications
I'm looking for people that are either a TGE or TGEA license holder, since Houdini is a 3D art app. I'm also looking for people of all experience levels. Ideally I would like to see both beginners and experienced artists using this tool to help us identify how we can make your life easier. If this sounds like something you're interested in, send your GG account name, artist experience and Torque experience to derekb AT garagegames DOT com. This testing period will get you free access to Houdini Apprentice HD and let you play a key role in determining how this product is developed. We'll be accepting only 20 people for this testing, so the sooner you get your info in, the better.

Cheers,
Derek