Epic Games | The Silo

LAS VEGAS — A couple of years ago, ChyronHego announced a partnership with leading game developer Epic Games to integrate the Unreal Engine with ChyronHego’s family of augmented reality (AR) graphics and virtual sets solutions. With the integration, news broadcasters and other customers of ChyronHego’s Neon and Plutonium software will be able to leverage Unreal’s industry-leading rendering and real-time special effects capabilities to add powerful new photorealistic and hyper-realistic elements to their on-air virtual sets. Only a decade ago, editDROID and other Laserdisc based systems were still commonly in use with a much more rudimentary set of effects possibilities- this new Neon and Plutonium software system is an industry wide ‘game changer’.

Here is a look at 2017’s ChyronHego’s live use demo-

“In an environment that’s more competitive than ever, our broadcast news customers are on a constant search for innovative ways to tell a better story and captivate viewers,” said Olivier Cohen, senior product manager, virtual solutions, ChyronHego. “Virtual sets that harness the amazing graphics capabilities of world-class gaming engines are the wave of the future for news, sports, and weather broadcasting, and Epic Games is the perfect partner to take us there. The integration with Unreal is just the latest link in our CAMIO Universe strategy to place the industry’s most powerful storytelling tools at news producers’ fingertips and drive template-based, unified news and weather workflows.”

“Since we launched Unreal Engine 4, it has become one of the world’s most powerful rendering engines for the game industry — but its flexibility, real-time performance, and robust set of tools make it ideal in just about any type of content creation workflow,” said Marc Petit, general manager, Unreal Engine Enterprise at Epic Games.

“ChyronHego’s AR and virtual set solutions for broadcast production are the ideal match for Unreal Engine. By partnering with one of the leading broadcast graphics providers, we can continue to expand our presence in the broadcast, film, and entertainment industries.”

ChyronHego will work to integrate the CAMIO graphic asset management server with Unreal Engine, including creating broadcast-specific camera movements. Unreal’s 3D graphics engine enables producers to generate AR graphics through the templated workflows of the CAMIO Universe. Via custom user interfaces built with ChyronHego Live Assist panels, producers can then present the AR graphics on air using ChyronHego’s Plutonium and Neon virtual set and robotic camera tracking solutions.

Cohen added, “As one of the world’s most powerful rendering engines from one of the world’s foremost gaming companies, Unreal will bring new levels of openness and scale-ability to our virtual set solutions. Unreal Engine is easily customizable and expandable, and five million users around the world will benefit from Epic Games’ vast reach across the global community of gamers and game developers. It means news broadcasters will be able to render effects in their virtual sets that rival anything their viewers have seen in the gaming world, with special effects like real-time shaders, bumps, sliders, and highly photo-realistic objects.” For the Silo, Lyndsey Albright.

Supplemental- The Revolutionary Video Toaster and Amiga Computer system 1991.

Pong, Mario, Doom, The Sims, Minecraft and … Fortnite? The hallowed halls of video game history are packed with products that became a cultural phenomenon – and it’s looking like Fortnite will soon be able to stake such a claim. The co-op survival game that takes place in a “sandbox” universe recorded a record 3.4 million concurrent users in February 2018. [ If you’re one of the 3.4 million and want to leave us a video comment or video of your Fortnite character please use our Video Uplink button at the end of this article.] The game, which is free to play, also allows users to purchase a semi-annual “Battle Pass” that runs less than $10 and provides access to additional items. This low-cost approach is apparently working, as reports show Epic Games earned nearly $300 million in April 2018 alone. Further, in-game “microtransactions” that allows players to use minimal amounts of real-world money for in-game goodies is helping add to Epic’s well, epic payday.

So, let’s recap: A game that’s free to play plus $10 usd occasional optional investment and microtransactions gives us hundreds of millions of dollars each month. You know what else makes that kind of money? Hollywood movies, major league sporting events and social media platforms – and those things are plastered with advertisements. According to Ken Wisnefski, CEO of digital marketing firm WebiMax, advertisers who want to get ahead of the coming eSports curve and start reaching gamers where they reside need to start paying attention to the preferences of this sector.

“Fortnite has really taken the world by storm. I think the new microtransaction process is a concept that shows how high volume and low cost can have a huge impact. It’s growth and notoriety is amazing,” said Wisnefski. “A few years ago, Pokemon Go was all the rage; I am curious to see if Fortnite continues to show this sort of traction.”

Want to make money through Fortnite? Here’s what Wisnefski has to tell companies on the verge of investing in video game ad buy.

‘Go’ along for the ride: According to Wisnefski, we haven’t seen a video game with such mass appeal since 2016’s “Pokemon Go,” which drew 10 million people to download the app in one week. An advertising analysis also notes that some businesses were given the opportunity to turn their stores into a “Pokestop” and, of course, increase foot traffic and hopefully sales as a result.

Shadow of a doubt: Still skeptical about sinking money into video game advertising efforts? Then take one look at “Ninja,” a 26-year-old Fortnite player who is reportedly raking in $500,000 per month for streaming his live game feed on the “Twitch” website. Wisnefski says it merely makes sense for relevant brands to jump on an opportunity to get their product in front of potential customers – namely as a “medium rectangle” or 15-second spot before one of Ninja’s streams.

Risk and Reward: Soft drink and snack food companies – we’re looking at you, Mountain Dew and Doritos – have for years pandered to gamers. As well they should, says Wisnefski, noting that some sectors are “very viable for this sort of opportunity.” If you’re a small to medium-sized company, however, guidance from a digital marketing company may be in order. “Big companies have the ability to absorb some losses to see larger gains; smaller companies can’t afford to take that sort of risk,” said Wisnefski.

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