Vector Unit
Encyclopedia
Vector Unit is a video game developer
founded in December 2007 by Ralf Knoesel and Matt Small. They are best known for their title, Hydro Thunder Hurricane
, released on the Xbox 360
via Xbox Live Arcade
in 2010.
at Stormfront Studios
. Following Blood Wake, Small took a job with EA Redwood Shores. Knoesel and Small kept in contact, and started a small side project. One night Small received a message from Knoesel which read "So I've been having these thoughts... about quitting and doing the small games thing." The two decided to quit their job and begin their studio. Vector Unit was incorporated January 28, 2008.
Although officially the company consists of only two employees, a team of five contractors were brought in to complete their first title, Hydro Thunder Hurricane
. Creative Director Matt Small was interviewed on the difficulties off starting a new company by Gamasutra
in April 2010. Small noted that with a small team members are required to take on multiple roles. "You get to choose at least 80 percent of the time which hats you wear, and then sometimes you end up forced into wearing a particular hat."
is used for audio and Bullet Physics Library
handles all in-game physics. 3D models are created in Maya
and artists are able to see how the asset would look in-game via a plugin. Level construction and placement of props are done in BarracudaEditor, the team's level design tool. During the development of Hydro Thunder Hurricane
Vector Unit maintained a PC build of the game which allowed artists and other team members to test their assets in-game without moving to a Xbox 360 Debug Kit.
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
founded in December 2007 by Ralf Knoesel and Matt Small. They are best known for their title, Hydro Thunder Hurricane
Hydro Thunder Hurricane
Hydro Thunder Hurricane is a boat racing video game developed by Vector Unit and published by Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox Live Arcade. The game was released on July 28, 2010 as part of Microsoft's Xbox Live Summer of Arcade promotion...
, released on the Xbox 360
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
via Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
in 2010.
History
Vector Unit was founded in December 2007 by Ralf Knoesel and Matt Small. The two originally worked together on Blood WakeBlood Wake
Blood Wake is a naval combat video game that was released in 2001 on the Xbox as part of Microsoft's initial wave of Xbox launch titles. The game was developed by Stormfront Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios....
at Stormfront Studios
Stormfront Studios
Stormfront Studios was a video game developer based in San Rafael, California which had one of the longest creative histories in the industry. In 2007, the company had over 50 developers working on two teams, and owned all its proprietary engines, tools and technology. As of the end of 2007 over...
. Following Blood Wake, Small took a job with EA Redwood Shores. Knoesel and Small kept in contact, and started a small side project. One night Small received a message from Knoesel which read "So I've been having these thoughts... about quitting and doing the small games thing." The two decided to quit their job and begin their studio. Vector Unit was incorporated January 28, 2008.
Although officially the company consists of only two employees, a team of five contractors were brought in to complete their first title, Hydro Thunder Hurricane
Hydro Thunder Hurricane
Hydro Thunder Hurricane is a boat racing video game developed by Vector Unit and published by Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox Live Arcade. The game was released on July 28, 2010 as part of Microsoft's Xbox Live Summer of Arcade promotion...
. Creative Director Matt Small was interviewed on the difficulties off starting a new company by Gamasutra
Gamasutra
Gamasutra is a website founded in 1997 for video game developers. It is owned and operated by UBM TechWeb , a division of United Business Media, and acts as the online sister publication to the print magazine Game Developer...
in April 2010. Small noted that with a small team members are required to take on multiple roles. "You get to choose at least 80 percent of the time which hats you wear, and then sometimes you end up forced into wearing a particular hat."
Technology
Vector Unit uses a proprietary engine known as the Vector Engine to develop their games. The engine allows for real time "baking" of assets; when assets are first run in the game, they are optimized for that particular platform. Visual scripting is used to allow editors to write scripted events without a comprehensive understanding of code. FMODFMOD
FMOD is a proprietary audio library made by Firelight Technologies that plays music files of diverse formats on many different operating system platforms, used in games and software applications to provide audio functionality....
is used for audio and Bullet Physics Library
Bullet (software)
Bullet is an open source physics engine featuring 3D collision detection, soft body dynamics, and rigid body dynamics. It is used in games, and in visual effects in movies. The Bullet physics library is published under the zlib license. Erwin Coumans, its main author, worked for Sony Computer...
handles all in-game physics. 3D models are created in Maya
Maya (software)
Autodesk Maya , commonly shortened to Maya, is 3D computer graphics software that runs on Microsoft Windows, Mac OS and Linux, originally developed by Alias Systems Corporation and currently owned and developed by Autodesk, Inc. It is used to create interactive 3D applications, including video...
and artists are able to see how the asset would look in-game via a plugin. Level construction and placement of props are done in BarracudaEditor, the team's level design tool. During the development of Hydro Thunder Hurricane
Hydro Thunder Hurricane
Hydro Thunder Hurricane is a boat racing video game developed by Vector Unit and published by Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox Live Arcade. The game was released on July 28, 2010 as part of Microsoft's Xbox Live Summer of Arcade promotion...
Vector Unit maintained a PC build of the game which allowed artists and other team members to test their assets in-game without moving to a Xbox 360 Debug Kit.
Games developed
- 2010 — Hydro Thunder HurricaneHydro Thunder HurricaneHydro Thunder Hurricane is a boat racing video game developed by Vector Unit and published by Microsoft Game Studios for Xbox Live Arcade. The game was released on July 28, 2010 as part of Microsoft's Xbox Live Summer of Arcade promotion...
for Xbox Live ArcadeXbox Live ArcadeXbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers... - 2011 — Riptide GP for Android, iOSIOSiOS is an operating system for iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, and Apple TV.IOS may also refer to:-Companies and organisations:* Illinois Ornithological Society, American state-based bird club...