Ultrabook™ devices now hold a piece of history. Thanks to a three-year partnership between Intel and Replay Games, Top Shot, one of History Channel’s most popular reality TV shows, is a realistic experience for users running Microsoft Windows* 8 on Ultrabook devices. Already a popular download for iOS*, the Windows 8 version of Top Shot is the most lifelike yet.
According to Paul Trowe, founder and president of Replay Games, porting Top Shot to Windows 8 using the Intel AppUp® SDK has enabled it to tap into the sensors that are shipped in today’s Ultrabook and tablet devices. And Intel was there at every stage of development. “Intel collaborated with Replay to implement touch and accelerometer support for Top Shot,” said Trowe, an industry veteran whose credits include King’s Quest*, Mech Warrior*, and Grand Theft Auto*. “Intel produced sample code ready to be dropped into the Unity* engine. Replay then integrated Top Shot with Intel’s code for touch and accelerometer.” Customers can now access the app from the Intel AppUp® center and download it to their Windows 8 devices.
Still highly popular going into its fifth season, the Top Shot TV show splits 16 contestants into two teams of eight, which compete in various shooting contests until only one shooter remains. Players vie for a top prize of USD $100,000 and the right to be called “Top Shot.”
In each round of shooting, players are presented with targets to aim and shoot at, with points awarded for accuracy and timing. All the guns from the show are present in the app. The experience of steering the selected gun’s crosshairs at a target is enhanced with motion sensors now available on the latest Intel-powered Ultrabooks and tablets. “You aim by moving the device around the real world looking for targets,” explained Trowe. “This is perfect for the Ultrabook and tablets,” he said. For Ultrabook devices, buttons at the lower right and left corners of the keyboard control the trigger, the reloading, and the gun’s scope, while tablets with touch-enabled screens accept direct input from thumbs.
The Windows 8 version takes advantage of the capabilities of Intel® HD Graphics, which allows faster performance at higher resolutions than handheld versions while producing a smooth frame rate for gameplay. By using the Intel® Compiler, Trowe said Replay’s developers were able to increase gameplay performance by 10 percent. “That’s a lot!” said Trowe.
Introducing the Intel Compiler into Replay’s workflow was simple, according to Trowe.
“We didn’t have to rewrite anything. We simply re-imported the source tree and recompiled; there was an immediate performance increase on the Intel® chipset.”
—Paul Trowe, founder and president, Replay Games
Trowe said he spotted the trend toward touch-sensitivity in systems about 10 years ago and has been building touch-based applications for the last four years.
“You have to adapt the design of your application to utilize the new interface. Some engines, such as Unity, have a plug-in called EZ GUI*, from Above and Beyond Software, which enables touch to enhance the user experience on the screen. Other developers make their own user interface to implement touch. As time progressed, we slowly adapted our designs to incorporate more functionality for devices and, to be honest, touch was an easy one.”
Visit the Intel AppUp center (appup.com) on a Windows 8 device to download the Intel AppUp® client and the Top Shot app.
Intel does not make any representations or warranties whatsoever regarding quality, reliability, functionality, or compatibility of third party vendors and their devices. For optimization information, see software. Intel.com/en-us/articles/optimization-notice/. All products, dates, and plans are based on current expectations and subject to change without notice. Intel, the Intel logo, Intel Core processor, Intel Quick Sync Video, and Intel HD Graphics are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States or other countries. *Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others. Copyright © 2013. Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. 01/2013/JA/RH+M3/WQ
