Digital Element Develops Key Technology for Discreet

New JSR-184 Exporter’s Basic Version to be a Feature in Discreet’s 3ds max 7 software—Makes 3D Easy For Cell Phone Application Developers.
Advanced Version To Ship in October

Los Angeles, Calif — August 10, 2004 — Digital Element, developer and publisher of 3D art tools as well as mobile game applications, announced today from booth #2104 at Siggraph 2004 in Los Angeles California, that Discreet shall include the basic version of Digital Element’s Export 184 in its recently announced 3ds max® 7 professional 3D animation software. The JSR-184 graphics specification has recently been adopted as part of the J2ME platform, and is expected to increase the market opportunity for 3D mobile games by providing a common framework for 3D games over wireless networks.

“Digital Element is excited to be working with both Discreet and Criterion on this initiative.” Said Don McClure, President of Digital Element “As mobile game developers, we know that the market requires efficiently-developed content. We see a big need for conversion of game titles and their assets to mobile, as well as the need to efficiently produce serialized content. 3D is essential for both of these and the vast majority of the content out there for games to be ported is 3ds max-based. As mobile game developers, we saw the need for Export 184 for internal uses. As art tool developers, we knew the plug in we had to build and how to do it.”

Digital Element has been developing BREW and Java mobile game titles for over eighteen months and has worked on top tier titles such as Tetris Cascade for Verizon. Additionally, Digital Element’s development team has over ten years of experience developing art tools. Their flagship product, WorldBuilder Pro 4, which released on August 1st, has been compatible with 3ds max software since version 2 of the most installed 3D animation software in the world, currently at 185,000 registered users.

“As Discreet set out to provide a 3ds max exporter for the mobile space, forging a relationship with a company that has a strong history of developing and publishing art tools compatible with 3ds max and the mobile application arena was essential,” said Dan Prochazka, product manager for animation software at Discreet. “Working closely with Digital Element, our internal team was impressed with the quality of code they produced and the schedule they adhered to. This is yet another feature that we are proud to offer artists in 3ds max 7. It will bring much added value and functional benefit to the growing mobile game development community,” said Prochazka.

The basic version of Export 184 will allow developers to preview and export models from 3ds max 7 software to JSR-184. The basic version will also include a memory map and preview tool to facilitate optimization for mobile platforms. Source code for the basic version is available for Sparks members. The advanced tool, to be shipped by Digital Element in October, will retail for $499 and will work with Discreet
3ds max 6 and 7 software. Additional features include:

• Optimization: Stripping of meshes and m3g file size optimization
  
• Fine Tuning: Users can edit Animation Track, Key Frame Sequence and Polygon Mode properties, supports self-illumination, render-target mutation and texture property editing
  
• Improved Interface, Export Dialog, Preference Save/Load
  
• Improved Exporting options: Paths, morphing animations, Level of Detail

About 3ds max

Discreet 3ds max software has the largest installed base in the 3D industry and is the preferred 3D software in the core production environment for Ubisoft , Rockstar Games, Electronic Arts, HOK, Ellerbe Becket, Blur Studios, Frantic Films, Digital Dimension—along with other leading design and entertainment firms.

About Discreet

Discreet empowers media professionals to realize the visual experience and transform their vision into reality. Discreet's award-winning solutions are designed for digital media creation, management and delivery—across all disciplines from film and television visual effects, color grading and editing to animation, game development, and design visualization. Discreet is based in Montreal, Quebec, and is a division of Autodesk, Inc, the world's leading design and digital media creation, management, and distribution company. www.discreet.com.

About Digital Element, Inc.

Founded in 1999 in Oakland, CA, Digital Element is a software engineering firm specializing in 3D programming capabilities. In addition to its Technology-on-Demand program, which provides 3D programming services to a diverse array of organizations, Digital Element develops and distributes software products and services to film and television animators, video game designers, web developers, architects and landscape designers.

Digital Element’s flagship product, WorldBuilder is the high-end comprehensive solution for animating and rendering ultra realistic, fully functional 3D landscapes for use in computer graphics, architecture, game development and movie production. WorldBuilder boasts seamless integration with 3DS Max both through traditional import/export and dynamic auto-composite rendering. Its proprietary features allow users to create incredibly complex scenes with breaking waves, volumetric light, wind-blown trees and grass- all on an ordinary desktop workstation. WorldBuilder Pro 4 includes network rendering, camera animation. Communication with 3DS Max and expanded libraries and retails for $699. WorldBuilder Genesis is a light version of WorldBuilder with most of the power for only $179.

WorldBuilder, WorldBuilder Pro, and WorldBuilder Pro Genesis are trademarks of Digital Element, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

About Digital Element, Inc.

Export 184 is a professional version of the JSR-184 rendering option which ships with 3DS Max 7. Export 184 is compatible with Max 6 and up and offers an expanded feature set including animation key reduction, an expanded texture tool, and export support for locators, flipboards, animated textures, and particle systems. Export 184 is available through Digital Element www.digi-element.com and retails for $499.

Export 184 is a trademark of Digital Element, Inc.

Contact
Digital Element, Inc.
Don McClure, President
(+1) 510-451-4394
don@digi-element.com

Discreet PR
Kevin G. Clark, Senior Manager of Corporate Communications
(415) 547-2457 kevin.g.clark@autodesk.com

Karen Raz, RAZ PR
(310) 450-1482 karen@razpr.com

Discreet is a division of Autodesk, Inc. Discreet and 3ds max are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. /Autodesk Canada Inc. in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

©Copyright 2004, Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

During the course of this communication, we may make forward-looking statements regarding future events and the future performance of the Company. These forward-looking statements are subject to assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which are discussed in documents we file from time to time with the SEC and specifically in our Annual Report and 10-K filed for the year ended January 31, 2003. These documents contain and identify important factors that may cause the actual results to differ from those contained in our forward-looking statements.

Additionally, we may make statements regarding planned or future development efforts for our existing or new products and services. These statements are not intended to be a promise or guarantee of future delivery of products, services or features but merely reflect our current plans, which may change. Purchasing decisions should not be made based upon reliance on these statements.

The Company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist or change after the date on which they were made.

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