mFactory Launches mTropolis Version 1.0

macworld San Francisco, Jan. 9, 1996 - mFactory, Inc., provider of
award-winning multimedia software tools, announced today the availability
of mTropolis v1.0, the first high-performance, object-oriented authoring
system for building highly-interactive, multimedia games and applications
for use on Macintosh and Windows-based personal computers.

mTropolis is designed for use by developers of sophisticated, super-
interactive multimedia titles that will be deployed through on-line
channels via the Internet as well as on conventional CD-ROM discs and
other media. Based on object-oriented technology, mTropolis substantially
reduces the time and cost required to develop next-generation multimedia
titles.

mTropolis is the high-end, flagship product in a family of next-generation
multimedia authoring tools that mFactory will introduce throughout 1996.
In the coming months the company will add new products at a range of price
points, including tools that enable the creation and deployment of
interactive, multiple user applications across computer networks and the
Internet.

"Consumers have gone far beyond being satisfied with whizzy graphics and
sound in their multimedia titles; they now want to be immersed in new
interactive worlds," said Hamish Forsythe, co-founder and president of
mFactory. "Creating new titles that meet these increasing expectations
requires a new class of authoring tools. These tools must allow for rapid
title development and deliver the performance that leads to the highest
degree of interactivity and realism. That's what we're delivering with
mTropolis."

MTROPOLIS ADVANTAGES

mTropolis is the definitive high-performance authoring system for the rapid
development and delivery of sophisticated interactive titles across
multiple platforms. It delivers:

   object-oriented architecture - mTropolis's true object-oriented
   nature provides all of the benefits of traditional object-oriented
   programming, and makes it easy to model complex interactive worlds
   or simulations

   performance - mTropolis delivers exceptional performance on today's
   consumer platforms, regardless of a project's scale or
   sophistication

   portability - mTropolis projects can be deployed as optimized
   titles on multiple platforms, including native Power Macintosh
   and Windows 95, without reprogramming

   productivity - mTropolis's enabling drag-and-drop interface,
   multiple project views, and facilities for object re-use set new
   standards for ease-of-learning, ease-of-use, and authoring
   productivity, even on massive projects with multiple authors

   extensibility - mTropolis's completely open architecture provides
   an authoring system that can be easily, transparently extended
   or modified

"mTropolis is good news for multimedia developers," said Josh Bernoff,
senior analyst in the People & Technology Strategies group at Forrester
Research. "Its open architecture and object-based metaphor promise to
streamline development for a whole class of edutainment and game
developers now using clumsier products."

SIGNIFICANT NEW FEATURES

With mFactory's commitment to providing unparalleled development
productivity and title performance, significant new functionality has been
built into mTropolis since the revolutionary, object-oriented authoring
system was first unveiled in April 1995. The most significant addition is
the mTropolis "Fragment Loader." This core technology works
behind-the-scenes to dynamically load the objects comprising a title. The
end result is a system that maintains exceptional performance even with
massive titles, and that excels in networked environments with
distributed, streamed titles.

Broader support for running mTropolis titles on Windows-based systems is
provided by mTropolis Players for Windows 3.1 and Windows 95, included in
mTropolis v1.0.

Also, the set of mTropolis "modifiers" provided with the system has
expanded to more than three dozen. Among the capabilities provided by new
modifiers are: stereo sound panning based on a moving object's position,
full control over MIDI audio parameters and playback, and fine control
over tracks in QuickTime movies.

Additionally, mFactory is making available a separate utility, MovieTrax,
for creating and editing multiple-track QuickTime movies. MovieTrax is
included with the mTropolis v1.0 release, and will be provided in beta
form for free evaluation and testing from the mFactory web site.

EXTENSIVE DEVELOPER SUPPORT

A year ago mFactory initiated an aggressive developer support program and
attracted more than 250 of the world's most sophisticated multimedia
developers, who have been beta testing mTropolis. Among these developers
are Activision, Colossal Pictures, Cyan, Cryptic Corporation, Drew
Pictures, Headspace, Rocket Science Games, Simon and Schuster, Tribeca
Interactive, and Virgin Sound and Vision. Many of these companies have
already begun developing new titles with mTropolis, and more than a dozen
new titles are expected to be available in the first quarter of 1996.

"mTropolis narrows the gap between the kind of games we all fantasize about
and the production realities of the real world," said musician and
multimedia trailblazer Thomas Dolby of Headspace, who has been working
with mTropolis for over a year. "mFactory's new authoring tools have
redefined the creative landscape by enabling a level of collaboration
between developers and artists that was never before possible."

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

mTropolis v1.0 is designed for high-performance, low-memory footprint
authoring and playback on today's Macintosh and Windows platforms. System
recommendations for the mTropolis editor are a Power Macintosh or
68040-based Macintosh with System 7.x, a double-speed CD-ROM drive, and
8MB of application RAM. Minimum requirements for the mTropolis editor are
a 68020-based Macintosh with System 7.x, 8-bit color, and 5MB of
application RAM. Minimum requirements for the mTropolis player are a
68020-based Macintosh with System 7.x, or a 486SX/25 with Microsoft
Windows 3.1 or Windows 95, 8-bit color, and 2MB of application RAM.

ABOUT MFACTORY

mFactory, Inc., is a provider of professional software authoring tools for
the development of sophisticated new multimedia titles. mFactory's
flagship authoring environment, mTropolis, facilitates the rapid
development and deployment of high-performance interactive titles across
multiple platforms. Founded in 1992, mFactory is located in Burlingame,
California, and recently received an $8.5 million equity investment from
Adobe Ventures L.P. and Hambrecht & Quist.
 
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