European influence.(editor's note)

It's been some time since Computer Graphics World has attended the Imagina conference and exhibition in Monaco. Previously known as "the SIGGRAPH of Europe," the show had been the graphics community's first stop along the road to new products, CG techniques, and digital demonstrations for the ensuing year. And for many digital artists, the Imagina Awards set the tone for the year's animation festivals.

This is no longer the case; instead, Imagina has found its own identity.

A few years ago, Imagina apparently repositioned itself. Imagina is now officially called "the European 3D Community Event." And the title is befitting. The event is truly broad in scope, stretching across all aspects of computer graphics and 3D technology. The expo floor was small, and the vendors here were heavily geared toward digital architecture and driving simulation. But on a positive note, this gave a number of new companies in this arena the opportunity to shine without having to compete for attendee attention alongside vendors showing off the use of their visual effects tools in creating the latest box-office flash.

A number of these vendors were not without some eye candy of their own. Imagina hosted the ninth international Driving Simulation Conference in partnership with Renault. Therefore, there were exhibitors that featured a mock vehicle that attendees could then virtually drive in adverse weather conditions. Of course, these setups proved to be a big hit among the largely engineering crowd, but they would have been just as popular among the video game attendees at the Game Developer's Conference! On the subject of gaming, IMGTP demonstrated its interactive virtual city model, which utilizes the Crytek CryEngine 2, the same game engine developed for the recently released title Far Cry. Moreover, in the Media & Entertainment Conference, ...