Brain In A Jar

Independent Software Developer
Brain in a Jar, are an independent software developer, specializing in motorsport games and simulations. Our development ethos is to create solid and flexible technology for physics, rigid body dynamics, and rendering capable of supporting a varied array of vehicle based games and simulations.

Founded in December 1998 by Technical Director, Matthew Gabriel and Creative Director, Carl Darlton. Brain In A Jar, are licensed developers for Playstation2, Nintendo Wii, Xbox, PC, Xbox 360.

The technical vision
Brain in a Jar designs, develops and constructs all of its software and tools in-house. This holistic approach ensures that the company has no reliance on third party middleware.

Two key areas of technological innovation are the physics and dynamics system (there are no special case scenarios in the physics code) and the Artificial Intelligence system (a multi-level system which creates reactive AI that actively compete and have a ‘desire to win’).

The technical vision and approach of Brain In A Jar enables the company to stay at the leading edge of technological advances.

The Brain in a Jar engine
A modular, multi-platform system, split into engine components for physics calculations, rigid body dynamics, rendering, memory management, file handling and platform interface. This engine forms the foundation on which game-code modules are built.

The Brain in a Jar tool set handles all platform conversion work with all platform versions of game materials being created through a single run of the tool.

The code is divided into engine and game sections. The effect of this is to allow game changes to be made to individual projects without affecting the core engine, and core engine changes to be made that will carry across projects without the need for changing individual game code.

Through constant innovation and development, the company has created a robust and flexible engine, responsible for the production of over a dozen vehicle and racing games across different platforms.