Alan Milosevic, its founder and chief executive, is a Welsh-born former math teacher and computer programmer. With MathEngine technology a designer can have a 600 pound bad guy sock a dwarf in the jaw and make it look realistic. The software tells designers how far the dwarf files, how often he bounces and whether he lands on his head or arm. Sony is a big MathEngine booster. The electronics giant is encouraging 300 of the world's best game designers to license MathEngine's software.
More sophisticated games are in the works.
It will be released for Playstation 2 next year. Back in 1997, when Milosevic launched the company, British investors weren't impressed. Finally Milosevic caught a break. In 1998 Intel's educational division hired MathEngine to perfect a computer simulation of a medieval catapult, a demo for young history students. He hopes to raise additional money in an initial public offering later this year.