Facebook games could get crazy good graphics with Unreal Engine 3

[DJ Stashman]

That's right, you supposed 80 million hardcore gamers on Facebook, Gears of War maker Epic Games announced that the upcoming Adobe Flash Player 11 will support its Unreal Engine 3. Considering the majority of Facebook games are created and played using Flash, we can't imagine it will be long before social game makers craft Facebook games in gorgeous 3D.

Kotaku reports that the Flash version of Epic Games's Unreal Engine 3, the technology through which numerous hardcore console game series like Unreal Tournament and Mass Effect are made, appears less powerful than on PCs and consoles. Regardless, this marks a huge step toward 3D gaming on Facebook, considering other methods like Unity have yet to catch on.

That's mainly because games that use the Unity Player requires an additional download, which could arguably scare less technologically-savvy players away. Flash requires no download, aside from the occasional update, though that's merely thanks to Flash's growing ubiquity. It's also important to note that Apple's iOS devices support Unreal Engine 3, meaning developers could create games that run similarly on both Facebook and iPhones or iPads. (Infinity Blade on Facebook, anyone?)

This type of cross-platform play is something social game makers have clamored for awhile now, many of which turning to HTML5 to make it happen. (Even Zynga mobile chief David Ko said that HTML5 is still too early.) But with the possibility for full 3D games that players could play between their iPhones and on Facebook, it's possible that developers could come running back to Flash.

http://blog.games.com/2011/10/04/facebook-games-unreal-engine-3/