May 28 (Thu) Event 'DCC's "GO BACK TO SEE THE FUTURE" - Looking Back at the History of Digital Content Creation Tools to Understand Their Technical Significance Leading to the Present #TANight' to be Held

Creek & River Co. (C&R Co.) will hold an event on Thursday, May 28, targeting technical artists (TAs) and creators involved in game and CG development: 'DCC's "GO BACK TO SEE THE FUTURE" - Looking Back at the History of Digital Content Creation Tools to Understand Their Technical Significance Leading to the Present #TANight'.

In the late 1980s, numerous 3D production tools emerged in the world of digital content creation. With the evolution of workstations and the advancement of computer graphics research, software supporting 3D graphics production successively appeared, each developing with its own unique philosophy and technology. The evolution of these tools has become the foundation for a wide range of digital content creation, including current CG production, game development, video production, and animation production.

Many of the Digital Content Creation (DCC) tools and production workflows we use daily today inherit technologies and concepts born from this history. However, in production environments, the focus is often on "using" tools and file formats, and there are not always many opportunities to consciously consider their origins, design philosophies, and technical meanings. Understanding the history and background of tools leads to a deeper understanding of the current production environment.

This event will review the origins and features of 3D production tools that have appeared since the late 1980s, unraveling the technical flow that leads to modern digital content creation. It will introduce specific examples to explain the production environments and tool design philosophies of that era, and how they connect to current production pipelines and workflows.

For example, the file format "FBX" is widely used today in game development and video production. Many production sites use this format as a matter of course, but did you know that it was originally used as the standard file format for MotionBuilder? Also, the fact that the name "FBX" itself is an abbreviation for "Film Box" is one of the unexpectedly unknown facts. In this way, widely used tools and technologies in current production environments each have their own origin stories and development philosophies.

For those who have been involved in this industry for many years, this will be an opportunity to reminisce about the tools and technologies of that time. Meanwhile, for younger generations of developers and creators, it will be a learning opportunity to understand what historical accumulation underlies the current production environment.

Please feel free to join us for an opportunity to reflect on the history of digital content creation tools, re-evaluate the current production environment, and consider the possibilities of future production technologies.

<Key Topics Examples> ・Origins of file formats such as FBX, OBJ, and DXF ・Backbone of 3D production tools ・Evolution of digital content creation tools ・Technical implications leading to current production workflows ・Broad perspective as a 3D developer and engineer ※Content may be subject to change.

DCC's "GO BACK TO SEE THE FUTURE" - Looking Back at the History of Digital Content Creation Tools to Understand Their Technical Significance Leading to the Present #TANight

Date and Time Thursday, May 28, 2026, 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM (Venue opens: 6:30 PM)

Location Creek & River Co., Ltd. MSC Onarimon Building 12F 3-20-1 Nishi-Shinbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0003 Map here

Target Audience ・Technical Artists ・3D Designers / 3D Modelers / Animators ・Those with many years of experience in game development / CG development ・Newcomers and young professionals just entering the digital content creation industry ・Students interested in technical artists or game/CG development ・Those interested in the career of technical artists or organizational development

Speaker Kotaro Okamoto, Technical Artist, Human Resources Development Department, TA Section, Tokyo Studio, HexaDrive Co., Ltd. Mr. Okamoto is a Technical Artist at HexaDrive Co., Ltd., Development Department, Tokyo Studio, with over 35 years of experience in the game industry. He specializes in animation TA, and also works on effects and shader development, with a long history particularly in ToonShader systems. His Maya tool development using Python scripting is publicly available on the UsersNotes website, including the development process.