Monday, January 27th, 2025 Posted by Jim Thacker

JangaFX teases IlluGen


Real-time simulation tools developer JangaFX has announced IlluGen, a new application for creating “the majority of assets” used to assemble the “illusions” for visual effects in games.

The software, which had previously been teased on JangaFX’s Discord server, gets its own section of JangaFX’s new public roadmap, along with a brief, enigmatic product description.

The roadmap also shows the upcoming features in JangaFX’s other tools, smoke and fire simulator EmberGen, liquid simulator LiquiGen and terrain generator GeoGen.

A better way to create the assets needed for the ‘illusions’ in games
The entry in the online roadmap is effectively the official announcement for IlluGen: it’s certainly the first time that we can recall seeing a logo for the software.

However, the title of the entry is simply, “IlluGen is an illusion”, while the description reads, not much more helpfully:

“Visual effects in games are [composed] of a bunch of smoke and mirrors. … If only there were a better way to create the majority of assets used to assemble these illusions.”

That’s nice. So what does IlluGen actually do?
However, JangaFX has mentioned IlluGen before on its Discord server, which prompted the following comment from one user:

“I hope it’s a procedural material creation tool. Having ways of generating 2D simulations would be really interesting there [like] having frost structures form procedurally in a 2D space.”

In response, JangaFX CEO Nick Seavert replied: “That’s more or less the idea for IlluGen”.

Seavert describes IlluGen as being like Adobe’s Substance 3D material-authoring tools plus “unique sims and growth structures” but more for in-game FX than environment art.

Price, system requirements and release date
JangaFX hasn’t officially announced what IlluGen is yet, never mind its system requirements, release date, or how much it will cost.

Read the announcement of IlluGen on JangaFX’s public roadmap

Have your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we don’t post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.