Rapid Authoring Tools for Serious Games: Inscape in 2018
Rapid authoring tools let trainers build serious games and simulations without programming. In 2018 Metaari ranked them as the fastest-growing product type, and Inscape from DIGINEXT was one of the examples.
Updated
The 2018 finding
Metaari's game-based learning market report found that authoring tools and platforms for serious games had the highest growth rate of the three product types it surveyed, ahead of custom educational game development services and the eleven educational game categories. Dedicated game-based learning tools were new, and new specialized rapid authoring tools kept arriving: the report identified more than 40 new companies launched after 2015. Revenue for tools was forecast to rise more than six times over 2018 to 2023. The figures come from the report's 2018 announcement and are forecasts.
Other platforms in the same group include the cloud-based authoring service from Muzzy Lane, described in a 2015 article, and the platform from Applio, a company founded in 2007 that says serious games can be built in hours instead of weeks, described in a 2017 article.
Inscape in 2018
DIGINEXT, a company in Aix-en-Provence, France and a subsidiary of the CS Group, announced in mid-2018 the releases Inscape AR 7.0 and Inscape VTS 7.0. Inscape was described as an integrated visual authoring environment for quickly creating immersive experiences, visual task simulations and serious games without coding, aimed at trainers with no programming skills. Users assemble 3D assets, multimedia elements, animations and visual effects into scenes, define scenario logic and publish to their target platforms. Inscape AR produced interactive augmented reality content for industrial operations, such as step-by-step instructions overlaid on the work site, while Inscape VTS built virtual maintenance trainers. One example was a trainer for the Cougar helicopter that could be adapted to other multirole helicopters of the Airbus Helicopters family, among them the Super Puma, H125M, H225 and Caracal. DIGINEXT planned to be at I/ITSEC from November 26 to 30, 2018.
Inscape then and now
| Item | 2018 | November 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Maker named | DIGINEXT, subsidiary of the CS Group | CS GROUP |
| Product names | Inscape AR 7.0, Inscape VTS 7.0 | Inscape VTS, Inscape VTS Souverain, Inscape SW |
| Authoring claim | Creation without coding | Content creation for virtual training without coding |
| Serious games mentioned | Yes | Not mentioned on the home page |
What is true today
The old address inscape3d.com/en/ forwards to www.inscapexr.com/en/, which was live in November 2026. The site calls Inscape a product of CS GROUP, built in the EU, and presents it as virtual and augmented reality for training and field support. It lists Inscape VTS for virtual training, a Souverain version designed and developed in Europe, and Inscape SW for field assistance applications. It promotes content creation for virtual training without any coding, but its home page does not mention serious games and shows no version numbers. The old DIGINEXT address, diginext.fr/en/, forwards to a page on cs-soprasteria.com.
Inscape is an authoring product and not a game, so it has no entry in the games directory.
Questions about rapid authoring tools
What is a rapid authoring tool for serious games?
It is software that lets people without programming skills assemble a game or simulation from ready elements such as 3D assets, animations and scenario logic. Inscape described itself this way in 2018.
Who makes Inscape now?
The Inscape site in November 2026 says Inscape is a product of CS GROUP. In 2018 the maker was named as DIGINEXT, a CS Group subsidiary.
Does Inscape still make serious games?
Its home page does not mention serious games. It describes virtual training simulators, field assistance in augmented reality and no-code content creation for training.