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2K Games Tags Havok For Wii Games
Posted by Mike Fahey at 2:20 AM on June 28, 2008
2K Games is turning to the Havok physics engine to bring realistic motion to their upcoming lineup of Wii titles. The engine will first be applied to the Carnival Games' sequel Carnival Games: Mini-Golf before being applied to several as-of-yet unannounced Wii titles. Why should we care? Havok managing director David O'Meara explains.
"Havok physics engines allow game developers to realistically depict motion and the effects the game character has on their environment. Havok technology communicates with physical elements in the game and loads them with intelligence, allowing them to react to the players' actions in a realistic way. Of course, anyone who has used the Wii will recognise how important accurate movement is for the players' enjoyment of the game. Fans of Carnival Games: Mini- Golf won't be disappointed with the final results!"
He had me until the "Fans of Carnival Games: Mini- Golf" bit.
Havok signs licensing agreement with game developer 2K Games
Deal means Havok Physics will be used to bring realistic motion to several WiiTM titles from 2K
Havok, the leading provider of physics engines to the global game and movie entertainment industry, has agreed to a licensing agreement with California based game developer 2K Games. Under the terms of the deal, 2K Games will use Havok's pioneering physics engines to develop several upcoming titles which will be available on the Wii home video game system from Nintendo.
2K will initially use the industry leading Havok Physics engine to support its standards of realism and interactivity in Carnival Games: Mini-Golf™, the sequel to the popular Wii title Carnival Games™, which has sold over 1.5 million units worldwide since its release last year. Havok technology will also be used in other yet-to-be-named titles for the Wii from 2K.
David O'Meara, Managing Director of Havok, explains how Havok's physic engines will improve interactivity in the hotly anticipated Carnival Games: Mini-Golf title.
"Havok physics engines allow game developers to realistically depict motion and the effects the game character has on their environment. Havok technology communicates with physical elements in the game and loads them with intelligence, allowing them to react to the players' actions in a realistic way. Of course, anyone who has used the Wii will recognise how important accurate movement is for the players' enjoyment of the game. Fans of Carnival Games: Mini- Golf won't be disappointed with the final results!"
Havok's physics software is featured in over 200 triple A games available on store shelves today. With well over 90 games currently in development for release this year, use of Havok's ubiquitous software is up 100% for the same period last year. Best-selling titles featuring Havok physics include Halo 3, Assassin's Creed, Guitar Hero III, BioShock, World in Conflict, Half Life 2: The Orange Box and Heavenly Sword.
Blockbuster movies which have employed Havok technology to drive special effects include Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, 10000 BC, X-Men: The Last Stand, Poseidon, The Matrix, Troy, Kingdom of Heaven and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
At a glittering ceremony in Las Vegas earlier this year, Havok was honored with an award from the National Academy of Television, Arts & Sciences for their work on their pioneering physics engines which makes games more realistic than ever before. The company uses a combination of next generation physics, animation and tools to reach new standards of realism and interactivity in gaming technology and essentially turn their customers' creative aspirations into technical realities
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
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sitsalot
Posted 3:25 AM 28/6/08
they could use it for an original GTA for wii developed by 2K instead of rock star.
sitsalot
Ryodestined
Posted 3:21 AM 28/6/08
"Fans of Carnival Games period". I guess they don't do post-ownership studies.
Ryodestined
Krondonian
Posted 3:20 AM 28/6/08
@wild homes is weathering cephalopod trouble!: Yeah, it's the kind of technologies I just expect to be there. I don't even own a 360/PS3/high end PC, yet having physics like this I would have assumed to be the norm since Half-Life 2.
Krondonian
StarStabbedMoon
Posted 3:16 AM 28/6/08
@thejakeman: still using an old joke that no one finds funny...: Most likely, I know Nintendo has been using the Havok engine in their games for years, as have many others. It's nothing new.
As far as it being obsolete, however, that'll be determined as soon as demand dies or they revamp their engine. All new technology must be phased in, almost always a slow process.
StarStabbedMoon
wild homes is weathering cephalopod trouble!
Posted 3:13 AM 28/6/08
@Demonbird: I don't think that's really something we need to hassle about. Nintendo chose a very specific spot, and they're comfortable with it-- and it's certainly been very, very lucrative for them to this point. If you want really advanced stuff, you're not playing the Wii exclusively. But every system has plenty of selling points.
@Krondonian: They are different, but they work together in the sense that Havok (by itself) is really very little more than a ragdoll physics engine. Euphoria (and DMM with it) feed Havok information that explains the motion of bodies and objects. Without additional technologies, you're looking at something like Perfect Dark Zero, where things just fall around limply and so forth. Which is neat, but it really doesn't do much for immersion. It's very much somewhere we've already been. Which is fine-- I just don't really get why they're announcing it like it's a big deal. We've come to a point where co-operative technologies are being integrated to provide us with such greater, more complete experiences-- this just seems like a me, too kind of announcement.
wild homes is weathering cephalopod trouble!
Sqeetschy
Posted 3:07 AM 28/6/08
Another victim to the red-eye syndrome!
Sqeetschy
kumuasata
Posted 3:05 AM 28/6/08
@liquid_kore:
Touche.
kumuasata
liquid_kore
Posted 3:00 AM 28/6/08
liquid_kore
fuchikoma
Posted 2:51 AM 28/6/08
Imagine if Capcom remade Final Fight with over the shoulder or 1st person cam and Havok physics... smash some punk backwards and into some trash cans and debris, or even each other! (Maybe a simple Euphoria is possible? Make them stagger when bumped...)
Fighting games are just waiting for realistic physics IMO...
fuchikoma
SG79
Posted 2:48 AM 28/6/08
@thejakeman: still using an old joke that no one finds funny...:
Even a game like MK Shaolin Monks on the PS2 used it.
SG79
Krondonian
Posted 2:48 AM 28/6/08
I was under the impression that Carnival Games 1 was utterly shite.
@wild homes is weathering cephalopod trouble!: I'm no techie, but aren't Euphoria and Havok quite different? The Star Wars game is using both, so they can't do exactly the same thing.
Krondonian
thefais
Posted 2:46 AM 28/6/08
I'm glad there's a sequel. That cliffhanger was driving me CRAZY
thefais
thejakeman: still using an old joke that no one finds funny anym
Posted 2:44 AM 28/6/08
isn't havok already in splinter cell double agent on the wii?
that's so obscure. i feel awkward now.
thejakeman: still using an old joke that no one finds funny anymore. i have no friends.
PatMan33
Posted 2:39 AM 28/6/08
Ugh... that face will haunt my dreams.
PatMan33
Demonbird
Posted 2:32 AM 28/6/08
@wild homes is weathering cephalopod trouble!: Yeah... Just further goes to show the wii is one step behind...
Demonbird
wild homes is weathering cephalopod trouble!
Posted 2:30 AM 28/6/08
I don't even really know what to think about this. Carnival is dumb, and Havok has been somewhat obsoleted by Euphoria. I don't really think putting ragdoll physics into Wii titles will do much to improve the immersion, but if it results in better games I won't complain. It just seems like a weird choice to employ this technology in 2008.
wild homes is weathering cephalopod trouble!
dead_red_eyes
Posted 2:26 AM 28/6/08
Mini-golf?! Sold.
dead_red_eyes
Guvnah
Posted 2:26 AM 28/6/08
When that golf ball goes flying I want to see people TAKEN DOWN.
Guvnah
KM91
Posted 3:40 AM 28/6/08
It knd of reminds me of the O RLY owl.
KM91
wild homes is weathering cephalopod trouble!
Posted 3:39 AM 28/6/08
@Krondonian: Yeah, especially considering Nintendo's used Havok in the past. I know quite a few last-gen titles used Havok. It's functional enough, but it's old hat now, and definitely not news. It's kind of like seeing a car ad that says now with wheels. It's great, and it might be really useful, but it's hardly worth advertising.
wild homes is weathering cephalopod trouble!
brainwav
Posted 3:33 AM 28/6/08
@liquid_kore: Beat me to it.
brainwav
alitcofsky
Posted 4:53 AM 28/6/08
@wild homes is weathering cephalopod trouble!: I'd say Boom Blox proves Havok to be perfectly capable.
alitcofsky
Silent Predator
Posted 4:44 AM 28/6/08
I'm pretty sure those that are playing Carnival Games don't even know what a physics engine is.
Silent Predator
zoso
Posted 4:36 AM 28/6/08
Nintendo's already used it in Brawl, if I remember right. Also, thanks liquid_kore. I nearly dropped my computer :(
zoso
Kaizuden
Posted 6:30 AM 28/6/08
Ugh, THE EYES! But the real shit kicker is knowing that they can and will make more shitty carnival games, cause this crap gets eaten up by the "casual" crowd.
Kaizuden
joandrade
Posted 2:31 AM 28/6/08
"Best-selling titles featuring Havok physics include Halo 3, Assassin's Creed, Guitar Hero III, BioShock, World in Conflict, Half Life 2: The Orange Box and Heavenly Sword."
can someone tell me why does Guitar Hero need the Havok physics engine? better: why does it need any physics engine at all?
joandrade
horseshoelip
Posted 2:31 AM 28/6/08
the pringles can guy has really let himself go...
horseshoelip