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Havok Physics helps Fan the Flame San Francisco, CA, October 12, 2006 – Using Havok’s renowned physics engine, SEGA’s iconic Sonic The Hedgehog is due to blaze his way to the 2006 DigitalLife event in New York today.
With Havok’s cutting-edge real-time rigid body physics and collision detection to help him, Sonic beats enemies and obstacles alike with trademark speed and attitude. Delivering the highest production values, Sonic The Hedgehog, despite his 15 years in existence, takes advantage of what next generation platforms and physics technology have to offer to create the most intense sensation of speed ever experienced in a videogame. Speaking about the game, Takayuki Kawagoe, R&D Creative Officer of SEGA Corporation, underlined the importance of Havok’s physics in helping SEGA to achieve its creative goals. “For the next generation Sonic The Hedgehog, we wanted blistering speed in a visually rich environment. Havok’s real-time physics engine has enabled us to process the huge amounts of data involved in ensuring that Sonic’s every bounce and battle is both visually interesting and accurate, within the enhanced but still recognisable dream-like world of the game. The fact that our development team was provided with all documentation and support was in Japanese from Havok’s office in Tokyo, made it that much easier for them to make the most of Havok’s technology.” For Havok, a premier provider of interactive software and services to digital creators in the game and film industries, it was very important that SEGA’s talented in-house development team was able to optimise use of Havok physics. Said Havok Chief Executive Officer, David O’Meara, “Sonic The Hedgehog for next gen platforms is an excellent example of how a talented development team can use physics technology to bring a much loved classic character to a whole new level. We are very proud to be involved in the latest evolution of such an iconic, world-renowned game.” About Havok Havok is the premier provider of interactive software and services for digital media creators in the games and movie industries. With world leading expertise in physics, animation and tools, Havok’s business is to turn our customers’ creative aspirations into technical realities. Havok’s modular suite of tools gives power to the creator, making sure that our clients can reach new standards of realism and interactivity, while mitigating the overall cost and risks associated with creating today’s leading video games and movies. Havok works in partnership with the world’s best known game developers - including Sony, THQ, Microsoft, EA, Ubisoft and Activision. Havok’s cross-platform, professionally supported technology is available for the PlayStation®2, PLAYSTATION®3, PSP™, Xbox™, Xbox360™, Wii™, GameCube™, and the PC. Havok’s combination of superior technology and dedication to delivering for our customers every time has led to our technology being used in more than 150 of the world’s best known game titles, including Halo 2, Half Life 2, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Age of Empires III, Saints Row and Cars. Havok products have been used to drive special effects in movies such as Poseidon, The Matrix, Troy, Kingdom of Heaven and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Havok provides the dynamics driving 3ds Max from Autodesk Media and Entertainment. Havok was founded in 1998 in Dublin, Ireland and has offices in San Francisco, San Antonio, Stockholm, Calcutta, Munich, and Tokyo. |
