Indiana Jones to raise bar for next-gen
by James Ransom-Wiley 
{ Apr 21st 2006 at 2:25PM }
LucasArts is poised to set the
standard for 'next-generation' animation in a new Indiana Jones adventure planned for release in 2007. The
game will utilize NaturalMotion's new run-time animation technology called euphoria. Euphoria's goal
is to replicate real-world physics. The days of pre-programmed animation are over. NaturalMotion's technology uses
factors like strength, weight, and momentum to create accurate animations in real-time.For euphoria to succeed, it must be coupled with solid AI scripts, in this case, programmed by LucasArts. Instead of a rag doll physics engine kicking in (and the AI turning off) when a character "dies" , euphoria works with AI scripts to produce unique physical reactions to in-game occurrences while that character is "alive." IGN recently got a peek at several tech demos of the game, reporting that this new technology demonstrates the "potential for a new kind of gaming experience." We want it now!
[Note: image is from NaturalMotion's demo, not Indiana Jones game.]
[Via The Indy Experience.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Fan @ Apr 21st 2006 2:33PM
PS3fanboy broke the story first. Give kudos.
bigmiz @ Apr 21st 2006 2:37PM
good, now that guy who was bitchin about that 360 game the other day has his prayers answered
Paul @ Apr 21st 2006 2:40PM
Might one even say that such animations would be... procedurally generated?
jaemz @ Apr 21st 2006 2:40PM
"[Note: image is from NaturalMotion's demo, not Indiana Jones game.]"
So what you are saying is that 'Indiana Jones and the the Football of Doom' is not going to be the title of the new movie/game?
bryan @ Apr 21st 2006 2:46PM
An Adventure game????? LucasAts????? I sure hope they dont mean Action/Adventure. But on the other hand, a point and click adventure would waste the flashy new physics. How about Day after the Tentacle
Adventure games are starting to make a comeback. The FPS POS genre is getting old. No matter how pretty you make it... it all plays the same. I miss a good story.
j @ Apr 21st 2006 2:47PM
They talked about the endorphin program about 6 months ago on Daily Planet (a daily show about science and technology on the canadian Discovery Channel) and the guys said that they were using the program for movies (it was used for Troy) and for video games which they could not mention. From what I saw on the show, I sure hope that this becomes widespread in games.
TK00 @ Apr 21st 2006 2:49PM
Looks pretty cool. The tech is interesting, although I wonder if people will even notice that the animations aren't scripted.
SIde note, I'm not buying and Indy games until I read many reviews; the last one was a total POS.
pennywise969 @ Apr 21st 2006 2:52PM
I read this a couple of days ago. The article is a really interesting read if you have the time. I hope they use this program or something comperable in all games eventually. Think about how great Madden would be with something like this. Or Hockey.
KwadDamyj @ Apr 21st 2006 2:58PM
Looks a lot more convincing with sports-type events and possibly acrobatics than with kung-fu. The small martial arts segments of the clips just looked like they kinda lacked punch...
James @ Apr 21st 2006 2:59PM
Oh my oh my. The original Prince of Persia's amazing motion graphics seem oh so long ago.
Flamingo Kid @ Apr 21st 2006 3:50PM
What are the chances of EA implementing this into Madden? This would be much better than another passing cone.
Gonzo @ Apr 21st 2006 4:03PM
Is this based on the new Indiana Jones movie coming out or is it going to be a whole new original story.
Are they really making that? Last I heard Ford was trying to convince Connery to stall his retirement until after they do the final Jones.
calthaer @ Apr 21st 2006 4:34PM
HOLY LIGHT SABRES, BATMAN
LUCASARTS DOING A NON-STAR-WARS GAME?!
The sky is falling.
Lane @ Apr 21st 2006 5:53PM
The whole physics thing sounds awesome. It should hopefully make it even better than the last Indiana Jones game. Did anyone else play Emperor's Tomb (i think thats right)? It's a great game. If you haven't played it you probably should. It got some good scores too if my saying it's good isn't good enough for you. I'm just hoping this new game will be on Revolution because I'm pretty sure that's the only system I'm buying for the next generation.
DJ @ Apr 21st 2006 6:07PM
I agree Lane...Emperor's Tomb was a very entertaining game. The whole game wasn't great, there were some levels that should have been better like the water one, but overall the combination of exploration, whipping, fist fighting and shooting was well done. I only paid five bucks for it so maybe I wasnt expecting so much with that price but it was more than worth it. One of my main gripes with that game was some of the animation (whip swinging, jumping, ledge grabbing) but with this natural motion tech in there that should be remedied for the next one. Looking forward to the game...they better not screw it up. Indy is the man.
Tom Cruise @ Apr 21st 2006 6:37PM
It must be a PS3 exclusive game cause the 360's graphics suck!!!!
embassy @ Apr 21st 2006 9:19PM
yeh this wud make all sports games 10 times better by default...
long live 1990 @ Apr 22nd 2006 1:06AM
personally, i'm not playing another LucasArts game until they bring Loom back.
/me fires up the old CGA display to make sure it still works...
Insomnia Bob @ Apr 22nd 2006 7:56AM
"An Adventure game????? LucasAts????? I sure hope they dont mean Action/Adventure. But on the other hand, a point and click adventure would waste the flashy new physics. How about Day after the Tentacle" -bryan
I'm not really sure what a full contact physics engine would do for a point and click game...
"Looks a lot more convincing with sports-type events and possibly acrobatics than with kung-fu. The small martial arts segments of the clips just looked like they kinda lacked punch..." -KwadDamyj
Yeah...but imagine what it'll look like in a game like Half Life 2 or Doom? It was a little odd to run up to a combine soldier, hit them point blank with half a clip of ammo, and not see them move until they'd taken enough damage to "die". This tech might mark the end of that sort of thing.
Now, when you shoot an enemy, we'll spin around, maybe fall down, or at the very least, look like he got hit with a freakin' bullet.
This might also lend some validity to the idea behind buying a dedicated physics card for your gaming PC... in a year or two.