Star Wars: Technology Unleashed

There's an extensive, 3-page feature posted on IGN today which talks about the new technology being developed for use in the next major LucasArts Star Wars game, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.

The 2 technologies in question are "Digital Molecular Matter" (DMM) and "euphoria". The article goes quite in-depth with how this new tech is being applied to the game play and from all accounts, it all sounds VERY "next-gen". DMM, in a nutshell, is the engine that allows the dev team to render in-game objects down to a molecular level. If you checked out the splintering wood demonstration from last month, you have a rough idea on what that entails. Euphoria is AI-related and governs how NPCs will react to their environment: they will shift their stance if the ground becomes unsettled, hang on to ledges if the fall off a ledge and push or circumvent obstacles in their path depending on the situation. This is all dynamice, unscripted behaviour.

Both DMM and euphoria sound amazing and have the potential to open up the play experience in so many new ways. Imagine combining these technologies with other systems, like fully destructible environments and other advanced AI routines and you could have a product that, if nothing else, simulates "movie realism" on an unprecedented level. The IGN writer is quick to point out that despite the impressive showcase of DMM seen in the preview builds of some Force Unleashed levels, there will probably be arbitrary boundaries enforced onto the level design. A metallic wall may dent realistically when you hurl a stormtrooper against it, but you shouldn't expect to slice a hole through said wall with your lightsaber and make a shortcut for yourself.

The preview touches on features pertaining to the game's storyline, with a quick roll call of potential characters and a rundown of a rather paltry list of Force skills (only 4) available to your Dark Jedi protagonist. Not much was reported on the control mechanism for lightsaber combat but I'm keeping my fingers crossed it is refined enough so we're not stuck with random button-mashing.

All in all, I am still very excited about this title, fancy tech or not. I've always been a fan of the Jedi Knight series, so if even half of the goodness of those old games, they'll have me as a potential buyer.