SOFTWARE FROM Dublin-headquartered Havok is being used to develop Spore, the most hotly anticipated computer game in years.
Havok chief executive David O’Meara confirmed that the firm’s software is “ a critical part” of the development of Spore. However, citing contractual obligations, he said he could not comment further until after the game’s release next month.
Havok’s core product is a “physics engine” which ensures interaction between objects in computer games obey the physical laws of the real world.
Electronic Arts (EA), the world’s biggest publisher of computer games, is hoping Spore can turn around its recent poor financial performance.
The hugely anticipated game puts players in a god-like role as they create their own microbial creatures which react to environmental and population changes.
The game draws inspiration from social-networking websites by allowing players to interact and share their creations.
It is the latest creation of game designer Will Wright whose past successes include SimCity and The Sims, both of which were seen as equally ground-breaking when first released.
News of Havok’s involvement comes the week after it announced a major global deal with Microsoft which will provides a perpetual licence to Microsoft’s own game developers, as well as third parties creating games for the Xbox games console, to use Havok’s Physics, Animation and Behaviour products.
“If this was not in place, individual game developers would have to sign a contract for each game they are developing,” explained Mr O’Meara. “Microsoft is sanctioning Havok’s products so it takes any risk away from the developers.”
Havok has a similar agreement in place with Sony for its Playstation platform but this is an older deal which does not include newer products the Irish firm has developed.
These include Cloth, which makes fabrics and similar surfaces appear more realistic, and Destruction, which sits on top of the Havok physics engine and enhances crashes and other in-game events.
Mr O’Meara said Havok is currently in negotiation with Sony on a new deal. Although Nintendo’s Wii – the best-selling of the current generation of consoles – does not have the same processing power as its competitors, Havok “would absolutely” be interested in a similar deal with the Japanese games company, according to Mr O’Meara.
Havok is wholly owned by semiconductor giant Intel but operates as an independent entity.
Expressing disappointment at the poor standard of Leaving Cert maths results this week, Mr O’Meara said the company, in association with its parent, would shortly announce an initiative to get students excited about maths and science.
“We want to try and get university students interested in the gaming side of science,” he said.
