E3 2005: A busy day for physics company AGEIA

News - Physics is the new graphics?

Just a few months ago no-one had heard of either AGEIA nor their specialist PhysX chip. Things are somewhat different now with the company getting a fair bit of attention in the specialist press. The company was understandably keen to point out their work on developing tools for games developers working on creating games for the PS3. "We're proud to offer AGEIA's physics technology to help developers create compelling content for Playstation 3", said Andy Keane, vice president of marketing for AGEIA. "Playstation 3 delivers some incredible capabilities, and our developers are energized by the opportunity to develop middleware for this powerful next-generation platform."

While the NovodeX software will no doubt crop up in some PS3 games in the future a number of PC developers are working with the engine on their current projects, eager to enhance the gaming experience with the physics modelling that AGEIA is able to create with its software. City of Villains, the follow-up to the wildly popular super-hero MMO, will incorporate it as its core physics engine, offering new physics-based effects and environments such as large rigid body simulations, fluids, physical particle systems and more. Snowboarding game Stoked Rider will utilise the physics software to simulate the complex physical dynamics of snowboarding, including friction behaviour, collisions and more. The game will also offer avalanche simulations that are optimized for the hardware-accelerated physics of AGEIA's PhysX processor.

Ghost Recon will be using AGEIA technology to increase the realism of its combat environments, as will Arena Online and Yager Development's work-in-progress, Eye of the Storm. And Shiny Entertainment will be using NovodeX to develop the Matrix in their Path of Neo, an upcoming PC and console title. Path of Neo will use the NovodeX software to power its physics-based martial arts action and gunplay while those who get themselves a PhysX add-in will experience a highly accelerated execution of these environments and gameplay, enabling unprecedented interactivity in the game.

Along with the announcement of games that will use AGEIA's know-how there came word of the first board partner for their PhysX microchip. Mainboard monster ASUS have confirmed that the two companies are working on a slot in card that will carry the PhysX chip into he hearts of gaming machines. Products are expected to appear around the end of this year.

Physics has become an important aspect in many games and the march of progress looks in no danger of coming to a halt anytime soon. AGEIA and other companies in the same line of work are set to profit as advanced physics become a standard feature in all games. Judging by the amount of fun gamers have with titles that play around and make best use of the new opportunities that physics offers, people on both sides of the window are going to enjoy the increased physical intimacy.