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GDC: Nvidia, Havok Team For GPU-Powered Physics Solution

Video game physics middleware firm Havok has announced that it is partnering with Nvidia to show a version of its <a href="http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php...

Simon Carless, Blogger

March 20, 2006

1 Min Read
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Video game physics middleware firm Havok has announced that it is partnering with Nvidia to show a version of its previously announced Havok FX GPU-based physics technology at Game Developers Conference in San Jose this week. The result of an ongoing engineering collaboration between Havok and Nvidia, Havok FX enables the simulation of dramatically-detailed physical phenomena in PC games when powered by GPUs such as Nvidia's GeForce 7 or 6 Series GPUs and further amplified with Nvidia SLI multi-GPU technology. The Havok FX product is currently in early release to select developers, and is expected to be available this summer. The product is designed for GPUs supporting Shader Model 3.0, and allows the implementation of sophisticated physical phenomenon such as debris, smoke, and fluids that add detail and believability to game environments, according to the two firms. Interestingly, the GDC annoucement for Havok FX is clearly to present itself as an alternative to physics hardware and software firm Ageia, which is presenting its own special 'PPU' PC physics hardware, which includes a standalone PC card, at a number of major events this week, with announcements to follow. Jeff Yates, VP of Product Management at Havok, commented: "We've believed for some time that GPU technology had the potential to simulate physical effects and our collaboration with NVIDIA has proven that. The large installed base of Shader Model 3 class GPUs and momentum by NVIDIA in the market make Havok FX an attractive solution for game developers looking for hardware-accelerated physics."

About the Author

Simon Carless

Blogger

Simon Carless is the founder of the GameDiscoverCo agency and creator of the popular GameDiscoverCo game discoverability newsletter. He consults with a number of PC/console publishers and developers, and was previously most known for his role helping to shape the Independent Games Festival and Game Developers Conference for many years.

He is also an investor and advisor to UK indie game publisher No More Robots (Descenders, Hypnospace Outlaw), a previous publisher and editor-in-chief at both Gamasutra and Game Developer magazine, and sits on the board of the Video Game History Foundation.

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