LucasArts announced today that it has partnered with Pixelux Entertainment Inc. to include Digital Molecular Matter (DMM) technology into all internal titles currently in development for next-generation video game consoles. DMM is exclusive to LucasArts beginning with Indiana Jones 2007 [working title] and continuing with the next Star Wars experience.
According to the two companies, "if a structure exists – big or small, dense or thin, floppy or rigid – DMM causes it to react in the same way dictated by reality. For example, unlike what you’d see in current-gen games, wood doesn’t simply break apart along a predetermined seam every time – rather, it splinters into countless pieces from the exact point of impact, also taking into account the amount of sheer force exerted."
DMM also provides:
- Multiple game assets automatically derived from a single archetype
- Ability to manipulate assets while highly compressed
- Automated Level of Detail Generation
- Integrated Physics with Material Destructibility and Fracture
- Soft-body or "floppy" Materials
- DMM Pipeline allows Assets to be generated in real-time or offline
- Implicit use of 3D Shader Hardware
- Tools to integrate into existing Asset Production Pipelines
- Ability to utilize multiprocessor hardware