Havok 4.0, the leading gameplay physics and animation solution from Havok, has been licensed to Blizzard Ent.
Havok 4.0 will add power and flexibility to our development process, said Mike Morhaime, president/co-founder of Blizzard Ent. Were looking forward to utilizing this technology with our upcoming games.
Released in July this year, Havok 4.0 is a modular suite of artist tools and run-time technology that enhances Havoks industry-leading gameplay physics and animation products (Havok Physics and Havok Animation). It also introduced two new products: Havok Behavior and Havok FX.
With Havok 4.0, game developers can select from a modular suite of technologies and tools spanning game-play physics, character animation, behaviors and vfx, optimized for the widest range of platforms, including Sony Computer Ent. Inc.s much-anticipated PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system, Microsofts 64-bit Windows operating system and now Apple Mac.
Jeff Yates, Havoks vp, product management, said, The Mac is an important piece of technology and because of the cross-platform nature of Havoks technology, the port to Mac was easy to do. Furthermore, Blizzard Entertainments commitment to OS X and to the Mac community is a good indication of the growth potential of the Mac as a games platform. Blizzard has always put out great games on the Mac, and we look forward to Havok becoming a part of that tradition.
Havok (www.havok.com) is the premier provider of interactive software and services for digital media creators in the games and movie industries. Havoks modular suite of tools gives power to the creator, making sure that our clients can reach new standards of realism and interactivity, while mitigating the overall cost and risks associated with creating todays leading videogames and movies.
Havok works in partnership with the worlds best-known game developers. including Sony, THQ, Microsoft, EA, Ubisoft and Activision. Havoks products have been used on HALO 2, HALF LIFE 2, THE ELDER SCROLLS IV: OBLIVION, AGE OF EMPIRES III and CARS.
Havok products have also been used to drive vfx in movies such as POSEIDON, THE MATRIX, TROY, KINGDOM OF HEAVEN and CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY. Havok provides the dynamics driving 3ds Max from Autodesk Media and Ent.
Havok was founded in 1998 in Dublin, Ireland, and has offices in San Francisco, San Antonio, Stockholm, Calcutta, Munich and Tokyo.
Best known for blockbuster hits including WORLD OF WARCRAFT and the WARCRAFT, STARCRAFT and DIABLO series, Blizzard Ent. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Vivendi Games, is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
