The Technology behind Star Wars: The Force Unleashed

Last week LucasArts released a demo for yet another video game set in the ever-expanding Star Wars universe. Now, I know what some of you are thinking; this ain’t exactly gadget news, buddy. Well, truth be told, The Force Unleashed utilizes some of the most advanced AI and physics ever combined in one title and on those grounds alone, it’s worth exploring just what makes this title a potential hit.

In terms of artificial intelligence, LucasArts have implemented NaturalMotion Ltd.’s euphoria engine; a diverse behavioural simulator that adds a degree of unpredictability to gameplay. In practical terms, euphoria instantiates the notion of a free-thinking individual as a living, breathing storm trooper. Video games tend to be permeated by AI that, despite what the developers would have you believe, are merely two dimensional; they’re either trying to kill you or are dead themselves. Thus, there is but a single behaviour. What euphoria provides is a natural sense of self-preservation as well as instinctual response. When the player uses the Force to brush aside a contingent of storm troopers each individual is going to attempt to stabilize himself, either by shifting his feet or grabbing a hold of something life a railing or a crate or even a fellow trooper (offering a rare, intimate glimpse into the lives of storm troopers). Furthermore, such reflexive reactions are based not upon scripts or predefined animation but in real-time simulation (ie the game world itself).

The second aspect of The Force Unleashed that is pushing the boundaries of gaming technology is Digital Molecular Matter or DMM by Pixelux. Essentially, videogames have had a pretty limited relationship with different materials and substances in the past. Level designers would simply create the physical shape of an environment and then simply texture the surfaces with different styles; a picture of steel would be replicated over and over to cover a wall, or a graphic of a piece of oak would cover a door. The result was that despite appearances, the underlying material was precisely the same. If you wanted wood to break you’d create a shape that was told to break in a predetermined fashion. It didn’t behave like wood, it was simply a shape covered with a picture that was told to fall into sixteen pieces in these specific sections. That was last generation and while developers have really pushed the physics behind substances, DMM goes even farther. Using the Force, a steel door with actually bend in the direction it’s being pushed and in response to the severity of the force. Wood actually splinters, such that if a character is too heavy to hang from a beam, it will snap in pieces in response to that unbearable weight. Stone structures don’t just collapse but crumble apart. And perhaps the best illustration is that of a virtual Jabba the Hut bouncing, jostling and jiggling about as his massive gelatinous form moves about in perfect physical fashion. Thus, materials are finally being represented for how they are comprised, right down to the molecule. Rather than blasting open a door, you’re actually knocking aside steel and wood and while that might not seem like a massive difference, it actually fills a void that has existed for far too long.

While both of these features may seems rudimentary, they in fact combine to make a much of accurate instance of reality. You can’t always see these things in screen shots and even gameplay videos fail to do them justice, but actually playing with it, you begin to find yourself immersed. And that’s the hallmark of a great game.