Rockstar to Use NaturalMotion Technology in Upcoming Games

CVG reports that future Rockstar titles will feature NaturalMotion technologies in an effort to make the games more realistic. Specifically, Rockstar will be licensing the 'Euphoria' engine, an advanced physics and substance simulation model already in use in several upcoming LucasArts titles. There's no word in the article on which games will feature the technology, but this certainly seems like something that would fit well with the sandbox style games of the GTA series. " Employed in the recently revealed The Force Unleashed, euphoria simulates the human body and motor nervous system. It means that in-game characters are fully interactive and always react differently to external influences, ultimately leading to a more life-like experience for the player. Specific reference to how euphoria 'uses the processing power of PLAYSTATION 3 and Xbox 360' to simluate the human body and motor nervous system was made in the announcement. While Rockstar is yet to name games using euphoria, its integration of the tech is well advanced."

Re:good news!

[Chris Burke]

I assumed at first that they were referring to the control interface and using the Sixaxis controller's motion sensing ability. Which on the one hand would be good, get a more immersive experience by bludgeoning hookers. But then I remembered that this is Rockstar, the guys who came up with the control scheme in GTA, so "natural" would be the last term applied to it. They'd have you jerking the controller up and down to shoot your weapon while on foot, but you'd have to spin it around your head to do the same thing while driving, unless it was a motorcycle and then spinning it around your head would make you pop wheelies.