LGF: MotorStorm rolled out of garage

LONDON--Attendees of the London Game Developers Conference were treated to a live demonstration of MotorStorm on Wednesday as part of a session on applied physics in games. Developer Evolution Studios was highlighting how the PlayStation 3 title used the Havok engine to create object destruction, environmental deformation, and character animations in the game.

Evolution's Scott Kirkland argued the case for middleware such as Havok in the creation of next-generation titles, as he said it allowed the developer to concentrate on creating the game itself. The engine has been used primarily to tackle the destruction of vehicles and roadside objects, in addition to the rag-doll physics of motorcycle riders. The demonstrations used by the team re-created these elements in an impressively realistic way.

The majority of the presentation focused on the technical issues surrounding these elements in MotorStorm, but attendees were also treated to a number of video clips of the game in action. The clear highlight of the session was a live demonstration of the game played on PlayStation 3 development hardware. Using a motorcross bike in a race against 10 other vehicles, the assembled developers were able to see some of the advanced destruction of cars, which would buckle and bend upon impact, and the rag-doll physics of the rider as he fell to the ground.

After the demonstration, Kirkland confirmed that the game would support the motion-sensitive features of the PS3's Sixaxis controller. However, Kirkland would not be drawn on how this has been implemented into the game. The game is due out in the US and Japan later this year and will launch alongside the PS3 in the UK and Europe next March