2007-08 Friday 24th, Penumbra: Overture with HaptX coming soon.

[jens]

Reachin Technologies and Frictional Games announces the release of the HaptX™ enabled version of Penumbra: Overture - Episode One.

Stockholm, Sweden August 20, 2007 - Reachin Technologies and Frictional Games announces the release of the HaptX™ enabled version of Penumbra: Overture - Episode 1. Penumbra: Overture is a first person adventure game which focuses on story, immersion and puzzles. Instead of using violence to progress the player has to use his/her wits to guide the main character Philip on his quest to unravel the past. HaptX™ is a state-of-the art Haptics Engine, enabling the game player to actually feel and physically interact with the game environment and everything that he or she sees on screen.

"We immediately saw the huge potential of using HaptX in Penumbra Overture as soon as game was initially released. The actual game play, based on exploration, immersion and puzzles along with the extensive use of physics was a perfect fit for giving the player the means of physically interacting and experiencing the environment. I definitely feel that we have established a new milestone within computer games and how these are experienced", says Mats Lordin, CEO of Reachin Technologies. "

"We thought that HaptX combined with the Novint Falcon would fit very well with game-play mechanics of Penumbra: Overture. Since the start of the project we always thought the mouse lacked one dimension, and now we can get that along with a sense of touch as well, which is really cool", says Thomas Grip, co-founder of Frictional Games.

The new release of Penumbra Overture - Episode One will be displayed at GC Leipzig (August 23 - 26) and at the Tokyo Game Show (September 20 - 23). The game will soon also be available for purchase to owners of the Novint Falcon (http://www.novint.com).

About HaptX™ - (http://www.haptx.com)

HaptX™ provides the ability to feel computer generated objects on screen through specialized hardware such as the Novint Falcon. HaptX™ enables the player of the game to feel the details of the objects actual attributes such as surface textures, material characteristics and weight in an unprecedented realistic way. It also allows the user to physically experience any game in genuine 3D since all objects can be touched and sensed freely in all three dimensions including the ability to touch and feel the top, bottom or the back side of any object. HaptX™ integrates seamlessly with existing game and physics engines and presents endless exciting new possibilities in terms of the user experience and the intrigues and plots that can be created in both existing games as well as games of the future.

About Penumbra: Overture - (http://www.penumbra-overture.com)

Played from a first person viewpoint, Penumbra is very different from other adventure games. Not only is it powered by a 3D engine utilizing cutting edge technology, it also has an advanced physics system which allow for a never before seen environment interaction. The player can open drawers, pull levers, pick up objects and more using natural 3D device movements, creating a unique and highly interactive and immersive game world.


About Reachin Technologies

Reachin Technologies has developed state-of-the-art haptic enabled tools and applications since its inception in 1997. The company, based in Stockholm, Sweden, has extensive experience within MediTech and advanced R&D world wide. The company's newly released product HaptX™ embeds 10 years of development and know-how into a product and technology now available for the consumer entertainment market.

About Frictional Games

Frictional Games is a Swedish game developer with focus on creating innovative titles using their own IP and technology. Founded in 2006, Frictional Games has so far released Penumbra: Overture which was praised for its creative use of physics and strong horror atmosphere.

Exhibitions and Events

HaptX and Penumbra: Overture will be exhibited and displayed to the public at GC Leipzig (Leipzig, Germany, August 23 - 26) and Tokyo Game Show (Tokyo, Japan, September 20 - 23).

For more information on HaptX™ please visit http://www.haptx.com. For further information on Penumbra Overture please visit http://www.penumbra-overture.com.

[eliasfrost]

This is COOL!!! I want one of these!!!

[TheCollective15]

How exactly is this going to affect those who bought Penumbra already? Are these technologies going to be released in a patch, allowing those who have the special hardware the ability to use the HaptX-capable engine, or is it another game altogether?

This looks extremely interesting, I have to admit...the banging on the metal pipes is amazing...and I thought the interactive mouse was a great idea...this is incredibly unique...my, I want to see it on the Digg front page.

[WindexGlow]

You're going to need special equipment in order for that to work, the price will probably be increased than the normal amount.

[Yuhaney]

Can you guys show few videos what this HaptXâ„¢ really do with Penumbra: Overture and how it changes the game? 'Cause I don't understand it by reading it...
Or could someone explain it to me in simple way?

[Thomas]

Hopefully we will have some videos avaialable soon.

[jens]

How exactly is this going to affect those who bought Penumbra already? Are these technologies going to be released in a patch, allowing those who have the special hardware the ability to use the HaptX-capable engine, or is it another game altogether?

As far as I know it will be a new standalone game available for purchase to those that own/buy a Falcon.

We will not ourselves release a patch or a game with this technology.

[jens]

Can you guys show few videos what this HaptXâ„¢ really do with Penumbra: Overture and how it changes the game? 'Cause I don't understand it by reading it...
Or could someone explain it to me in simple way?

A quick attempt:

You have a machine on the table with an arm sticking out of it, you grab the arm and you can move it around in all dimension, so it's an input device like a mouse but you can also move it deeper into the screen in addition to horisontal and vertical movement.

The interesting thing is then that the arm has a bunch of motors working on it so with the right software the mouse/arm will know when it, for example, collides with a box. The motors will then make the arm hard to move so you have to apply more force to tip the box over. The motors can also do basic force feedback effects and small forces that simulate different surfaces such as slippery and sticky.

So in Penumbra: Overture this for example means that you can feel when your "hand" touches the door and you have to use more force to move the door open than you do when only moving the hand around in an empty space. Picking up a stone actually feels heavy and getting attack by a wolf makes the control shake etc

For lots of videos: http://youtube.com/results?search_query=...rch=Search

[Yuhaney]

A quick attempt:

You have a machine on the table with an arm sticking out of it, you grab the arm and you can move it around in all dimension, so it's an input device like a mouse but you can also move it deeper into the screen in addition to horisontal and vertical movement.

The interesting thing is then that the arm has a bunch of motors working on it so with the right software the mouse/arm will know when it, for example, collides with a box. The motors will then make the arm hard to move so you have to apply more force to tip the box over. The motors can also do basic force feedback effects and small forces that simulate different surfaces such as slippery and sticky.

So in Penumbra: Overture this for example means that you can feel when your "hand" touches the door and you have to use more force to move the door open than you do when only moving the hand around in an empty space. Picking up a stone actually feels heavy and getting attack by a wolf makes the control shake etc

For lots of videos: http://youtube.com/results?search_query=...rch=Search

OK, thank you for this! Now I know what this thing does. Sounds interesting, but the machine was kinda ugly...

[Silentphil7]

Hopefully we will have some videos avaialable soon.

I'll be waiting for those.