Intel buys Dublin games firm Havok
Dublin games middleware company Havok is to be taken over by chip manufacturer Intel.
The deal will see the company that grew out of Trinity College become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Intel.
Havok’s software tools have been used on games such as BioShock,
Harry Potter, Half Life 2, MotorStorm, and Second Life, and upcoming
titles such as Halo 3, Alan Wake, and Indiana Jones (pictured above).
FULL STORY: Dublin gaming firm snapped up by Intel
Irish computer games websites
We’ve updated our links page, mostly containing links to Irish games websites.
It now includes Irish news/review games sites, community and LAN
sites, Irish sites with games sections, games cafes/centres, game
retailers in Ireland, local official console sites, and links to games
companies based in Ireland. There’s also a selection of international
games sites.
Games Toaster’s links section can be found here, or by using the link on the side bar.
To make a suggestion of a site we’ve missed, use the comments section below, or the ‘email me’ link on the side bar.
XNA games system showcased in Dublin
Irish developers were shown a demonstration of Microsoft’s
cross platform XNA system at the Irish Microsoft Technologies
Conference last week at Cineworld on Parnell Street in Dublin.
Robert Burke of Microsoft Ireland
(pictured above with Martha Rotter of Microsoft Ireland) used PCs, Xbox
360, Guitar Hero and Wii controllers to demo the XNA tool set.
FULL STORY: Enn.ie
Kapooki Games feature on GD.ie
Kapooki
Games is the focus of the latest feature article on Gamedevelopers.ie.
The feature highlights the back-story of how the former Irish games
developer went into liquidation in 2005, with debts of over 700,000 euro…
How
a small start-up studio, located over a tattoo parlour in Dublin, went
from being one of Ireland’s brightest game development hopes to
another casualty of a ruthless industry. Pavel Barter reunites Dave
Stafford, Shane Whelan, Gearoid Coughlan, and Ger Lawlor, of Kapooki
Games. - gamedevelopers.ie
Dare to be Digital open day tomorrow
An
open day for the student computer games competition, Dare to be
Digital, will take place from midday tomorrow at the Digital Hub’s
Digital Exchange in Dublin.
As Games Toaster reported last May prototypes will be constructed in Dublin this year, with 9 of the 10 weeks of the competition spent in Ireland.
“Rather than just sending one team to Scottish finals, we will be
selecting six teams from the whole island of Ireland to be
represented”, commented Michael Hallissy, of the Digital Hub back in
May, “The six teams will take part in a mentoring and support program
in Dublin during which they will build their game. Support will be
provided by Irish and UK games companies. At the end of a nine-week
support programme, they will then travel to the University of Abertay
for the grand final”.
Last year at the international competition in Scotland, a Derry based team, Rule of Thumb, won in three categories — ‘Best Use of Technology’, ‘Best Team Player’, and team member McNicholas won ‘Best Artist’. For more details visit daretobedigitalireland.com.
Derry computer games studio launches
Dark Water Studios, a start-up independent games developer, launched this week in Derry.
Dark Water are already working on an unnamed PC multi-player game
which is partly funded by Northern Ireland’s Department of
Enterprise. The company also says it is in the early stages of
prototyping a next generation console and PC title.
The venture is headed by Mike Brown, with technology manager Paul
Houbart and lead animator Rory Fellowes — together they bring over 50
years of experience to Dark Water. Currently employing ten people their
aim is to expand to 25 by the end of the year.
The company is understood to be an unofficial spin-off from Instinct Technology, a Derry-based games middleware firm previously called Torc Interactive.
“Our aim is to bring together the cream of available game-creation
talent; by drawing from Northern Ireland’s existing talent pool by
using the quality of life offered by this unique location to attract
the cream of overseas talent and by making good use of the
opportunities for outsourcing and remote working which modern
technology allows” commented Brown.
Havok update from Dublin games firm
Dublin-based Havok have released an update to their physics and animation tools for PlayStation 3, Xbox360, and Nintendo Wii.
‘Havok 4.5′ has been optimized for the PlayStation 3, Sony’s new console soon to be launched in Ireland.
“We made sure that we met our customers’ demand for a PS3
optimized version of Havok as soon as possible” commented David
O’Meara, Havok CEO. “Havok 4.5’s ability to allow developers to
massively scale game content will make it possible to develop ever more
compelling, realistic and complex worlds that harness the full power of
new generation architectures”.
After an agreement with Sony in 2005, Havok Physics middleware comes with
PS3 ‘Software Development Kit’ for games developers working on the console.
The Dublin company’s software was used on last year’s high
profile games such as Oblivion, F.E.A.R., Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell
Double Agent, and Superman Returns, and PS3 titles such as MotorStorm
(pictured above), Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom, and Tony Hawk’s Project
8.
DemonWare expands Ubisoft relationship
Dublin-based DemonWare has expanded their relationship with
publisher Ubisoft. The games publisher will now use multiplayer
middleware by DemonWare in multiple games across all formats.
“The combination of our creative talents with DemonWare’s innovative
technology will benefit the players first and foremost with original
multiplayer features on our upcoming games” commented Olivier Chappe,
Director-Online Technology Group, Ubisoft.
Athlone developer Frantic to fulltime
Frantic Games
, based in Athlone, are to take their PC game ‘1944 D-Day Operation Overlord’ into fulltime development. The developer is entering into DIT’s HotHouse program.
Operation Overlord is set to be a first person shooter on a massive
scale, with over 200,000 units, and a 24 hours battle. The firm is also
planning ‘The Educational Cut’ version of the game for use in the
classroom environment.
“1944 D-Day Operation Overlord
is the simulation of an event. It does not strive to tell the story of
one unit or one squad. Instead it endeavours to tell the story of the
battle” states Frantic’s website, “The game at its core is driven
by a highly adaptable AI system, this AI system controls over 250,000
units in real-time. Moving them all around the battlefield and adapting
their orders, objectives and tasks to an every evolving battlefield”.
Kotaku.com’s best poster of GDC
Dublin games company DemonWare wins kotaku.com’s GDC: Best Poster of Show award [found vie here]:
