Agreement between Reachin Technologies and Paradox Interactive to embed HaptX in Penumbra: Black Plague

Jan 9, 2008 11:49 GMT  ·  By

This report just came in saying that Reachin Technologies and Paradox Interactive have announced today an agreement to embed HaptX in Paradox Interactive's upcoming first-person horror title Penumbra: Black Plague. Using the Novint Falcon controller, powered by the Haptics Engine, gamers can physically feel their gameplay.

"Our cooperation with developer Frictional Games started with Penumbra: Overture and we are incredibly pleased that both Paradox Interactive and Frictional Games, opted to continue using HaptX in the final chapter of the Penumbra series. This type of game is a perfect fit for our technology and gives the player the means to physically interact and experience the environment like never before. We have since pushed the boundaries of our technology further and look forward to seeing the impact on Black Plague ", said Mats Lordin, CEO of Reachin Technologies.

Penumbra: Black Plague has an advanced physics system which allows for a unique environment interaction. That's why the Novint Falcon controller is perfect for this game. The player can open drawers, pull levers, pick up objects and more using natural 3D device movements, in a dark horror setting.

Penumbra: Black Plague is focused around story, suspense, immersion and puzzles, according to the official report. Instead of using violence to progress, Paradox can confirm that the player has to use their wits to guide Philip (the main guy) throughout the game. HaptX and the Novint Falcon comes in at this point to further enhance the spine-chilling atmosphere and player interaction with everything on-screen.

As for HaptX, it is a state of the art Haptics Engine, which, through specialized hardware such as the Novint Falcon, enables gamers to physically feel explosions, gravity, recoils from weapons as well as the details of individual objects such assurface textures, material characteristics and even weight, during gameplay. Using it, gamers can even touch and feel the top, bottom or the back side of objects within the game.

Penumbra: Black Plague is scheduled for release in February. The HaptX Edition will be released on April 16th and can be played with the Novint Falcon controller. Have a look at the Novint Falcon controller in the image above (click to enlarge), or have a closer look at it on the official website right here, where you can see it in action too.