With the advent of a new era in console gaming, everyone has been presented with what we are to assume is the "next-generation." But what is next-gen, really? Is it the graphics? The hardware? Or perhaps the innovation (not likely)?

Well LucasArts and NaturalMotion are teaming up to bring gamers a taste of what this new age of gaming is all about. The Indiana Jones universe will soon be played out in gaming glory with a new animation technology that is unprecedented. They're calling it euphoria, and it seeks to re-invent how you look at behavioral modeling.

So what is it anyway? Euphoria is an adaptive animation technology that can sort of be described as rag doll physics, except for live models. They're not "dead" when they do things such as brace for a fall or cling to walls as they plummet down a void. The models with this technology react to everything around them: when punched in the face they'll stammer backwards or trip over something. But don't count them out: the models will literally shake themselves off and come back at you.

This is essentially adding a much more dynamic layer on top of the animation we've considered "next-gen." Behaviors and intelligent reactions are the next step, all dynamically calculated. Be sure to note this is not AI, but rather the physics that enables the AI to react the way it does. From the article: "The AI is programmed by the developer, in this case LucasArts, into the euphoria models to control them."

[Thanks, Fan]