November 30, 2006
INTROVERSION ANNOUNCES AMBX
VERSION OF DEFCON
Introversion Software Ltd. announced
today that it was teaming up with Philips to produce an amBX version of DEFCON.
In time, the company also hopes to amBX enable their two previous critically
acclaimed titles: Darwinia and Uplink.
Created by Philips, amBX is the
latest in ambient intelligence technology, designed to bring the game world into
the immediate present of the gamer’s living room. Using a scripting language,
software engine and architecture, amBX will be able to deliver a full ‘sensory
surround experience’ by creating hardware that can control the light, colour,
sound and even air flow of your surroundings. Developers will work with a range
of amBX PC Gaming Peripherals products including LED colour-controlled lighting,
rumble peripherals and desktop fans, which can be strategically placed around
the player’s room.
‘In all honesty we were initially a
bit skeptical about amBX – a lot of peripherals have been released on the PC
that have added very little to the experience’ remarked Mark Morris, Managing
Director of Introversion, ‘but we recently visited the AmBX team in person and
sat in their demo room, and the stuff they showed us just blew us away. The
potential for this technology is enormous; we have only begun to scratch the
surface, and there is undoubtedly a lot of exciting further experimentation we
can do to maximize the gaming experience.’
DEFCON is the latest offering from
indie-developers, Introversion, which enjoyed a successful launch in September
2006. DEFCON is an online multiplayer strategy game simulating global
thermonuclear war. The game, inspired by the 1983 cult-classic film Wargames,
superbly evokes the tension, paranoia and suspicion surrounding the Cold War
era.
‘amBX and DEFCON are ideally suited
to each other’, commented Chris Delay, Lead Developer at Introversion, ‘With our
third game DEFCON we spent a huge amount of time trying to create the atmosphere
of being buried deep within an underground bunker, slowly ending the world in
the last war that will ever be fought. amBX is ideally suited to enhancing that
atmosphere, taking it out of the confines of what’s right in front of you
on-screen, and expanding it into your whole room.’
Combining DEFCON with amBX brings
the whole messy scenario of nuclear war direct to the player’s bedroom. Flashes
of blinding white light and gentle rumbles indicate when your missiles have hit
home. Whilst a spine-chilling rush of air announces the raining down of fallout
on millions of innocents. Meanwhile the dread of realisation approaches as the
lights fade, the music slows, and your population withers. DEFCON amBX is a
harrowing experience that will ensure you’re never so blasé about thermonuclear
global war again.
