Havok (software)

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{{Infobox Software | name = Havok Game Dynamics SDK | logo = Image:Havoklogo.gif | screenshot = | caption = | developer = | latest_release_version = 3.0 | latest_release_date = | latest_preview_version = | latest_preview_date = | operating_system = | genre = middleware | license = | website = Havok site }}

The Havok Game Dynamics SDK, better known as simply Havok, is a middleware physics engine (in this case Dynamical simulation) designed for computer and video games by allowing interaction between objects or other characters in real-time. By using collision detection Havok allows for more lifelike worlds and animations, such as ragdoll physics, that adds to the overall game by making these interactions appear natural.

Havok is available for the Microsoft Xbox, the Nintendo GameCube, the Sony PlayStation 2, and the PC, although it has yet to be released for Mac. Havok Version 1.0 was unveiled at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in 2000. Version 2.0 was launched at the GDC in 2003.

Since the SDK's launch in 2000, it has been used in over 100 video and computer games. Those games have primarily been action titles of the first-person shooter genre, but Ensemble Studios incorporated it into its real-time strategy game, Age of Empires III [1]. The engine has also been used in movies such as The Matrix trilogy [2]. Havok can also be found in Autodesk Media & Entertainment's 3ds max as a bundled plug-in called reactor. A plugin for Autodesk Media & Entertainment's Maya animation software is also available.

Havok is also the name of the company that develops the physics tools. The company was founded in 1998 by Hugh Reynolds and Dr. Steven Collins of the computer science department in Trinity College, Dublin. Research and Development is carried out in Dublin, with a sales and support office in San Francisco. The Havok development studios are licensed middle-ware developers on the Sony PlayStation 2, Microsoft Xbox, and Nintendo GameCube platforms.

Havok physics are most noticeable in games such as Half Life 2, Psi Ops and Destroy All Humans, where the player can use either psychic powers or fictional technology to manipulate many objects in the game, raising them, then moving or throwing them around the environment.

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