Loading ...HDR Thief
If any series of games has pushed the envelope on the FPS genre….its the Thief series. I would almost go as far as saying it created a new genre unto itself. Solid storytelling set in an interesting universe, with a whole range of new game features, was enough to win a solid fan base.
My only gripe with Thief was the lousy AI. You could hide in a 2-inch shadow and a guard would pass straight past you. Also the engine did not seem to promote multiplayer game play as it would be all to easy to see your opponents sneaking around the place.
At last a technology has arrived to change all that….I hope! HDR or High Dynamic Range is a new technology being developed by the good folk at Valve. It will debut in the next serving of Half Life 2. Put simply it deals with our perception of light. Our eyes, like a camera, open and close based on the amount light we are exposed to. In a FPS this is not the case. With HDR it will become a reality! If you jump from a shadow into a lighted area you will be dazzled as your eyes adapt to the change. Also if in a bright room, you will not notice a deadly thief lurking in the shadows, until you move closer and you eyes adapt to the lower lighting.
This technology must and shall be implemented in a new Thief serving…..YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!!
Have a look: http://www.valvesoftware.com
That sounds like a brilliant addition to a game like thief and would certainly hold the key to making it a multiplayer experience. Other than that can anyone think of any other cool uses for such an addition?
Comment by Phil — April 17, 2005 @ 4:58 pm