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VIDEO: 3DMark creator unveils Shattered Horizon game
Futuremark announces the first release from its game studio; a zero-gravity multiplayer first person shooter
Futuremark’s 3DMark benchmarks may be very pretty, but they also have a reputation for being synthetic and not bearing any relation to real games. This is soon about to change, though, as the benchmark’s creator, Futuremark, has now unveiled the first game to come from the Futuremark Games Studio that it launched in January. It’s called Shattered Horizon, and it’s a zero-gravity multiplayer first person shooter.
The premise of the game is that you have to battle for survival among millions of asteroids in space, following a dramatic Moon mining disaster near the Earth, which has spewed billions of tons of rocks into the arena. The battlefield will include remains of the International Space Station, as well as the asteroids. Futuremark promises that the game will feature simple controls, as well as complete freedom of movement. The company also says that gamers will be rewarded for using tactics appropriate to the zero-gravity setting, which would be otherwise impossible.
Lead game designer Antti Summala explains that ‘In zero gravity the player is set free to play in new ways. Complete freedom of movement and unique level design create an experience that is at once familiar to anyone who loves the FPS style, and yet strikingly different to any game they’ve played before.’
Of course, anyone who’s run 3DMark Vantage on their system will know that it’s a hardware-hungry beast, but Futuremark claims that ‘gamers need not spend a fortune to enjoy the unique gameplay,’ while also saying that the game ‘will showcase stunning graphics on high-end PCs.’ According to Futuremark, the developer’s ‘intimate knowledge of the latest PC hardware’ has allowed the company to ‘tune the game’s engine to extract impressive visuals on a wide range of systems.’
Lead artist on Shattered Horizon, Mikael Bowellan, expanded further on the graphics, saying that ‘our stunning lighting effects create the look of real space for both the natural and man-made objects. We’ve taken existing concepts in weaponry, propulsion and spacesuit design to make the world of Shattered Horizon even more convincing and believable.’
You can see the trailer for the game on the next page, as well as a couple of screenshots below. In terms of style, it looks very similar to the New Calico test in 3DMark Vantage, which featured similar graphics, not to mention a huge asteroid field, although Futuremark hasn't mentioned which DirectX version the game will use yet.
