JEO 14/46
//// Revealing Project X's Secrets
[This article originally appeared at GameSpot News <http://headline.
gamespot.com/news>. Reprinted with permission.]
For months, gamers have been hearing about the mysterious system
called Project X. As reported earlier by GS News, it was shown at the
Winter CES behind closed doors at VM Labs' hotel suite. This reporter
was there to get a first-hand look at the company's technology, and
it's now possible to reveal new details about the Project X.
First of all, the Project X is a core technology. VM Labs is not a
hardware manufacturer, but instead will license Project X hardware out
to other OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) to manufacture. But
that's really where any similarity ends between what VM Labs is doing
and what 3DO did.
Coming from a video game industry background, a new system from a
virtually unknown company like VM Labs is met with skepticism. How can
what it's got possibly beat what Sony, Nintendo, and Sega have, or
will have in the next year or two?
No system specs have been released, so there's no telling how
powerful this system really is.... Will it get developer support, or
more importantly, Japanese developer support?
The demonstration of the hardware I was given was impressive. One of
the games running on Project X hardware was none other than id
Software's Doom.  Taking the game's source code (a Christmas present
from John Carmack to the world), the VM Labs guys had the game running
in two days - using about 15 percent of the system's power,
unoptimized - and playable.
While Doom won't be one of the Project X's games, it was shown as a
demonstration of how easy it is to port a PC title to the platform and
squeeze performance out of it in a short amount of time.
Those following Jeff Minter's site already know that he is working on
a game for the system. Being a big fan of Tempest 2000, I was happy to
see an enhanced version of Minter's update running on the Project X
hardware without any trace of polygons or pixels. It was running
smoothly and uniformly, with trademark Minter effects.
It was playable, but only to the point of moving across the Web (which
moved in a wave-like motion) and shooting baddies. Still, it looked
amazingly sharp.
There were also other demonstrations of what the system is capable of.
Animatek put together a rendered, moving dancer in only a few weeks -
extremely detailed, moving very fast and smoothly.
What this could mean for future games on the platform is that
characters could have a nice, rounded lifelike look rather than the
boxy "polygon" look that so many people associate with PlayStation and
N64 games. Just imagining a fighting game where the characters
actually look like they do in the opening cinema to the game is an
amazing prospect.
Aside from the demonstrations (which included a
more-impressive-than-it- sounds "moving balls over water" demo), what
really matters is software support. Currently, there are a dozen
software developers with development hardware - with more in line to
receive kits. Right now, the timetable is to get the technology in the
hands of consumers in late '98, with at least half a dozen games at
launch.
Will developers support this machine? From my perspective, after
having seen the technology and what it's capable of (a lot of which
hasn't been announced yet), I can't imagine any developer passing up
the opportunity to make games for the Project X once they've seen the
hardware's features and what it can do.
Project X is truly an open, developer-friendly platform that has huge
potential, after seeing demos done in days or only a few weeks.
There are going to be a few factors that make or break the Project X.
For example, price: Just like any new hardware, a video game system
needs to fall into the lucrative $200-$400 range. VM Labs is aiming
for the low end of that spectrum, which is great considering the power
the Project X is pushing. As 3DO learned up front, pricing too high at
the beginning is a mistake you never recover from, no matter how good
the system.
Project X will need a "killer app" at launch: New gaming platforms
just cannot survive without at least one must-have title. Sony did it
with Ridge Racer, Tekken, and Toshinden.
It will also need top developers: Killer apps coming from lead
developers will sweeten the deal.
Can it be done? Yes. Will it happen? That's all in the hands of VM
Labs and its OEMs. They have a capable machine; they just need to
spread the word.
We'll have more on Project X in the coming months.
By Chris Johnston, GameSpot News
Provided under license by SpotMedia Communications. Copyright
1997/1998 SpotMedia Communications. All rights reserved.
... "The shrew that was in the world of shadow has returned." -Kagato
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