LithTech Engine on the PlayStation2

Monolith Productions announced on Monday that it has joined Sony Computer Entertainment's Tools & Middleware program for the PlayStation2. The company's LithTech engine is now available for developers to create 3D games quickly and easily, as they will not have to reinvent technology from scratch for new projects. According to Monolith, the new system includes enhanced world- and model- building tools, newly designed rendering capability, and source code necessary to bring a game team's concepts and production schedule to quick completion.

"Monolith Productions has put a tremendous amount of work into the development and refinement of LithTech to provide developers with the premier tool for designing stunning 3D games," said Jason Hall, CEO of Monolith Productions. "LithTech clearly provides PlayStation2 content developers with a solid technology platform and allows them to focus on delivering killer game content."

The company also states that because of the similarities between the PlayStation2 and the PC versions of LithTech, PC developers familiar with traditional 3D engines can make the transition to console development rather easily.

"Other companies have chosen to simply port their 3D technology straight from PC to PlayStation2. But Monolith strongly believes a direct port will not provide game developers with a comprehensive, specialized set of tools," said Hall. "Our dedicated team of programmers, game designers, and technical- support experts have customized the LithTech engine in order to take full advantage of the incredible power of PlayStation2. Additionally, they are continually refining, tuning, and improving the engine to meet the rapidly changing demands of the video-game market."

The LithTech 3D Engine was used for the PC titles Shogo: M.A.D. and Blood 2, and it is being used to build upcoming games like Sanity, No One Lives Forever, and KISS: Psycho Circus. This means there is a possibility of some of these titles being remade for the PlayStation2 platform.