As the video game industry continues to adapt to the rising costs of next-gen game development, reliance on middleware has become quite common. You may not realize it, but some of the Xbox 360’s most prominent titles utilize various middleware to push the hardware’s capabilities and now we have word that new engines will be showcased at the Game Developers Conference 2007.

The first of which is Geomerics’ “Enlighten” software that is specifically developed for the Xbox 360. The goal of the project by Geomerics is to provide enhanced capabilities of rendering physics-based dynamic lighting to future 360 titles. Enlighten gives the ability for developers to dramatically change the way lighting is handled. Instead of pre-rendered illumination in environments they can now enable the 360 to compute these effects at run time, dramatically enhancing realism and atmosphere. We’ve got a picture below of the Enlighten engine in action.

In addition to the presentation of Geomerics’ middleware, Eurogamer has learned that an engine you will no doubt be familiar with will be making an appearance at GDC, the Havok Physics Engine. The latest iteration of the engine, Havok 4.5, is optimized for next-gen platforms and developer-friendly. One of Havok’s representatives added,

“We’re very excited about Havok behavior. I think the most interesting thing one of the beta clients said to me was, instead of artists having to get their head around the game engine, it’s actually designed for the way they work.”

Previously, we saw what developers were capable of using Havok in games like The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Crackdown, and Dead Rising. We’re excited what the future holds for realistic physics and lighting middleware with Havok and Enlighten. Expect to hear more about Havok 4.5 and Enlighten following GDC07.

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