WiiNintendo

Sure I poked a little fun at Carnival games in my tough decision editorial, but honestly, as far as mini-game collections go, it looks solid. Apparently the Havok physics engine was used in the game (also used in Brawl), and a press release was issued to describe it:

Carnival Games TM comes to your WiiTM with plenty of Havok!

Dublin, 29th August 2007– Powered by Havok, the premier provider of interactive software and services for digital media creators in the games and movie industries, the latest Wii™ Multiplayer game, Carnival Games™, published by the Global Star division of 2K and developed by Cat Daddy Games, was released this week. Created exclusively for Nintendo’s Wii, this physics rich game is set to be one of the big hits of 2007 with people of all ages.

Carnival Games offers both single player and multiplayer options in more than 25 games and is geared towards the whole family. These games are a take on all of the midway favorites you would find at the fair such as Test Your Strength, Shooting Gallery, Alley Ball, Milk Bottle Throw, Dunk Tank, Clown Splash and a fortune teller and are enabled by advanced game physics from Havok combined with Wii Remote™ actions. Adding to the carnival fun, the player can win a series of virtual prizes such as pirate swords and stuffed animals depending on the score achieved. Characters can also be personalised, adding to the fun.

“The Havok physics engine in Carnival Games doesn’t just make things look good – it’s an essential part of game play,” said co-developers Harley Howe and Pat Wilkinson of Cat Daddy Games. “Havok’s rigid body dynamics, including collision detection, allow us to build experiences for the player that are as realistic and fun as possible. Such things as bottles collapsing and falling in the Milk Bottle Throw, and bowling balls spinning and rolling in Bowler Coaster, all leverage rigid body dynamics.”

“The team at Cat Daddy Games has cool physics in this fun game, creating realistic opportunities for the player to take full advantage of the capabilities of the Wii Remote,” said David O’Meara, CEO of Havok. “As a licensed Wii third party provider, we are delighted at the opportunity to showcase the benefits of the use of physics in gaming to another genre of games,” he added.