Geomerics Illuminates Impressive PS4 Lighting Demo

It’s been almost exactly a month since we got our first look at the PlayStation 4, no doubt leaving many of you eager for your second glimpse at the console in action. Fortunately, lighting specialist Geomerics has released a demonstration of its new next generation real-time global illumination engine, Enlighten – and it looks unsurprisingly impressive.

There are two parts to the showcase, both focusing on God of War-esque temples. The real point of the demonstration is to highlight the capabilities of the lighting engine under different scenarios. Some of the shadow effects are particularly noteworthy, especially in the second video where the swaying of the curtains has an impact on the size and the shape of the silhouettes cast.

“We are delighted to be working on PS4” said Geomerics’ founder Dr. Chris Doran. “The hardware is everything we were hoping for in a next generation console, and a huge step forward from the current generation. Real-time global illumination was a big deal for games running on the current generation of hardware, but it required developers to make some compromises.”

He continued: “With PS4, those days are behind us. We can finally unleash the full power of Enlighten, and allow game developers working on PS4 games to bring far deeper levels of dynamism and quality to game lighting. We cannot wait to see what developers produce with Enlighten.”

Enlighten has already been used in a number of titles, including Battlefield 3 and Need for Speed: The Run. The technology joins the likes of PhysX, Bitsquid, Unreal Engine 4, and Xaitment, all of which have been extended to support the PS4. Check out the demonstrations in the space below, and let us know if you’re impressed in the comments section.