How do we know if something is real?
It is a telling question that is posed by a seemingly real-life Keanu Reeves early on in The Matrix Awakens, a tech demo built in the new Unreal Engine 5. The interactive experience was written by Lana Wachowski, the co-writer and director of the original The Matrix trilogy, and stars Matrix co-star Carrie-Anne Moss. It will be free to play on the PS5 and Xbox Series X / S.
In an exclusive interview with The Verge, the creators of the upcoming Matrix movie talked about making the demo, how technology is changing the way we live, and what to expect from the movie. He thinks there should be a modern Matrix video game, that Cyberpunk 2077 players should have sex with his character, and that he thinks Facebook shouldn't co-opt the metaverse.
The next major version of Unreal Engine is coming next year and The Matrix Awakens is designed to showcase what is possible with it. It starts with a scripted introduction by Wachowski, followed by a car chase scene and an open-world experience where you can play as one of the metahuman characters.
We believe in big, massive open worlds for more than just games.
Kim Libreri, who worked on the special effects for the original Matrix trilogy, said that the demo is to demonstrate how the technology can be used to blend scripted stories with games. He tells The Verge that they believe in big, massive open worlds. You want to be able to navigate huge spaces like you can in our world. We made it easier to do that in the engine.
The main experience in The Matrix Awakens is not a game but a tech demo that will be released for developers to build on and replicate. Everything in the virtual city is fully loaded no matter where you are in the city, down to the detail of a chain link fence in an alley. All of the moving vehicles, people, and lighting in the city are generated by artificial intelligence, which is a breakthrough that means lighting is no longer a niche art form.
An industry with more cross pollination between entertainment and experiences is richer.
Unreal Engine updates will allow developers to use the same, hyper- realistic virtual assets across different experiences. It is part of the goal to build the metaverse. A car company can make a simulation for a racing game or even a blockbuster movie by loading the same vehicle it creates. I think an industry with a lot of different types of entertainment is richer.
