Toyota has created its own game engine. But before you get your hopes up about Yaris 2, the purpose is to improve its digital in-vehicle systems.
Flourite was developed by Toyota Connected North America, Very Good Ventures, and the Automotive Grade Linux project. The carmaker has been quietly working on the game engine for quite some time, but has now been revealed by Japanese site Game*Spark. Flourite works with the UI framework Flutter and the Dart language to “yield high performance” even on lower-end hardware, running 3D graphics comparable to those of a video game console and an interactive UI within a vehicle system.
So much for a future with fewer screens and more buttons.
Toyota’s own game engine was born out of necessity. Apparently, Toyota initially wanted to use an established game engine, like Unreal Engine or Unity, but the licensing fees were too high, and the systems were resource-intensive. With Epic urging automakers to use Unreal Engine for in-vehicle interfaces, many carmakers have begun hiring game designers familiar with these engines to create improved driver experiences. However, Toyota has just created its own game engine, which is likely to focus heavily on car-related features and functionality.
Will we be getting Toyota video games?
Toyota created Flourite to improve the displays in its cars. A game engine can enhance digital displays by mapping the environment around the car or by providing step-by-step 3D tutorials, according to Very Good Ventures’ Jamie Kerber.
However, it’s an open-source engine. This means that even if Toyota has no plans to make games, game devs may be able to use Flourite to create their own. First is its Entity Component System (ECS) core, written in C++ and optimized for “weaker hardware.” Then there’s the “model-defined trigger touch zones,” which will make 3D interface building “a lot simpler,” especially when creating clickable areas in Blender. There is also “console-grade 2D rendering” powered by Google’s Filament and Flutter’s “Hot Reload,” which makes updating scenes much faster.
Don’t expect Toyota to make a racing game any time soon, but we may see some game developers explore Flourite to make their own car-themed games. The Flourite website boasts its simplicity, directed at game developers who may want to take advantage of its “reduced simplicity.”
This hasn’t stopped the gaming community from begging for a Toyota-licensed Initial D game, however.
