We all know there's a huge disparity between games based on movies and vice versa. A movie based on a game (or the other way round) inevitably falls short of expectations because it was only riding on the success of the first. In the last SIGGRAPH, this is the gap that LucasArts and Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) are aiming to bridge.

In a panel between the two companies, the discussion held shows that there's been huge progress in that area.

Film and game collaboration is a commitment they have stuck to for years and has increased in speed ever since the two have moved into the same building in San Francisco two years ago.

The panel in SIGGRAPH discussed a number of things, including a huge advance in the tech they use for the collaboration between film and games. The programs stem back from years ago and have evolved to cater to the collaborative process, so it's exciting to see how this would affect The Force Unleashed.

They also emphasized a move on simulation-based gameplay. They have expressed that a number of future games will be based on NaturalMotion's engine "Euphoria," the same engine that powers the Rockstar Games. They also demonstrated Pixelux, a program that simulates the manipulation of objects according to the material it's made of, allowing for 3D effects even more faithful to its real-world counterpart.

We can expect a lot more from the collaboration of these two giants. We should see more solid proof of their progress once Star Wars: Force Unleashed (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PS2, DS) comes out so watch out for that one.