The Conduit looks sharp, plays however you want it to (needs publisher?)
Wednesday, July 16th, 2008 at 8:28am by Jack
Rawmeat Cowboy over at GoNintendo got his hands on the Conduit, the ambitious FPS for Wii from the dedicated guys at High Voltage, and he was, to put it succinctly, pretty impressed with what he saw.
To quote a hardcore gamer, “how were the graphics?” Not bad, he said, noting all the little attentions to detail the High Voltage team had put into the Conduit. You want real-time cloud movement in the scope of your sniper sight? You got it.
The controls weren’t even final build yet, but RMC didn’t care. You can map any control to any button. You can also control certain weapons’ shots using the IR pointer. Want to bend a shot mid air to hit an enemy? Go ahead. “For those that loved the controls in Metroid Prime 3 or Medal of Honor: Heroes II, The Conduit takes the best parts from both and one-ups them. It’s exactly the type of thing we wanted to see,” he said.
The one hiccup seemed to be publishers, which isn’t surprising. The big pubs need to sell big budget games to break even these days, and only “safe” titles (see also: Sony press conference) will see the light of day. Here’s hoping E3 works as it was once intended to, and gets these guys the publisher their dedication and passion for the Wii as a development platform deserves.
July 16th, 2008 at 9:00 am
if this doesn’t get a publisher than i’m giving up on the gaming industry.
July 16th, 2008 at 9:46 am
I actually heard the devs say that being one of the larger independent developers, they had the money and resources to comfortably bring the game to completion before needing a publisher. By putting it off, they retain full creative for the entirety of the game and then can pick and choose any publisher they like - they’ll all be clamouring for it (as I hear they are already). This way, they avoid these artificial stupid problems that afflict independents under larger publishers such as arbitrary milestone targets, rush jobs for pointless release dates, fitting in to someone else’s release image, new foreign managers looking over your shoulder, and dealing with publishers unwilling to commit proper marketing resources.
July 16th, 2008 at 9:46 am
well, getting a publisher isnt their problem. getting the right publisher for them is.
they are asking alot from any publisher. i hope they are still able to pick a publisher while getting what they want, but its a tall order from a developer that has no history of big successes.
Any publisher would be taking a big risk on them.
What they are asking for is not only complete control over the development/direction of the game, but i believe to retain all IP. If its nintendo, I believe a compromise could be made, but I dont know who else would risk so much. ubisoft sometimes likes to take chances, though less each year maybe.
July 16th, 2008 at 9:51 am
if this game does not get a publisher then i may stop playing video games all together. it will be proof that theres loads of good games we miss out on becasue the publishers cant think of a way to sell them to the masses… this game will sell its self. pick it up EA NOW!
July 16th, 2008 at 10:24 am
It’s a little worrisome to me that this hasn’t gotten a publisher yet. What’s the catch, people?
July 16th, 2008 at 10:44 am
In past interviews they’ve stated that they’re waiting until the last moment to bring a publisher into the picture so that the game won’t be subject to any of publisher changes. It seems like they’ve already got someone in mind after being contacted by so many in the past, it looks like they’re just going to use a publisher as distributin partner, and also license their engine to the publisher or allow them to help license it to other wii devs.
July 16th, 2008 at 11:08 am
Why the Hell Nintendo doesn’t pick them up. Reggie and company keep on taking through their ass about not leaving the hardcore fans out yet at the E3, for example, they turn their back on us for 100% casuals. IF they are so serious about not forgetting us and pushing us over to Sony PS3 then get these guys on board and give all the support you can. Geez!!!!
July 16th, 2008 at 11:09 am
If High Voltage can finish development with their own funds, then the investment for a publisher to publish the finished game is relatively low. There is no doubt this game will be released.
July 16th, 2008 at 11:30 am
@investment for a publisher to publish the finished game is relatively low@
So is the revenue
They will get a publisher..
July 16th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
I can’t believe someone said EA pick it up now. Yuck! We don’t want EA as the publisher, do we?
Maybe the Infendo Nation can pool our resources and become the games publisher! Ha ha! I so wish.
July 16th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
@ jadnice
I think Nintendo is probably specifically NOT picking it up, so that the game might set an example to all other publishers that yes, 3rd party Wii don’t have to be shit by default and can sell unaided. If Nintendo produced it and it sells, everyone else will scream “Well of course it sold! Nintendo made it, but we don’t have a chance in Hell so let’s give up”.
July 17th, 2008 at 3:07 am
I will buy it for 10$ on VC(kidding).
July 17th, 2008 at 8:38 am
Nintendo should publish this title. Period.
They should support any developer willing to go out on a limb for their console in ways that even huge studios have avoided.
This is a no brainer.