Its a bit of a shameless plug, but head on over to IGN when you guys get a chance. They've got an interview with High Voltage Software, a developer who thinks its about high time that Nintendo's little white box got some blood on its hands. To that end, they've begun development of "The Conduit" a title that looks to buck trend when it comes to Wii. The concept is simple enough, a 'futuristic FPS' which isn't anything special by itself. The Wii setup is perfect for FPS games (the aiming part anyway) and the 'futuristic' setting just allows for more creativity in the weapons themselves. But what really impressed me are the companies stated goals, which are two fold.
Also worth mentioning is that IGN has a video of High Voltage's "Quantum3" Engine. For most of us, it'll just be a bunch of terms flying around, some of which you may have heard of before, such as bump and normal mapping, dynamic lighting, etc. But you can see it running on what they claim is realtime Wii hardware. Its obviously not going to be on par with something like MGS4, but in all honesty, it really doesn't look too different than some early 360 titles (Kameo, for example). Granted, its a short demo, in a dark room of mostly stationary objects, but it runs smoothly and there is definite potential. The lighting effects in particular impressed me, emanating from lit torches and a swinging lanterns, covered in a pattern box that shows up wonderfully across the gothic room's ceiling. But lets look at the game, and not the tech demo.
Like all FPS games now, Conduit is inevitably going to draw lots of comparisons to Halo, particularly since both have a plot involving aliens, the invasion of Earth, etc. So goes it; everyone draws comparisons to the benchmark. Where the developers seem to want to distance themselves from the pack, however, is their dedication to make this a deep experience, beyond just being a FPS. So they have things like a dynamic lighting system. They challenge themselves to get the game running at 60 frames, not the 30 it currently moves at. They institute advanced enemy AI and are trying to institute a new gameplay mechanic to allow not only better fights, but better levels and puzzles as well. But they also feel that gamers shouldn't be made to choose between something that looks good (a 360 game, for example) and something that plays well (a Wii game, for example) and are thus setting out to make a Wii title that plays exceptionally well, but looks like it should be running on the 360. Quite a lofty goal, to be sure, but certainly far from impossible and only half of their stated mission.
What High Voltage really hopes to accomplish with The Conduit is to prove to other developers, publishers and journalists that the Wii is not JUST a system for those parents who play Wii Tennis or Wii Fit, but it can also draw a sizeable audience for a darker, more mature themed title. They have been told by more than one major publisher that the Wii audience does not want a darker mature title. The truth of the matter is, I myself have propagated the theory that RE4's success on Wii was a fluke and not the exception, but I think I was wrong about that. Manhunt 2's sales weren't great, but I think that had more to do with the hoopla around the title. And RE:Umbrella Chronicles sold over a million copies, but beyond that, there hasn't been a real 'Mature' title on the Wii and I think its about time we get one. It will probably not appeal to the perceived core Wii audience, that is true, but I know plenty of Wii owners who would want a real mature title, myself included.
So, to recap, High Voltage's 2 goals are to make a dark, mature Wii title that looks like it could run on the 360 (or in other words, surprise us all with what the hardware is capable of) and to show gun shy publishers that it'll be worth funding adult wii titles. Granted, the trade off will still probably be that they need to make QUALITY titles, but lets get them on mature titles, then we'll worry about quality.
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