High Voltage: Many More Conduits to Come
Studio feels more confident about sequel than original.
High Voltage Software has spoken to SPOnG about the feedback it received for its Wii-exclusive first person shooter, Conduit - and revealed how it feels much more confident in the upcoming sequel than it ever did with the original.
Says art director Matt Corso, "I would have to say I’m fairly pleased with how Conduit performed. When you consider that we developed this IP completely on our own… this is our own technology, it wasn’t an established brand. To see it become as popular as it has, I think that’s something to be very proud of.
"I think that the amount we sold is actually quite impressive considering we sold pretty much every unit that was manufactured. That’s pretty exciting."
Corso added that it was easier for High Voltage to work on various aspects of Conduit 2 because of the intensity of some remarks made about the original game. But the studio was quite "humbled" by the reception of Conduit from gamers, and simply confused by the reception from critics.
"We were a little bit surprised at how well the first game was received by our audience. It sort of took off and became this minor phenomenon for the Wii, and it was really hard to know how to take all that.
"But when the game shipped it got such mixed reviews that I think a lot of us at the studio were left wondering, “what does this mean? Is it a good game or not?’ It’s hard to know for sure because we had everything from hardcore gamers that absolutely love the game to people that didn’t like it very much at all."
Thankfully, Corso said that initial reaction to Conduit 2 during its development has been positive, so the studio is excited about the future of the series. "We felt that we were on to something special - so Conduit 2 just really continued to develop in a strong direction, and I feel way more personally satisfied as a creator with Conduit 2 than I ever did with Conduit 1."
Will we see more Conduits down the line, then? "There’s just so many places we can go right now, I think it’s going to be a matter of seeing how well the second one is received," Corso concluded. "That will help us decide where Conduit should go in the future. Honestly, I think all of us in the studio have many more Conduits in us that we can still create before we’ll ever get tired of this franchise."
Read more in the massive SPOnG interview, coming later today.
Says art director Matt Corso, "I would have to say I’m fairly pleased with how Conduit performed. When you consider that we developed this IP completely on our own… this is our own technology, it wasn’t an established brand. To see it become as popular as it has, I think that’s something to be very proud of.
"I think that the amount we sold is actually quite impressive considering we sold pretty much every unit that was manufactured. That’s pretty exciting."
Corso added that it was easier for High Voltage to work on various aspects of Conduit 2 because of the intensity of some remarks made about the original game. But the studio was quite "humbled" by the reception of Conduit from gamers, and simply confused by the reception from critics.
"We were a little bit surprised at how well the first game was received by our audience. It sort of took off and became this minor phenomenon for the Wii, and it was really hard to know how to take all that.
"But when the game shipped it got such mixed reviews that I think a lot of us at the studio were left wondering, “what does this mean? Is it a good game or not?’ It’s hard to know for sure because we had everything from hardcore gamers that absolutely love the game to people that didn’t like it very much at all."
Thankfully, Corso said that initial reaction to Conduit 2 during its development has been positive, so the studio is excited about the future of the series. "We felt that we were on to something special - so Conduit 2 just really continued to develop in a strong direction, and I feel way more personally satisfied as a creator with Conduit 2 than I ever did with Conduit 1."
Will we see more Conduits down the line, then? "There’s just so many places we can go right now, I think it’s going to be a matter of seeing how well the second one is received," Corso concluded. "That will help us decide where Conduit should go in the future. Honestly, I think all of us in the studio have many more Conduits in us that we can still create before we’ll ever get tired of this franchise."
Read more in the massive SPOnG interview, coming later today.
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