High Voltage Software are fast becoming a treasured Wii developer for Nintendo, similar to how Rare were during the SNES and N64 days. Their FPS ‘The Conduit’ has just been released and the developers are promising better and more ambitious follow-up games with ‘The Grinder’ and ‘Gladiator A.D.’.
Head Honcho of HVS, Eric Nosfinger, is feeling the pressure but says the studio is a talented one and they are confident for the future:
“We do feel the pressure to continue to make great games. One of the great things about High Voltage is the passion. The teams here are some of most dedicated people that I have ever worked with and I am continually impressed by how much quality work they deliver. This passion is what drives our studio and recently we have only seen it increase. More than anything, we want to be known as the studio that makes fun games that push the perceived limits. Although we have accomplished a lot over the past 16 years, it really feels like we just graduated and now it is time to apply what we’ve learned and prove we are great developer. We are only just getting started. We have so much more we want to do…We want people to play the game because we think that anyone who does is going to enjoy the experience. As to sales estimates, we humbly hope it outsells every game ever made. [laughs] Seriously, we sincerely hope we have earned Wii owner’s support in our efforts. The more support we receive, the more we will funnel those profits into even better original games for them.”
So onto the future, what plans do they have for The Grinder? Matt Corso, HVS Art Director explains after the break (Playtest videos through there too!).
“So, a goal of ours with The Grinder is to have a fun 4 player cooperative game, where players work together to defeat the monsters, but at the same time, we want there to be something unique and compelling enough about our story, and to have that story work its way into the gameplay. So that if you are using some of the specialty weapons, those actually loan themselves well to using Wii motion controls…Just like we did in The Conduit, where we had weapons that were very specific to the Wii motions, we’ll do the same with The Grinder. But then of course we’ll take it up a notch and use great attachments like Wii motion plus and enhance them even more.”
Source: Hdwarriors
