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[Kandinsky]

The bar for "hey, this Wii game looks pretty good" just keeps getting set lower and lower. Are you guys having some kind of limbo competition?

Srsly wtf is wrong with some of you, that looks awful:lol

 

[EmCeeGramr]

Matt: Please stop posting blurry images of games that look like shovelware.

so you want ign nintendo to shut down? pretty mean man, it'd be hard finding another job in this economy

 

[Rhindle]

They are self funded and always have been, they were going to try and publish The Conduit without any help but IGN was able to get them in touch with several publishers instead. I think they originally were aiming to make The Conduit just be a base game for their Wii engine and make money off that (sort of how EPIC makes money off the Unreal Engine) since developers at the time could not bother themselves to put forth any effort beyond PS2/PSP portage.

People can make fun of them all they want but there is a huge difference between High Voltage and the fuckers who make Gingerbread Man.

Yes, obviously they're self-funded, that was the premise of my question. The question is self-funded from where?

This is not a case like 3D Realms, id or Valve, who made a pile of cash on their previous games and could afford to self-fund development of new titles. I guess someone's rich uncle must have passed away.

 

[ThatObviousUser]

so you want ign nintendo to shut down? pretty mean man, it'd be hard finding another job in this economy

I told someone today if Matt started his own Giant Bomb type site focusing on Nintendo/Mobile, I'd delete all my other bookmarks and go there exclusively. <3

Spoiler

Not really, but it would probably be my main gaming site. Sorry GAF. </3

 

[pakkit]

Yes, obviously they're self-funded, that was the premise of my question. The question is self-funded from where?

They've been in the industry for decades. Licensed shovelware makes money, that's why there is a lot of it. They just decided that they wanted to actually make something that was memorable.

 

[Meesh]

That means nothing around here.

So it would seem, but I can't help make a little light of it. I agree, it'll better in motion, the sunset/lighting threw me off a bit...everyone is orange.

 

[markatisu]

What ever happened to Animales de la Muerte?

They changed it recently from WiiWare release to Retail, probably trying to find a publisher.

I would guess this game will have M+ since they said they would have put it in Conduit but they did not have melee weapons. So I do not think they will ignore it now that this game looks to have melee of some kind.

Yes, obviously they're self-funded, that was the premise of my question. The question is self-funded from where?

They have been around for more than 15 years (1993 to be exact), they made tons of licensed games which mean $$$.

Seriously people stop acting like High Voltage was formed and started making games in 2007 :lol

 

[king zell]

so who is the publisher for this game?

 

[Wii Will Rock U]

Seriously, some video of the game need to be posted. HV's games always look better in motion than they do in screens.

so who is the publisher for this game?

I'd bet Sega since they are doing the Conduit but I don't think any is announced.

 

[rollingstart]

I don't know why people are baggin' on the game graphically. Sure, the art direction might be a little off, but from a detail and technical standpoint, I think it looks pretty good.

Technical achievements mean nothing when the game is so unappealing to look at. It's worse when the only claim to fame about the visuals is how far they were able to push the Wii when, at best, it still looks worse than games on the more powerful platforms. Ubisoft seems to understand this since Red Steel 2 has killer style to it.

 

[Rhindle]

They've been in the industry for decades. Licensed shovelware makes money, that's why there is a lot of it. They just decided that they wanted to actually make something that was memorable.

Possible, but very unlikely. Developers rarely make any money on these types of work-for-hire games. You're given a limited budget that's barely enough to make payroll and keep the lights on, and the publisher watches every dime you spend like a hawk. If the game is highly successful, you might get a small bonus, but that's rarely the case.

 

[abstract alien]

So it would seem, but I can't help make a little light of it. I agree, it'll better in motion, the sunset/lighting threw me off a bit...everyone is orange.

Maybe it has a real time day night cycle :^O

 

[EDarkness]

Technical achievements mean nothing when the game is so unappealing to look at. It's worse when the only claim to fame about the visuals is how far they were able to push the Wii when, at best, it still looks worse than games on the more powerful platforms. Ubisoft seems to understand this since Red Steel 2 has killer style to it.

This is true for all systems, not just the Wii. I wasn't a huge fan of the art style of Heavenly Sword, as it was great on a technical level, but the art direction was pretty bad in my opinion. Oblivion has some of the worst art direction this side of the Atlantic. However, that doesn't stop the game from being good. People can live with poor art direction as long as the rest of the fundamentals are good. I just accept the fact that not every game will be as appealing as I want it to be from an art standpoint.

That said, I give High Voltage credit for making a "realistic" looking game and not copping out like Ubisoft and Red Steel 2. Not that I have anything against Red Steel 2 (I'm sure I'll buy it), but just because the Wii is a weaker system, doesn't mean we can't get "realistic" looking games. They were fine on the PS2 (and still are fine), so should be fine on the Wii.

 

[markatisu]

Possible, but very unlikely. Developers rarely make any money on these types of work-for-hire games. You're given a limited budget that's barely enough to make payroll and keep the lights on, and the publisher watches every dime you spend like a hawk. If the game is highly successful, you might get a small bonus, but that's rarely the case.

But they have been doing that for 16 years and I think they only have around 100 employees so if they kept cost lows and just reinvested into their company over almost two decades you are saying they could not have nearly enough money to do what they are doing now?

If so then this industry is in must deeper shits then any of us realize and it wont be long before there are like 3 developers in the world

 

[Teknoman]

Looks like its got some kinda filter on it.

 

[pgtl_10]

Looks good enough to me but I hope there is more than just fighting.

 

[AceBandage]

But they have been doing that for 16 years and I think they only have around 100 employees so if they kept cost lows and just reinvested into their company over almost two decades you are saying they could not have nearly enough money to do what they are doing now?

If so then this industry is in must deeper shits then any of us realize and it wont be long before there are like 3 developers in the world

EA, Capcom and Square will eventually buy everyone, I'm sure.

 

[jrricky]

The character on the right reminds me of...

OMG, that looks awful compared to the Gladiator screens.:lol

 

[brain_stew]

Best texturing in a Wii game bar none, right there.

That's some damn impressive normal mapping and bloom lighting for a Wii game. Their engine is very impressive, no matter what you thinka bout the art.

 

[rollingstart]

This is true for all systems, not just the Wii. I wasn't a huge fan of the art style of Heavenly Sword, as it was great on a technical level, but the art direction was pretty bad in my opinion. Oblivion has some of the worst art direction this side of the Atlantic. However, that doesn't stop the game from being good. People can live with poor art direction as long as the rest of the fundamentals are good. I just accept the fact that not every game will be as appealing as I want it to be from an art standpoint.

That said, I give High Voltage credit for making a "realistic" looking game and not copping out like Ubisoft and Red Steel 2. Not that I have anything against Red Steel 2 (I'm sure I'll buy it), but just because the Wii is a weaker system, doesn't mean we can't get "realistic" looking games. They were fine on the PS2 (and still are fine), so should be fine on the Wii.

It doesn't make it a bad game, just an ugly game. When you consider that you're going to be looking at the game every second, minute and hour you play it, appealing visuals are something that would help. Right now all we can judge is the look and concept of the game, and so far it's an interesting concept that looks butt ugly.

Red Steel 2 isn't a cop out, it's making a wise artistic choice to still look great even when not being on a system usually capable of producing great looking games. You say they were fine on the PS2, but a lot of the games that tried to be realistic have even less detail than this Gladiator game and look pretty bad. It's why when people compare the Wind Waker to Twilight Princess, most sane people would say Wind Waker is the better looking game. It's why something like Mario Galaxy looks better than some games on the PS3/360. Standards for so called "realistic" graphics have gone up. But you can still make something look great without relying on advanced graphics techniques or highly detailed whatever-the-fucks. I guess it's a noble goal to want the "hey, that is technically impressive...for the Wii" reaction. Ok, not really.

 

[yoopoo]

OMG, that looks awful compared to the Gladiator screens.:lol

But it looks much better in motion...oh wait :O

 

[jrricky]

Alright guys, good night. We will do this again come tomorrow. Cant wait to see the usuals doin their rounds again.:lol

But it looks much better in motion...oh wait :O

Awesome. :lol

 

[Rhindle]

But they have been doing that for 16 years and I think they only have around 100 employees so if they kept cost lows and just reinvested into their company over almost two decades you are saying they could not have nearly enough money to do what they are doing now?

If so then this industry is in must deeper shits then any of us realize and it wont be long before there are like 3 developers in the world

You can have a perfectly decent business running at break-even. The fact that they've been in business for a while doesn't mean that they've been throwing off tens of millions of $$$ to allow them to self-fund development.

The only developers who've managed to self-fund are either folks like Valve and id that had highly-successful original titles, or people like Realtime Worlds and Turbine, that went out and raised $100 million or so in venture capital to fund development. Neither of these is the case with High Voltage, as far as we know.

 

[Teknoman]

Looks good enough to me but I hope there is more than just fighting.

If its anything like...bushido blade meets ancient rome, it'll be great.

 

[EDarkness]

It doesn't make it a bad game, just an ugly game. When you consider that you're going to be looking at the game every second, minute and hour you play it, appealing visuals are something that would help. Right now all we can judge is the look and concept of the game, and so far it's an interesting concept that looks butt ugly.

Red Steel 2 isn't a cop out, it's making a wise artistic choice to still look great even when not being on a system usually capable of producing great looking games. You say they were fine on the PS2, but a lot of the games that tried to be realistic have even less detail than this Gladiator game and look pretty bad. It's why when people compare the Wind Waker to Twilight Princess, most sane people would say Wind Waker is the better looking game. It's why something like Mario Galaxy looks better than some games on the PS3/360. Standards for so called "realistic" graphics have gone up. But you can still make something look great without relying on advanced graphics techniques or highly detailed whatever-the-fucks. I guess it's a noble goal to want the "hey, that is technically impressive...for the Wii" reaction. Ok, not really.

This is a matter of opinion. My roommate is playing Mercenaries on the PS2 and I think that game still looks good. Final Fantasy X, XI, and XII look great on the PS2 as well. I'll admit that bad art direction doesn't age well, but Doom 3 and Half Life 2 still look good on the Xbox. This business that "realistic" games don't look good on weaker hardware is bogus to me. I'm getting tired of this argument since it really isn't true. And for the record, I think Twilight Princess looks better than Wind Waker. Better art direction with a realistic style. Chibi Link doesn't do anything for me. Bottom line is this is all subjective anyway.

 

[jrricky]

Wow just checked out their website. It says these guys have shipped over 75 titles already. O_O

Theyve even had their hands on multiple projects like Call of Duty, GRAW, Blitz, Baldurs Gate and much more. You people make these guys sound like amateurs.:lol

This is a matter of opinion. My roommate is playing Mercenaries on the PS2 and I think that game still looks good. Final Fantasy X, XI, and XII look great on the PS2 as well. I'll admit that bad art direction doesn't age well, but Doom 3 and Half Life 2 still look good on the Xbox. This business that "realistic" games don't look good on weaker hardware is bogus to me. I'm getting tired of this argument since it really isn't true. And for the record, I think Twilight Princess looks better than Wind Waker. Better art direction with a realistic style. Chibi Link doesn't do anything for me. Bottom line is this is all subjective anyway.

Score!

Ive laughed enough, good night guys.

 

[Cipherr]

Note the absence of blood fountains.

I think I'm being misinterpreted here. A certain level of violence is to be expected due to the subject matter, but there are better, more tasteful ways to present that violence than something that looks like it belongs in Mortal Kombat.

How can this even be said with such confidence when we have only one screen shot with excessive limb hacking, and we have no idea what context its in?

 

[Aeana]

How can this even be said with such confidence when we have only one screen shot with excessive limb hacking, and we have no idea what context its in?

Oh, so it's the double standard I mentioned earlier. It's okay to shower praise based on a few screenshots, but criticism of the same screenshots is not okay.

Let's not forget that we're all working on assumptions from limited information, here.

 

[Bending_Unit_22]

What's with the attitude that if a Wii game isn't "kiddie" it has to be as gory as anything every made? It looks pretty good except for the already beaten to death issues with art style, the concept is interesting, wm+ is great, but I'm not a huge fan of excessive gore except in NMH style games.

This could actually be perfect for me. I like fighters but am completely turned off by all the arcane frame-counting and button combo memorization that dominates the genre. Something motion based could be really neat, and it's certainly not a setting that's been overdone.

All for it.

Same here. A game where the gladiators had appropriate strengths and weaknesses which require different strategies would be really cool without button combos and frame counting. That's especially so with wm+ controls.

yeah except for the fact that most Gladiator battles never ended in death or heavy wounds. There was "only" a one-in-nine death rate, and there are many many historical references to Gladiators being trained to subdue and not kill.

So. Yeah.

Hey now, leave history out of this. Gladiator fights always ended with at least one gladiator dying alright.

 

[Mashing]

Wow GAF, EPIC fail for not mentioning:

THIRTEENTH!!!!

Good day sir's!

 

[ThatObviousUser]

This is a matter of opinion. My roommate is playing Mercenaries on the PS2 and I think that game still looks good. Final Fantasy X, XI, and XII look great on the PS2 as well. I'll admit that bad art direction doesn't age well, but Doom 3 and Half Life 2 still look good on the Xbox. This business that "realistic" games don't look good on weaker hardware is bogus to me. I'm getting tired of this argument since it really isn't true. And for the record, I think Twilight Princess looks better than Wind Waker. Better art direction with a realistic style. Chibi Link doesn't do anything for me. Bottom line is this is all subjective anyway.

I like TP's visuals a bit more too, but I realize that only applies to me personally. I just think TP has so much more detail than WW, it's crazy. And the character models are really, really good too. I only take issue with how sharp some of the edges are, and some of the low-res textures, but I take that as a limitation of the GameCube.

tl;dr: TP looks really great, lots of detail. WW is almost too simplified for me.

 

[jaundicejuice]

Another misguided stab at naturalism by High Voltage.

 

[bdouble]

Oh, so it's the double standard I mentioned earlier. It's okay to shower praise based on a few screenshots, but criticism of the same screenshots is not okay.

Let's not forget that we're all working on assumptions from limited information, here.

thing is though the gore thing is based on these stills. Perhaps that blood is only up in a "fountain" for a split second.
Even in the interview they used MK as a comparison

IGN: Gladiators endured a lot of violence. Just how violent is this Wii game?

David: This game is brutally violent, but is not Mortal Kombat. There is no over-the-top spine ripping. Its authentic, not ridiculous. We do have finishers, which can get pretty nasty to watch though.

 

[hellclerk]

So it would seem, but I can't help make a little light of it. I agree, it'll better in motion, the sunset/lighting threw me off a bit...everyone is orange.

you know, personally, if i ever become a well known game developer, i'm going to start adding AA and ASF to all the still screens of games i make, if only to avoid the bullshit. in fact, i would prefer open bullshots to the current deal of difficult to decipher direct screen grabs.

 

[avatar299]

1. People are so attached to this idea that every wii game has to be "stylized" to be good that anything that tries to push forward in a technical direction is called ugly even before video( you know, the only thing that matters) is released. if this game came out during the short gladiator craze last gen people would be excited. Now it's shovel ware. :lol

" Oh it's generic, oh it's bland" :lol

2. Many of the people complaining about gore are hypocrites. There is plenty of middle ground on wii for violence. The 360 can get an over the top game like Bayonetta and everyone's cool, Wii gets this or Madworld and people start wringing their hands

" Oh There's no middle ground. How come it's always excessive violence or no violence" Whaaa"

This attitude doesn't exist on any other platform, including the hand helds, just the wii.

I can't wait to see the Bethesda wii game. We're gonna see whose legit and whose a troll.

 

[Spirit Icana]

you know, personally, if i ever become a well known game developer, i'm going to start adding AA and ASF to all the still screens of games i make, if only to avoid the bullshit. in fact, i would prefer open bullshots to the current deal of difficult to decipher direct screen grabs.

Why don't you just skip that part altogether? Just tape yourself jumping all over the place with some choking device in your hands.

 

[big_z]

just read the interview.... sounds like it could be cool but it's a high risk project in terms of it being good, fighters/brawlers is one genre that a lot of developers struggle at. however i do like the fact you can stomp your opponents testicles, that type of stuff is always good fun.

 

[Meesh]

Best texturing in a Wii game bar none, right there.

That's some damn impressive normal mapping and bloom lighting for a Wii game. Their engine is very impressive, no matter what you thinka bout the art.

Straight up, the musculature, especially on the arms, looks pretty good.

you know, personally, if i ever become a well known game developer, i'm going to start adding AA and ASF to all the still screens of games i make, if only to avoid the bullshit. in fact, i would prefer open bullshots to the current deal of difficult to decipher direct screen grabs.

Please excuse my ignorance, doomed1, but I'm not up on the dev lingo. If you're basically saying you'd prefer to just pretty it up and deal with bullshot criticism over straight screen grab bitching I understand. I was just being silly earlier about how it looked

And btw, if you're on your way to getting into the game industry, you have my admiration.(if not jealousy )

just read the interview.... sounds like it could be cool but it's a high risk project in terms of it being good, fighters/brawlers is one genre that a lot of developers struggle at. however i do like the fact you can stomp your opponents testicles, that type of stuff is always good fun.

I haven't been able to participate in a good gas peddling since Junior high, if there's online(?), I eagerly await for the opportunity to trounce on your nads. And vice-versa...nad crushing should have some form of achievement...a trophy or something.

 

[Of All Trades]

you know, personally, if i ever become a well known game developer, i'm going to start adding AA and ASF to all the still screens of games i make, if only to avoid the bullshit. in fact, i would prefer open bullshots to the current deal of difficult to decipher direct screen grabs.

First you have to stop sending your resume to Nibris.

Wow just checked out their website. It says these guys have shipped over 75 titles already. O_O

Theyve even had their hands on multiple projects like Call of Duty, GRAW, Blitz, Baldurs Gate and much more. You people make these guys sound like amateurs

What does this even mean?

 

[rollingstart]

This is a matter of opinion. My roommate is playing Mercenaries on the PS2 and I think that game still looks good. Final Fantasy X, XI, and XII look great on the PS2 as well. I'll admit that bad art direction doesn't age well, but Doom 3 and Half Life 2 still look good on the Xbox. This business that "realistic" games don't look good on weaker hardware is bogus to me. I'm getting tired of this argument since it really isn't true. And for the record, I think Twilight Princess looks better than Wind Waker. Better art direction with a realistic style. Chibi Link doesn't do anything for me. Bottom line is this is all subjective anyway.

Fair enough to just ends things by saying it's a matter of opinion, because in the end it is just that.

1. People are so attached to this idea that every wii game has to be "stylized" to be good that anything that tries to push forward in a technical direction is called ugly even before video( you know, the only thing that matters) is released. if this game came out during the short gladiator craze last gen people would be excited. Now it's shovel ware. :lol

This attitude doesn't exist on any other platform, including the hand helds, just the wii.

I can't wait to see the Bethesda wii game. We're gonna see whose legit and whose a troll.

A Wii game doesn't need to be stylized to be good graphially, just to really stand out as a great looking game, period. "realistic" graphics don't look bad on the Wii or past systems. Twilight Princess still looks great for the hardware. I think even Tenchu 4 looks great. I just wouldn't say they look great amongst what's the standard for that style now is. It's the difference between great and great*.

No one cared about Argonauts something (that gladiator game for the 360 that came out last year or 2007).

Though, I do like that it's either legit or a troll. It's as if there is no persecution for those overly positive or defensive.

 

[boiled goose]

saw the screens and thought it looked pretty good. Really good textures for wii....

*shrug*




don't really understand the hate this is getting... at worst its a mediocre action game with some of the best realistic graphics done on wii...

 

[Foil]

you know, personally, if i ever become a well known game developer, i'm going to start adding AA and ASF to all the still screens of games i make, if only to avoid the bullshit. in fact, i would prefer open bullshots to the current deal of difficult to decipher direct screen grabs.

Yeah, good luck with that...

 

[bdouble]

Well the standard we are holding these games to is SMG. So I think that is where the problem lies. Games like MHTri and TP look fine and no one complains about those not being stylized. I too hate that route developers take and a big proponent of this mantra is Cassamsasdmisna and I cringe every time he says is.

It really just comes down to what atmosphere the developer wants to portray. I think what we can draw from this thread is that HVS is just not the best at picking what they want the game to look like. They kind of just throw stuff together and say "OK".

 

[hellclerk]

Please excuse my ignorance, doomed1, but I'm not up on the dev lingo. If you're basically saying you'd prefer to just pretty it up and deal with bullshot criticism over straight screen grab bitching I understand. I was just being silly earlier about how it looked

And btw, if you're on your way to getting into the game industry, you have my admiration.(if not jealousy )

AA= Anti-Aliasing. makes the jaggies go away. ASF = AF (my fuckup) = Anisotropic Filtering. it makes the textures look sharper and more defined. basically it would just sharpen up the shot to provide an idea of what the game would look like on a TV in motion. current screen grabs just don't do games justice, and while bullshots aren't much better, openly admitting them to be what they are should clear some flak.

but yeah, been looking into internships this summer and a game production MA at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. course i still have to finish my BA in English and communication, but all good things in good time.

 

[bartris]

The game does look good for the Wii, and instead of being able to comment on that, Wii haters in general rely on the fact that the Art stinks, but art is subjective, and can never please everyone.

Im looking forward to seeing their second announcement tomorrow, hopefully it isnt just that Zombie animal game for retail.

 

[brain_stew]

AA= Anti-Aliasing. makes the jaggies go away. ASF = Anti-Spectral Filtering. it makes the textures look sharper and more defined. basically it would just sharpen up the shot to provide an idea of what the game would look like on a TV in motion. current screen grabs just don't do games justice, and while bullshots aren't much better, openly admitting them to be what they are should clear some flak.

but yeah, been looking into internships this summer and a game production MA at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. course i still have to finish my BA in English and communication, but all good things in good time.

Wut!?

I think you're talking about "AF" or anisotropic filtering and yeah, 8x AF should have become a console standard a long time ago, its not in any way feasible on Wii, though.

And no, these shots are precisely what the game will look like on a TV, provided it is decent and your monitor is calibrated. Shitty ass scaling blurring the image all to hell does not improve the look of games, it makes them 10x worse.

 

[avatar299]

Though, I do like that it's either legit or a troll. It's as if there is no persecution for those overly positive or defensive.

There is nothing wrong with being defensive or optimistic about a game like this. Of what we know about the game, there is very little to actually critique, hence the overinflated argument about violence that in the end will mean nothing or the trollish one-liners.

Also lol at MH3 looking fine bdouble. That game doesn't even look as detailed as this and Capcom is making that game.

 

[AzureNightmare]

About the arm in the one image: It looks like the angle + the bloom lighting, combined with the high level of detail is making it look weird.


About the game in general: Holy shit this looks good! I'm gonna have to keep this on my radar!

 

[ThatObviousUser]

AA= Anti-Aliasing. makes the jaggies go away. ASF = Anti-Spectral Filtering. it makes the textures look sharper and more defined. basically it would just sharpen up the shot to provide an idea of what the game would look like on a TV in motion. current screen grabs just don't do games justice, and while bullshots aren't much better, openly admitting them to be what they are should clear some flak.

but yeah, been looking into internships this summer and a game production MA at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. course i still have to finish my BA in English and communication, but all good things in good time.

I don't think there's inherently anything wrong with screens, they just need to be accompanied by a launch trailer. Putting out just screens is definitely a bad idea.

Didn't know you fell on the art side of game development, a nice inverse of my programmatic leanings.

 

[Teknoman]

AA= Anti-Aliasing. makes the jaggies go away. ASF = AF (my fuckup) = Anisotropic Filtering. it makes the textures look sharper and more defined. basically it would just sharpen up the shot to provide an idea of what the game would look like on a TV in motion. current screen grabs just don't do games justice, and while bullshots aren't much better, openly admitting them to be what they are should clear some flak.

but yeah, been looking into internships this summer and a game production MA at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. course i still have to finish my BA in English and communication, but all good things in good time.

:lol I read that as Anti-Spiral filtering the first time