The Conduit

This article is about the 2009 video game. For the 2005 album by Jarboe, see The Conduit (album).

The Conduit
Developer(s)High Voltage Software
War Drum Studios (The Conduit HD)
Publisher(s)Wii:
Sega
Android:
High Voltage Software
Designer(s)Rob Nicholls
Eric Nofsinger[4]
Composer(s)Diego Stocco[5]
Rick Nielsen[6]
SeriesThe Conduit
EngineQuantum3
Platform(s)Wii, Android
ReleaseWii
Android
  • WW: March 14, 2013
Genre(s)First-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

The Conduit is a first-person shooter video game developed by High Voltage Software for the Wii console and Android. The Conduit was revealed on April 17, 2008,[7] and on October 29, 2008, the developer announced that Sega had signed on to be the game's publisher.[8] The game was released in North America on June 23, 2009,[2] in Europe on July 10, 2009,[1] and in Australia on July 16, 2009.[3]

Development of The Conduit began in October 2007.[9] The game makes use of the Quantum3 engine, a game engine designed by High Voltage Software specifically for the Wii. The engine allows effects such as bump mapping, reflection and refraction, and gloss and detail mapping to be implemented in the game.[7] High Voltage Software's goal in creating the engine was to make The Conduit a competitive experience visually comparable to games on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.[4]

The campaign storyline focuses on an alien invasion of Washington, D.C. in the near future. The alien race, known as the Drudge, uses the eponymous portal-like Conduits to deploy their forces throughout the city. A shadow government organization called the Trust sends newly inducted agent Michael Ford into the area initially to disrupt a terrorist threat, but he quickly becomes embroiled in the fight to stop the invasion and save the capital from destruction.[10] The online multiplayer feature of the game can support up to 12 players and includes several game modes such as "Free for All" and "Team Reaper", and has voice chat capability through the Wii Speak peripheral.[11][12]

A sequel, Conduit 2, was announced on March 29, 2010,[13] and released in April 2011. A high definition port titled The Conduit HD for Android was released, initially for devices with Nvidia Tegra chipsets, on March 14, 2013.[14] The port went on to receive critical acclaim.[15]

  1. ^ a b Robinson, Martin (June 17, 2009). "The Conduit Slips". IGN. Archived from the original on June 20, 2009. Retrieved June 17, 2009.
  2. ^ a b "The Conduit at Nintendo". Nintendo of America. Archived from the original on April 16, 2009. Retrieved April 2, 2009.
  3. ^ a b "The Conduit Official Website (Australia)". Sega. April 14, 2009. Archived from the original on July 6, 2010. Retrieved April 15, 2009.
  4. ^ a b Razak, Matthew (July 1, 2008). "The Conduit developer High Voltage Software talks shop". That Videogame Blog. Retrieved July 1, 2008.
  5. ^ East, Tom (September 10, 2008). "Film Composer Signs Up For The Conduit". Official Nintendo Magazine. Retrieved September 11, 2008.
  6. ^ Hatfield, Daemon (March 26, 2009). "Conduit Plays Cheap Trick". IGN. Archived from the original on March 28, 2009. Retrieved March 26, 2009.
  7. ^ a b Casamassina, Matt (April 17, 2008). "Exclusive First Look: The Conduit". IGN. Archived from the original on April 21, 2008. Retrieved April 18, 2008.
  8. ^ "Official: SEGA Publishes The Conduit". IGN. October 29, 2008. Retrieved October 29, 2008.
  9. ^ Magrino, Tom (July 7, 2008). "Q&A: Eric Nofsinger channels The Conduit". Gamespot. Retrieved July 7, 2008.
  10. ^ "The Conduit Manual". High Voltage Software. June 20, 2008. Archived from the original on June 27, 2008. Retrieved June 20, 2008.
  11. ^ Casamassina, Matt (June 11, 2008). "The Conduit's Release Date". IGN. Archived from the original on June 14, 2008. Retrieved June 11, 2008.
  12. ^ Karabinus, Alisha (July 16, 2008). "E3 2008: The Conduit will use WiiSpeak". Nintendo Wii Fanboy. Retrieved July 17, 2008.
  13. ^ Reilly, Jim (March 29, 2010). "Conduit 2 Confirmed for Wii". IGN Wii. IGN. Archived from the original on March 31, 2010. Retrieved March 30, 2010.
  14. ^ "The Conduit HD has finally blasted its way onto Tegra 3 devices". Droid Gamers. March 14, 2013. Archived from the original on March 16, 2013. Retrieved March 15, 2013.
  15. ^ "The Conduit Was an Average Wii Game. Now It's an Excellent Mobile FPS". March 14, 2013.