High Voltage Software: Difference between revisions
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CCO Eric Nofsinger also mentioned Florida attorney [[Jack Thompson (attorney)|Jack Thompson]] in a recent interview. Nofsinger expressed his belief that Jack Thompson will have issues with the content in ''Animales de la Muerte'', specifically stating "I suspect Jack Thompson may have a thing or two to say about ''Animales de la Muerte''. And let him say all he wants. That's the wonderful thing about First Amendment rights. It allows us creators to express ourselves while we entertain millions and it affords him the opportunity to prey off of the suffering of a few victims' families and espouse misinformed diatribes against artists and creators..."<ref>[http://wii.ign.com/articles/869/869222p2.html IGN: Animales de la Muerte Preview<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> |
CCO Eric Nofsinger also mentioned Florida attorney [[Jack Thompson (attorney)|Jack Thompson]] in a recent interview. Nofsinger expressed his belief that Jack Thompson will have issues with the content in ''Animales de la Muerte'', specifically stating "I suspect Jack Thompson may have a thing or two to say about ''Animales de la Muerte''. And let him say all he wants. That's the wonderful thing about First Amendment rights. It allows us creators to express ourselves while we entertain millions and it affords him the opportunity to prey off of the suffering of a few victims' families and espouse misinformed diatribes against artists and creators..."<ref>[http://wii.ign.com/articles/869/869222p2.html IGN: Animales de la Muerte Preview<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> |
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In May 2011, several news outlets noted the reaction by High Voltage Software to a negative review of ''Conduit 2'' by Mike Murdock, a reviewer at [[Joystiq]].<ref name="negreview">http://consumerist.com/2011/05/company-retaliates-for-bad-game-review-with-bad-reviews-of-reviewers-novel.html</ref><ref name="negboing">http://www.boingboing.net/2011/05/20/vindictive-game-comp.html</ref> Finding that Murdock had written a book available on Amazon, an employee at the company sent an email to co-workers suggesting that they could "return the favour" through Amazon's review system.<ref name="negreview" /> The book, which had previously had several five-star reviews from the end of 2008, suddenly attracted many one-star reviews, all provided during the month of May.<ref name="negreview" /> |
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===Company layoff=== |
===Company layoff=== |
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Revision as of 16:37, 21 May 2011
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| Company type | Independent video game developer |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 1993 |
| Founder | Kerry Ganofsky |
| Headquarters | Hoffman Estates , |
| Owner | Kerry Ganofsky, CEO |
Number of employees | 95+ |
| Subsidiaries | Red Eye Studios |
| Website | http://www.high-voltage.com/ |
High Voltage Software (HVS) is an independent game development company located at Illinois' Hoffman Estates. Established in 1993, it now employs approximately 130 staff members. Red Eye Studios, a motion capture facility, is a wholly owned subsidiary of HVS.[1] Typically producing completely new and unrelated products back to back, Inside Drive, Hunter and The Conduit are the only products to have seen sequels, and the company typically works with a number of different publishers as each project ends. The Conduit for the Wii console has been entirely self-funded without the help of a publisher, although Sega signed on to publish and distribute the game.[2]
History
Reception
Since launching in 1993, High Voltage Software has had most interviews, screenshots, and videos handled by the publishers funding the development of the company's games, with High Voltage Software employees remaining relatively behind the scenes. Recent efforts have been made by High Voltage Software to generate buzz at media outlets like IGN[3] and Joystiq,[4] around their Wii titles The Conduit and Animales de la Muerte. To help build anticipation and discussion by each outlet's community, High Voltage has granted interviews, screenshots, and videos directly to the outlets willing to cover their self-funded Wii projects.
In recent interviews with IGN, Chief Creative Officer Eric Nofsinger commented on the state of graphics in today's Wii games "Most of the games on the Wii look like crap. We want to change that, so we've invested heavily in our Wii tech over the past year," and founder Kerry Ganofsky was quoted as stating "We believe that third-party developers need to step up to the plate and deliver. The Wii platform is capable of a lot more than what consumers have seen so far. We're hoping to raise a new bar."[5]
CCO Eric Nofsinger also mentioned Florida attorney Jack Thompson in a recent interview. Nofsinger expressed his belief that Jack Thompson will have issues with the content in Animales de la Muerte, specifically stating "I suspect Jack Thompson may have a thing or two to say about Animales de la Muerte. And let him say all he wants. That's the wonderful thing about First Amendment rights. It allows us creators to express ourselves while we entertain millions and it affords him the opportunity to prey off of the suffering of a few victims' families and espouse misinformed diatribes against artists and creators..."[6]
In May 2011, several news outlets noted the reaction by High Voltage Software to a negative review of Conduit 2 by Mike Murdock, a reviewer at Joystiq.[7][8] Finding that Murdock had written a book available on Amazon, an employee at the company sent an email to co-workers suggesting that they could "return the favour" through Amazon's review system.[7] The book, which had previously had several five-star reviews from the end of 2008, suddenly attracted many one-star reviews, all provided during the month of May.[7]
Company layoff
After terminating 36 employees in January 2006, High Voltage Software reported to Gamasutra that the company had "right sized" their staff from 156 employees to 120. Post layoff, Ganofsky stated "High Voltage has long been one of the biggest and most established independent game developers, but we had grown to a size where our focus and quality was suffering. It’s imperative that we have the right people and the right critical awareness to make certain that we make great games."[9]
In August 2010, it was revealed that the company laid off an additional 25 staff members. [10]
On May 16, 2011, High Voltage Software laid off another 7 staff members, mostly from the Conduit 2 team.
Quantum3 engine
Quantum3 is a Wii-specific game engine developed by HVS.[11] The engine itself had been used in several previous titles made by the developer, but was heavily upgraded for higher performance on the Wii.[12] This engine allows for "full 16-TEV stage material pipeline using up to eight texture sources and a host of innovative blend operations," and "allows the developer to create graphic effects normally seen on other consoles with vertex and pixel shaders." These effects include bump-mapping, reflection and refraction, light and shadow maps and projections, specular and Fresnel effects, emissive and iridescent materials, advanced alpha blends, gloss and detail mapping, motion blur, interactive water with complex surface effects, and animated textures, among other things.[13] The Quantum3 engine also includes advanced artificial intelligence, allowing for NPCs and enemies in a game using the engine to possess "human-like behavior." According to Chief Creative Officer Eric Nofsinger, "Our [High Voltage Software's] goal is to be the most technically innovative Wii developer on the planet."[13]
Games
Current projects
| Release date | Title | Publisher | Platforms | Genre |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halloween 2011 | The Grinder | TBA | Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, PC | Top-Down Shooter, First-person shooter (Wii) |
| TBA | Animales de la Muerte | TBA | Xbox 360, PS3, PC | Shoot 'em up |
| TBA | Untitled IP for the 3DS | TBA | Nintendo 3DS | First-person Shooter |
Developed games
References
- ^ High Voltage Software: About Us
- ^ "Official: SEGA Publishes The Conduit". IGN. 2008-10-29. Retrieved 2008-10-29.
- ^ Matt Casamassina. "Exclusive First Look: The Conduit". IGN.
- ^ Ross Miller. "The Conduit gameplay trailer released". Joystiq.
- ^ IGN: The Conduit Preview
- ^ IGN: Animales de la Muerte Preview
- ^ a b c http://consumerist.com/2011/05/company-retaliates-for-bad-game-review-with-bad-reviews-of-reviewers-novel.html
- ^ http://www.boingboing.net/2011/05/20/vindictive-game-comp.html
- ^ "High Voltage Software Lays Off Staff". Gamasutra.
- ^ http://www.joystiq.com/2010/08/04/source-high-voltage-software-lays-off-at-least-20-employees/
- ^ Magrino, Tom (2008-07-07). "Q&A: Eric Nofsinger channels The Conduit". Gamespot. Retrieved 2008-07-07.
- ^ "High Voltage Software's Eric Nofsinger Explains How Freedom, Feedback and Fans Channel into The Conduit". GameCyte. 2008-10-06. Retrieved 2008-10-08.
- ^ a b Casamassina, Matt (2008-04-17). "Exclusive First Look: The Conduit". IGN. Retrieved 2008-04-18.
- ^ http://www.gamerankings.com/wii/991817-conduit-2/index.html
- ^ a b Matt Casamassina. "Pre-E3 2009: Gladiator A.D. Revealed". IGN.
- ^ http://www.gamerankings.com/wii/605152-rudolph-the-red-nosed-reindeer/index.html
- ^ Tournament of Legends Reviews
- ^ "High Voltage developing Wii version of Iron Man 2". GoNintendo.com. 2010-01-14. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
- ^ Iron Man 2 Reviews
- ^ The Conduit Reviews
- ^ Evasive Space Reviews
- ^ High Voltage Hot Rod Show Reviews
- ^ Gyrostarr Reviews
- ^ V.I.P. Casino Blackjack Reviews
- ^ Go, Diego, Go!: Safari Rescue Reviews
- ^ America's Army: True Soldiers Reviews
- ^ Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 Reviews
- ^ Ben 10: Protector of Earth Reviews
- ^ Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law Reviews
- ^ Family Guy Reviews
- ^ Blitz: Overtime Reviews
- ^ The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy Reviews
- ^ Codename: Kids Next Door: Operation V.I.D.E.O.G.A.M.E. Reviews
- ^ Call of Duty 2: Big Red One Reviews
- ^ 50 Cent: Bulletproof G Unit Edition Reviews
- ^ Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Reviews
- ^ Zathura Reviews
- ^ Leisure Suit Larry: Magna Cum Laude Reviews
- ^ Duel Masters Reviews
- ^ The Haunted Mansion Reviews
- ^ NBA Inside Drive 2004 Reviews
- ^ Hunter: The Reckoning Redeemer Reviews
- ^ Hunter: The Reckoning Wayward Reviews
- ^ Hunter: The Reckoning Reviews
- ^ Disney's Stitch: Experiment 626 Reviews
- ^ NBA Inside Drive 2002 Reviews
- ^ Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance Reviews
- ^ All-Star Baseball 2001 Reviews
- ^ Ground Control: Dark Conspiracy Reviews
- ^ Lego Racers Reviews
- ^ Paperboy Reviews
- ^ NCAA Final Four 97 Reviews
- ^ Tempest X3 Reviews
- ^ Tempest 2000 Reviews
- ^ NBA Hangtime Reviews
- ^ NBA Jam Tournament Edition Reviews
- ^ Ruiner Pinball Reviews
- ^ White Men Can't Jump Reviews