While High Voltage Software have not announced The Conduit for Nintendo 3DS, they had a playable proof-of-concept demo at GDC. The demo was based on the China level from The Conduit 2, a level Eric Stoli, Lead Designer at High Voltage Software, demonstrated for me earlier. The same assets from the Wii game were used for the Nintendo 3DS demo.
The controls were easy to pick up. Move with the slide pad, aim using the touch screen, and open fire with a futuristic assault rifle by tapping L. The alien enemies acted more like targets than enemies, but this was a far from finished tech demo. High Voltage Software assigned the R button for reloading and made the right side of the touch screen the "jump area." Swipe up on this spot to make your character jump.
I turned the 3D depth slider up and down to get a feel for how High Voltage Software used the stereographic screen. I got a better sense of the depth in the environment when I turned the 3D effect all the way up. Aside from the gun popping out of the screen, The Conduit tech demo didn’t have any leaping out of the screen bullet gimmicks.
There is one feature in The Conduit 3DS that isn’t in The Conduit 2. Press the Y button and you shift into third person mode. Other than shifting the camera, The Conduit 3DS plays just like The Conduit 2. Stoli says the team is experimenting with other control schemes and cameras, but the third person view isn’t finalized.
Again, The Conduit build I played was only a tech demo. High Voltage Software only put together one playable level. The other areas are just 3D fly arounds.
Published: Mar 7, 2011 05:35 pm