Rock, Paper, Shotgun

Time, Space, Fluff: Quantum Conundrum

By Adam Smith on January 26th, 2012 at 11:30 am.

Lasers, boxes, buttons. SCIENCE

*INEVITABLE COMPARISON TO PORTAL*

Now that’s out of the way, let’s all drool over Kim Swift’s upcoming Quantum Conundrum, which looks like what a computer game would look like if Pixar made computer games. That’s just a fact rather than a wild, hastily decided upon and ill-conceived opinion based on eight minutes of footage shown at CES 2012 and narrated by Kim. Now that I mention it, I did just watch just such a video and decided that anyone who didn’t have a massive grin on their face for at least half of it was probably a pod person. Now, smile. I expect to see the rictus grin of a terrified corpse when I observe you all through my periscope momentarily.

I can’t tell which bit I like the most, but it might well be the bit with the collapsing blocks that become a bridge. As well as being an elegant solution, there’s a fantastic glance back at the curvature of the bridge which highlights the unreality of the situation rather beautifully.

Also enjoyable is the brief glimpse of Professor Engelbert Felinestein Tupsbury.

A great man

That may not be his real name but it’s what he went by when I met him in a smoke-filled bar in Malaysia those many years ago.

Quantum Conundrum doesn’t have a firm release date but the last I heard was Q1 2012. So, soonish I suppose.

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42 Comments »

  1. mrwout says:

    This article is totally missing the “Cat with monocle” tag.

    And indeed this looks really Pixar-like. Periscope ? Does that mean you’re in a submarine ?

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    • wccrawford says:

      It’s supposed to take place in his lab, and he invents all kinds of things… So I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s in a sub. We don’t know what that periscope actually looks at.

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    • mrwout says:

      I was actually referencing to Adam who creepily said “I expect to see the rictus grin of a terrified corpse when I observe you all through my periscope momentarily.” not to the game locale.

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    • frightlever says:

      “Now, smile. I expect to see the rictus grin of a terrified corpse when I observe you all through my periscope momentarily.”

      That is a truly beautiful line.

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  2. Kollega says:

    It’s really nice to see that some of the Portal authors are now working on their own ideas. Healthy competition is good for everyone.

    And on a (fanboy) side note, i think that PS3 installments of Ratchet & Clank also look Pixar-ish, though of course not as Pixar-ish as this game here.

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  3. SiplNico says:

    Quantum Conundrum is my most anticipated game of this year, and that’s saying something.
    The gameplay and aesthetics are what I find most compelling.

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  4. sneetch says:

    Nice, that looks fantastic, now I do not want to see any more videos until it launches *eyes closed and fingers in ears* lalalala!

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  5. GetUpKidAK says:

    Lovely. The art-style/engine is absolutely gorgeous, too.

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  6. airtekh says:

    I am so buying this. I love this sort of first person puzzle stuff.

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  7. thealexfish says:

    Gaben said no.

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  8. Bluerps says:

    This looks like I have to buy it the instant it comes out.

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  9. Keymonk says:

    This game looks nice! I liked the safesurfing bit the most.

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  10. Creaturemagic says:

    Look!
    It’s TotalBiscat!

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  11. MeestaNob says:

    Looks good, had to stop watching the video so I go in having seen as little as possible.

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  12. Belsameth says:

    I’m a pod person!

    Looks fun tho. A lot!

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  13. RaveTurned says:

    Did anyone else hear the toilet-flush sound at the end of the Basketball level and think “Day of the Tentacle!”?

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    • stahlwerk says:

      Yes. It’s the cron-o-john! That particular sound is used in a lot of movies and in television. The Wilhelm Scream of plumbing, so to speak.

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    • bear912 says:

      “The Wilhelm Scream of plumbing, so to speak.”

      That may just be the best phrase I’ve seen on the internet in the past month.

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  14. Lars Westergren says:

    That’s fantastic. This just squeezed into my top 3 list for most expected this year. Sorry Diablo 3.

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  15. The way she says “yay!” is just too cute.

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    • SuperNashwanPower says:

      I too have developed an instantaneous geek-crush. I am off to go and imagine her and myself, shopping at Zara and then talking about poetry and subtext in gaming whilst drinking ale in a small, little known backstreet pub.

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  16. Suits says:

    Demo spoilers!

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  17. Cooper says:

    Absolutely loved the safe-surfing. Looking forward to this now, more reasons to smile and laugh at that trailer than in any other for months.

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  18. bill says:

    it’s weird how this looks so much like portal – yet not.

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  19. Skabooga says:

    For some reason, seeing those two safes bonk into each other delighted me to no end.

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  20. Brun says:

    Also enjoyable is the brief glimpse of Professor Engelbert Felinestein Tupsbury

    Clearly that is Schrodinger’s Cat.

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  21. Tams80 says:

    That dastardly Tupsbury! He told me he was Doctor Edgar Archibald Pawsingdon when I encountered him in the Himalayas.

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  22. Hydrogene says:

    Who could not love a “fluffy” dimension? That’s brilliant!

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  23. Armante says:

    “Yay, happy demo completion star!”

    cute :)

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  24. VelvetFistIronGlove says:

    Quantum Conundrum doesn’t have a firm release date

    Does it have a fluffy release date? I hope it doesn’t have a slow motion one, not being a Valve game.

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  25. Such a mind-bending amount of clever and awesome in just 8 minutes. I need to be playing this game right now. NEED TO.

    Also, I wanna marry Kim Swift’s voice.

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  26. Gazanator101 says:

    Looks promising, and like Portal, might have a personality tailored to it, unlike Q.U.B.E.

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  27. Dances to Podcasts says:

    …and this is why not every clever game idea needs to be added to Portal.

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  28. TWeaK says:

    I’m slightly concerned that the video shows Xbox controller icons on-screen. This isn’t going to be another 360 exclusive is it?

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  29. Josh W says:

    I think I’ve seen enough, if they continue like this, this should be an awesome game.

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  30. RC-1290'Dreadnought' says:

    Gotta like the casual inclusion of a shallow water simulation :P

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