Quantum Conundrum is a puzzle-platformer video game developed by Airtight Games and published by Square Enix. It was directed by Kim Swift, who formerly worked at Valve as a lead designer on the critically acclaimed Portal. The game was released on Microsoft Windows (via Steam) on June 21, 2012, July 10, 2012 on PlayStation 3 and July 11, 2012 on Xbox 360 (via Xbox Live Arcade).
Quantum Conundrum is a puzzle-platformer viewed from the first-person perspective. As the boy protagonist, the player can run and jump, interact with various switches, and lift light objects. The player can die by falling into toxic liquids, bottomless pits, or falling from too great a height, and if hit by destructive lasers; this will restart the player at the start of a puzzle or a checkpoint if passed. The goal of each room is to reach its exit door, though may need to activate certain switches or other devices before the exit can become available.
Kim Swift was one of the developers of Valve Corporation's 2007 Portal video game, an extension of her student team project Narbacular Drop from the DigiPen Institute of Technology. She also spent time helping to develop Left 4 Dead 2 after Portal's release. During that period, she came up with the general concept of Quantum Conundrum during a trip to a local bakery. During the initial states of the development of Portal 2, she had approached Airtight Games with the idea, who saw Swift's game concept as a means of expanding their own portfolio of games for a broader audience, and offered her a position there. Swift departed Valve for Airtight in late 2009, stating that with "the opportunity to work on innovative titles with my friends over at Airtight", she "couldn't pass it up". She initially worked with the team on a project that was later cancelled after about eight months; work on Quantum Conundrum began in the second quarter of 2010, while efforts to secure a publisher started in the following months.
Quantum Conundrum is a puzzle-platformer viewed from the first-person perspective. As the boy protagonist, the player can run and jump, interact with various switches, and lift light objects. The player can die by falling into toxic liquids, bottomless pits, or falling from too great a height, and if hit by destructive lasers; this will restart the player at the start of a puzzle or a checkpoint if passed. The goal of each room is to reach its exit door, though may need to activate certain switches or other devices before the exit can become available.
Kim Swift was one of the developers of Valve Corporation's 2007 Portal video game, an extension of her student team project Narbacular Drop from the DigiPen Institute of Technology. She also spent time helping to develop Left 4 Dead 2 after Portal's release. During that period, she came up with the general concept of Quantum Conundrum during a trip to a local bakery. During the initial states of the development of Portal 2, she had approached Airtight Games with the idea, who saw Swift's game concept as a means of expanding their own portfolio of games for a broader audience, and offered her a position there. Swift departed Valve for Airtight in late 2009, stating that with "the opportunity to work on innovative titles with my friends over at Airtight", she "couldn't pass it up". She initially worked with the team on a project that was later cancelled after about eight months; work on Quantum Conundrum began in the second quarter of 2010, while efforts to secure a publisher started in the following months.
