Underworld Ascendant “It’s 2016!” Blog Update

For the first 2016 Underworld Ascendant blog update, the folks at OtherSide Entertainment explain what they’re doing now that development is transitioning into full production and what the new “authored” art style concocted by Nate Wells entails. Here’s a snippet:

Our designers are heads down prototyping the quest and narrative systems, building out character skills, and working out how to create spaces that take advantage of those skills. We’ve even started coming to grips with the major characters in the game and the main plot points.

It’s fun to see a team switch gears from “Wouldn’t it be cool?” to “We all agree that is cool. Let’s build it and prove it!” Seeing an idea on paper isn’t nearly as awesome as seeing it the game engine. One of the most rewarding things as a producer is being the guy who gets the first look at everything. It’s like opening presents every morning when we reach this point in development. From something simple like getting a new shader for stalactites to testing out wall-running and ground-sliding for the first time, it’s never boring.

It’s worth noting that the post talks about Underworld Ascendant’s campaign as the team’s “first Kickstarter”, which to me sounds like a sly hint at the developers’ intention to go back to the platform. Considering we already know what they’ll be working on next, I think there’s plenty of room to speculate that OtherSide Entertainment might launch a System Shock 3 Kickstarter campaign in the future.