Tales of the Rampant Coyote

Adventures in Indie Gaming!

Underworld Ascendant Kickstarter hits its final 72 hours

Posted by Rampant Coyote on March 3, 2015

Underworld_TombI don’t really mean to plug this thing, though I guess I really am.

As always – buyer beware. I doubt it (or I wouldn’t be a backer), but there’s nothing preventing a Kickstarter-backed developer from taking the money and running. Or simply screwing things up royally. It’s happened before, and it will happen again.

That being said, this is probably the most exciting Kickstarter project I’ve ever backed. At least some of the old gang getting back together again to create at least a semi-indie version of what sounds like a true sequel to one of my favorite games of all time. And certainly one of the most influential.

The project is now fully funded – whew! – and is into its stretch goals. I’m excited about many of these. I guess I should also admit that I’m acquainted with Tracy Hickman (he’s a local), so I’d love to see him do writing for it as well. But the Lizardmen stretch goal would be even better. There’s less than 72 hours to pull all that off.

Thus, a reminder, and then I’ll shut up about it. At least until the campaign is over. But while I’m not too certain of what they’ll be able to pull off, I’m excited for their direction and goals. If they can at least manage to capture the feel of the original Ultima Underworld games, with that level of interactivity and open-ended design, I’ll be thrilled.

I still go back and play these old games, cumbersome as they may be in their early 90s just-discovered-the-mouse kind of way. I still play the soundtracks for inspiration. The games nailed what I always imagined “dungeon delving” to be on so many levels – including NPC interaction, problem solving, a more organic approach to quest design… If these guys can manage to tap back into that feeling, that approach – whatever caffeine-fueled magic that drove the development of the first games – then this should be a winner.

Underworld Ascendant Crowdfunding Campaign

 


Filed Under: Game Announcements - Comments: 6 Comments to Read



  • McTeddy said,

    Gotta say, I’ve got concerns for this one. While I love the direction they want to take it… I don’t see the “Plan to get there”.

    Maybe it’s just because I wasn’t big into the original, but I’m going to sit back and let you guys gamble on this one.

  • Rampant Coyote said,

    I won’t hold that against ya 🙂 Ultima Underworld wasn’t a big hit when it was new… it was kind of a cult hit that grew in critical acclaim but not really in terms of dollars. While it gets all this praise for adding 3D action to the RPG formula, it was *still* a “thinking man’s dungeon.”

  • Couchpotato said,

    Well time for a shameless self advertisement for my
    own website sorry Jay. We Published a new Q&A with
    some of the games developers on RPGWatch.

    Link – http://www.rpgwatch.com/articles/underworld-ascendant-qa-298.html

    I’m also glad the Lizardman man Goal might be reached.

  • Rampant Coyote said,

    Shamelessly plug away, CP! 🙂

  • Cuthalion said,

    Lizardmen are the best men. I may never end up playing it, but anything’s better with lizardmen.

  • Kyle Haight said,

    At this point I’d be very surprised if they don’t hit the Lizardman stretch goal. They’re less than $4000 down with 39 hours to go. I’d been predicting they’d finish at around $750k for the last couple of weeks; it looks like I was a little pessimistic. $800000 isn’t out of the question.

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