The latest update from Paul Neurath posted to the Underworld Ascendant Kickstarter page introduces us to two members of the development team: lead designer Tim Stellmach, and game systems designer Scott Kimball. Only Stellmach’s interview has been cross-posted to the OtherSide Entertainment YouTube channel, so here it is:

You’ll have to click on through to the post to see Kimball’s interview.

Additionally, Neurath urged everyone who has backed the game to get the word out about it, drawing certain parallels between the way Underworld Ascendant’s Kickstarter campaign has been progressing and the late-blooming successes of some of Looking Glass’ games:

On another topic, I want to talk about getting the word out about Underworld Ascendant. Back at LookingGlass we made some great games that fell under the radar. For example, our System Shock games were largely ignored when first released. Only years later have these games been broadly recognized as classics. Ultima Underworld fared much better, but even then it took nearly a year following release to get wide attention.

The Underworld Ascendant Kickstarter lasts but a month. We can’t wait a year for a larger audience to find us.

While we’re well along towards reaching our base funding goal for the project, it’s still up in the air how many of our stretch goals might get funded. We would love to do them all! They include some great extensions to the Stygian Abyss, and to gameplay. Also some wonderful innovations.

To reach more stretch goals the community of Backers will need to steadily grow over the next couple of weeks. You are the vanguard who first recognized the vision for Underworld Ascendant. It’s your voice that will ring loudest with friends and colleagues to join us. Let’s make sure they don’t miss out on this great game.

To help build momentum, OtherSide Entertainment have announced a contest of sorts:

As a pat-on-the-back for all Backers, if we end up exceeding the 8,000 mark by noon (EST) Sunday the 15th, we’ll gift everybody who pledges $5 or more a special Kickstarter Exclusive in-game item:

These dwarven-crafted claw knuckles pack a surprising punch for such an inconspicuous weapon. And for every 500 new Backers past 8,000 that join us by Sunday, our dwarven smiths will set an extra fine Blue Opal stone in the knuckles of the Little Friends. Let’s go for the bling!

Finally, if the $1,200,000 Stretch Goal (which includes co-op mode) gets unlocked during the Kickstarter, we’ll upgrade everybody’s Little Friends with an Enchantment of Stunning. If a pair of friends can simultaneous land a blow on a common foe, they will deal out a one-time stun.

So, here’s the chart:

On one hand, they’re doing not bad; they’re over the 50% mark, and there’s still lots of time left in the campaign. Too, Kicktraq are pretty vocal about the fact that these graphs — and, indeed, their estimates of funding totals — are not really meant to be predictive. Still, that curve doesn’t have a favourable slope at present.

If you’ve been meaning to pledge support for Underworld Ascendant, there really is no time like the present!