OtherSide Entertainment’s Joe Fielder, the Design Director for Underworld Ascendant, has posted the latest news update to that game’s website. In it, he discusses how OtherSide is approaching the world-building and story of Underworld:

I find a good way to start this process is figuring out interesting creative challenges. If you can come up with an idea that you find so compelling that it requires your absolute best work to pull off, then it’ll motivate you to give it your all throughout the long, sometimes exhaustive, development cycle. The thinking is also, if you’re engaged, your audience will hopefully be as well.

Another key part of the process is research. The old maxim of “write what you know” is spot-on but incomplete, since it leaves out the part where you can actually learn new information.

One of the things I learned from working on Irrational’s BioShock series is that research is absolutely essential to good world-building. It’s also incredibly fun. By digging through primary historical sources, you get a real sense of how people spoke, thought, went through their daily lives, and more. You pick up little details that make a world feel real, which then in turn helps make the fantastical elements of your setting seem more believable.

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Beyond all that, your societies need a coherent, compelling philosophy… one that’s generally reasonable and relatable, but that actively puts them at odds with others in your game world. That way when conflict arises, each side will have a justifiable viewpoint, no one will come off as bland, generic good or evil, and it’ll ideally be a bit of a tragedy.

As well, OtherSide have announced a new stretch goal in their ongoing crowdfunding efforts. The next main stretch goal remains the addition of the Necropolis region of the Abyss, which will unlock at $950,000 raised. But on the way there, a new type of creature will now be unlocked at the $925,000 mark:

We are also adding a mini-goal at the $925,000 mark, the Wailing Haunt. Haunts are a class of spectral creatures that hate all things living. The Wailing Haunt is blind in the conventional sense, but can sense the motion of the living and are drawn to it. If you are still they may pass right by you unawares, but if you make a run for it they are sure to pursue hard. They also have a piercing cry that can deafen and attract other undead. Let’s show our courage and entreat the Wailing Haunt to the Underworld.

Thus far, $905,279 has been raised to support Underworld Ascendant’s development. Hopefully that number keeps trending upward, and then at a somewhat more brisk pace than it has been to date.