Welcome everyone to the UnderEarth community and the first installment of the weekly developer blog! Let’s talk about what the team has been up to this past week.
Joe M. – Programmer
Tracers now corrected and acting within acceptable parameters. Nodes now displaying proper welcome messages. Scanner bug fixes. Tightened camera angles, corrected camera clipping, corrected camera height. Temp gauge now works inside HUD.
John – Senior 3D Artist
Working on art and finishing touches to website. Back end bug fixes to website.
Allison – Lead 3D Artist
Tweaked some textures and Models. Found a sound bug and it is now being worked on. Started designing and adding achievement icons.
Here’s a sneak peak:
Joe W. – Lead Designer
Tweaking and indexing brand new Beta Demo for release.
Kerrigan – Junior Level Designer
Oxygen and breathing system evaluations and play testing. Node and Console continuity and code clean up. Worked out puzzle fixes. Added more environmental assets. Tweaked textured and dirtied things up.
Soap scum has never looked better!!!
Check back often for more updates!
-The UE Team
UnderEarth Fact Sheet
UnderEarth Fact Sheet
12-10-2015
Described early on as “interactive fiction,” Under Earth operates in a first-person game perspective that flows through multi-layered puzzle adventures through the player’s “body” that’s able to move things around in the various environmental challenges. Influenced by real world practical science and engineering concepts, there is neither shooting nor active violence in gameplay. “The human experience brings us all to moments of powerlessness, but it’s our ingenuity and willingness to overcome that pushes us forward – and this is the driving force behind the storyline,” said Wilhems. He also adds that “we’ve tried to give people an experience they didn’t know they wanted!”
⦁ Unique and immersive environments
⦁ Utilize an assortment of tools to repair, traverse and defy gravity
⦁ Multi-layered puzzles challenge player logic and memory
Game storyline
40 miles under the Earth's surface a large research and refinery facility has faulted. Attempts to raise communication with the installment have failed. The status of all fifteen workers stationed within the facility is unknown and unstable readings were reported before the facility went dark. Valvorta Industries' board of directors elected to send an engineering specialist to assess the situation. The mission is simple: repair the output from the facility and rescue the distressed/trapped workers.
Maneuvering through the facility will not be easy. The malfunctioning systems have made the descent near impossible. The high temperatures and the lack of breathable oxygen require the use of a specialized suit. You'll need a sharp eye to find tools, lifts, documentation and devices scattered across the facility combined with a bright mind to put them to use. Extra attention must be paid to maintaining your suit's battery and air levels if you wish to survive. To facilitate the mission, your suit provides a gauge on your current status, a log of any documents you find scattered about, magnetic boot attachments function for situational vertical and upside-down movement, and an instant connection to all terminals requiring rudimentary programming skills. Find whatever information you can and piece together the events leading to the loss in communications. After that, it will be up to you to decide what needs to be done.
View video...
The first game to be released by indie developer CrackerJack Games, UnderEarth has been enthusiastically received by veteran gamers who reveal their observations during this summer’s alpha launch in this video compilation. CrackerJack is targeting a first quarter release on Steam to be announced after Jan 1, 2016.
The slogan “Play Savvy” positions UnderEarth for those gamers looking for immersive interactive fiction adventure challenges, and Game Director Joseph Wilhems anticipates his team will deliver an experience where game “successes belong to the player, not due to our guidance.”
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=390029366&searchtext=under+earth
Company Bio
CrackerJack Games LLC was formed in August 2013 by Joseph Wilhems, President and Game Director. HQ is located in Muncie, IN while communications emanate from Carol Wilhems out of Las Vegas, NV. UnderEarth’s key team members include Joseph Marin Lead Programmer and Software Engineer, and Artists Allison Summers and John Waynick. Both Josephs worked on previous projects together.
Carol Wilhems, Project Communications
702.837.5687 (PST/PDT)
cwilhems@lvcoxmail.com
Joseph Wilhems, President & Game Director
jwilhems@crackerjackgamesllc.com
Dec 14, 2015 Las Vegas, NV -- UnderEarth, a first person multi-layered puzzle designed and developed by CrackerJack Games LLC, has prepared a video clip showcasing gaming broadcaster reactions to its alpha release several months ago to provide a sneak-peak of anticipated player experience.
Click to view...
The first game to be released by indie developer CrackerJack Games, UnderEarth has been enthusiastically received by veteran gamers who reveal their observations during this summer’s alpha release, and like the demo
campaign, this press release targets the professional community ramping to a first quarter release on Steam.
The slogan “Play Savvy” positions UnderEarth for those gamers looking for immersive interactive fiction adventure challenges, and Game Director Joseph Wilhems anticipates that his team will deliver an experience where game “successes belong to the player, not due to our guidance.”
UnderEarth’s release will be announced to our distribution list in the near future.
June 1, 2015
Contact: Mark Gregory
Project Communications
CrackerJack Games’ interactive fiction game UnderEarth has been Greenlit for Steam
UK and USA -- CrackerJack Games LLC announces today that their first release, UnderEarth, has been approved by the Steam Greenlight community.
"We’re thrilled to achieve this milestone for UnderEarth on Steam. After launching a Greenlight campaign
in February, it’s critical validation for a storied interactive puzzle to be given the thumbs up,” stated Joseph Wilhems, President and Lead Designer of CrackerJack Games.
“We wanted to create a game where the player is king. Challenges will be overcome by the player's ability to solve them. The story will be pieced together by the player interpreting the presented materials. The successes will belong to the player, not due to our guidance,” said Wilhems.
A playable alpha version of UnderEarth is in the works, and plans to make it available for public consumption are in place. CrackerJack states however, that this will not be an ‘Early Access’ title, and that this alpha version will release under a controlled environment to gain player feedback. The demo will give players a chance to jump into the world of UnderEarth and provide the design team valuable feedback on what features they like and dislike.
CrackerJack’s release date for UnderEarth will be formally announced in the near future.
Game storyline
40 miles under the Earth's surface a large research and refinery facility has faulted. Attempts to raise communication with the installment have failed. The status of all fifteen workers stationed within the facility is unknown and unstable readings were reported before the facility went dark. Valvorta Industries' board of directors elected to send an engineering specialist to assess the situation. The mission is simple: repair the output from the facility and rescue the distressed/trapped workers.
Maneuvering through the facility will not be easy. The malfunctioning systems have made the descent near impossible. The high temperatures and the lack of breathable oxygen require the use of a specialized suit. You'll need a sharp eye to find tools, lifts, documentation and devices scattered across the facility combined with a bright mind to put them to use. Extra attention must be paid to maintaining your suit's battery and air levels if you wish to survive. To facilitate the mission, your suit provides a gauge on your current status, a log of any documents you find scattered about, magnetic boot attachments function for situational vertical and upside-down movement, and an instant connection to all terminals requiring rudimentary programming skills. Find whatever information you can and piece together the events leading to the loss in communications. After that, it will be up to you to decide what needs to be done.
March 25, 2015
Contact: Carol Wilhems
Project Communications
702.837.5687
Under Earth Challenges Gamers with Layered Adventure Puzzle
Las Vegas, NV – CrackerJack Games LLC has released a beta version of Under Earth with posts on independent game developer sites indiedb and steam. Game director Joseph Wilhems has also registered for 2015 exhibition at top gaming industry trade shows such as E3 in Los Angeles and PAX Prime in Seattle.
Described early on as “interactive fiction,” Under Earth operates in a first-person game perspective that flows through multi-layered puzzle adventures through the player’s “body” that’s able to move things around in the various environmental challenges. Influenced by real world practical science and engineering concepts, there is neither shooting nor active violence in the storyline. “The human experience brings us all to moments of powerlessness, but it’s our ingenuity and willingness to overcome that pushes us forward – and this is the driving force behind the storyline,” said Wilhems. He also adds that “we’ve tried to give people an experience they didn’t know they wanted!”
Game storyline
40 miles under the Earth's surface a large research and refinery facility has faulted. Attempts to raise communication with the installment have failed. The status of all fifteen workers stationed within the facility is unknown and unstable readings were reported before the facility went dark. Valvorta Industries' board of directors elected to send an engineering specialist to assess the situation. The mission is simple: repair the output from the facility and rescue the distressed/trapped workers.
Maneuvering through the facility will not be easy. The malfunctioning systems have made the descent near impossible. The high temperatures and the lack of breathable oxygen require the use of a specialized suit. You'll need a sharp eye to find tools, lifts, documentation and devices scattered across the facility combined with a bright mind to put them to use. Extra attention must be paid to maintaining your suit's battery and air levels if you wish to survive. To facilitate the mission, your suit provides a gauge on your current status, a log of any documents you find scattered about, magnetic boot attachments function for situational vertical and upside-down movement, and an instant connection to all terminals requiring rudimentary programming skills. Find whatever information you can and piece together the events leading to the loss in communications. After that, it will be up to you to decide what needs to be done.
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=390029366&searchtext=under+earth
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Whr9KI0Zazs&feature=youtu.be
Rather than being influenced by current gaming trends, lead designer Joseph Wilhems, president of CrackerJack Games, “had to ignore all that stuff,” to get players to engage with the story. “I want people to think about how to survive – preserve virtual life,” said Wilhems in contrast to various shooting mechanisms deployed by many games.
CrackerJack Games has completed an alpha demo heading into 2015 shows and will address additional information or interview requests at info@crackerjackgamesllc.com. The scene captures show how color saturation and photo realistic scenes and environments inspire thoughtful, logical maneuvers (press pack).
