Under Pressure: New Game, 8 Guys, & Free Gov’t Money
December 22nd, 2008 | Written by Anthony Perez | Topic: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Kotaku is reporting on an interesting new project for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 entitled Under Pressure. Is it special because of some incredible new graphics engine? No. Is it incredible because of some enticing gameplay mechanics? Kinda.
But why, exactly, is it so special? Because it’s being developed by 8 guys with a little bit of free government money. Remember, in this day and age of game development, it can cost a talented team about $500,000 to $1 million just to produce a demo to show to a publisher. Up until recently, that free government money had only gotten them a total of $320,000. They have since received more financing from a private investor.
Oh, and there’s also this little tidbit too:
Those eight people don’t even share an office. Prophecy’s team is split between Canberra, Sydney, Adelaide and even the US, linked only by remote office software, a move that studio boss Andrew Smith says is “new, but we wanted specific people for the game who weren’t in Canberra. Remote let us all come together on the project”.
While it is possible that similar effort is going on unbeknownst to us by other upstart developers, it still makes for an incredible story. Maybe because I’ve been slogging around in game journalism for about 9 years with just this site – which makes me no money – and a freelance GameSpot gig – which makes me just a bit of money – do I find their story so endearing. It can be overwhelming at times to look at a seemingly insurmountable obstacle and decide to take it head on. For that, Prophecy Games has my respect.
So what about the game itself? Under Pressure is essentially a third-person survival horror adventure of sorts with a whacked out story about a government ship that’s been mysteriously sunk. And then the crew turns into zombies…
Yeah. As Kotaku so eloquently put it, “Underwater, against zombies.”
One of the interesting aspects of the game is that the environment is said to be completely destructible. While that isn’t new, the promise is that such destruction will be persistent. That means if you set off grenades and mangle a staircase, then it will still be mangled when you return to the area a few hours later. Then, there’s this:
Another, more ambitious example is in the game’s use of water: being set underwater, if you blow out a window, a section of the ship will flood. Water will rise slowly as it rushes in from outside, and for the rest of the game, that section of the ship will remain flooded. Sometimes this can be used to flush away enemies, sometimes it’ll be a necessity so that you can swim to a previously inaccessible part of the ship.
For now, Prophecy Games hasn’t found a publisher for the game, though we wouldn’t be surprised if they sign a deal sometime soon. What’s disheartening is how this interferes with my typically cynical and biting review style. Even if Under Pressure turns out to be terrible, I would feel terrible trashing their game. With that said, make sure it comes out good, Prophecy.
We will be contacting Prophecy for more follow-up on the game soon. Until then, check out this video from Kotaku of an early tech demo. Remember, the game is still in the beginning stages of development so don’t be too critical of the visuals.
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Comment by JacobS on the December 23rd, 2008 at 3:14 am
I'm getting kind of tired of zombie games, but I'm interested in how open ended this game will be. For instance, it will have to be structured so that you can't end your game by destroying something that's imperative. There will have to be a careful balance between what you can and can't destroy. I don't know if it's a valuable concept to follow (not everything about a game has to be realistic), but I'd like to see someone try.
Comment by 1664 on the January 6th, 2009 at 7:31 pm
but surely if a ships under water then the whole thing would be flooded anyway? and even if there was air pockets or rooms that hadnt flooded then what say i broke a window then dont shut the door to flooded room, then is the whole boat gonna be flooded for the duration of the game, i dunno maybe im wrong i dont mean to piss on there parade or sound negative just i cant see how thats very realistic
Comment by bob on the January 20th, 2009 at 3:09 am
Well, it is not realistic… It is a game. Games are games and not real life. It sounds awesome.
Comment by 1664 on the January 19th, 2009 at 10:46 pm
No shit sherlock, the point of my comment was that they seem to be going for a realistic approach with the destructable objects and lasting effects whilest leaving out some of the basics of underwater enviroments, and in that respect, no it doesnt sound awesome, unless you have the mentality of a 12 year old
Comment by 1664 on the January 19th, 2009 at 10:48 pm
its the 20th here :-/ not the 19th lol my post should be under bobs