When "Descent" was launched in 1995, this vehicle-based, 3D first person shooter revolutionized the way games were played by introducing a 6DoF gameplay. This 6DoF — six degrees of freedom — refers to the additional control for players, vertical movement and banking, thus giving players added freedom of movement. This movement allowed gamers to pilot a space ship in all sorts of environments of gaping mines and collect resources while, at the same time, duking it out with other ships and robots.
"Descent" also offered competitive multiplayer play for up to eight players over LAN, and with the increasing popularity of the Internet back then, the game's second and third installments achieved fame due to its Internet multiplayer games feature.
Now, 16 years after the release of "Descent 3," game developer Descendent Studio partners with Interplay to create a brand new installment, with updated gameplay, fresh visuals, and massive multiplayer features. They then headed over to Kickstarter for a fund campaign.
In the Kickstarter page, CEO Eric Peterson describes the undertaking:
"Sadly, as consoles took over and PC games were pushed aside by publishers, great games like Descent were left to languish in obscurity. A whole generation of gamers grew up without Descent's heart-pounding, non-stop action, robbed of the true 6DoF space adventure.
"We're bringing back 6DoF by blasting Descent into the 21st Century with current-generation gaming technology. Descent: Underground is more than a graphics upgrade."
The project is the freshest one for Peterson, who left the development team for "Star Citizen" just four months ago. The "Descent: Underground" project team is composed of Peterson together with experienced developers for other flight-based games such as "Starlancer," "Wing Commander," and "Ultima Online."
The Kickstarter campaign is aiming for a $600,000 goal for the project development, attracting backers with level rewards like beta access and boxed editions of "Descent: Underground." The funding campaign has gathered $147,000 as of press time.
