The UnderGarden Coming to PSN this Winter

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Congratulations! You’ve hit rank 50 in another first-person shooter. Now it’s time for something completely different. Welcome to The UnderGarden.

We at Vitamin G Studios are excited to introduce you to our new game, coming to PSN this winter. The UnderGarden is about exploration. It’s part game and part experience, with a little bit of puzzle solving mixed in. The game takes place across different worlds of windy tunnels, dark places filled with fog, and areas where electricity turns large rock gears endlessly. As the player, you float through these dark caverns, and fill them with color and music. You’ll need to collect pollen to grow beautiful flowers and exotic plants. Some of these plants bear fruit, used to manipulate doors, levers, gears, and other contraptions you find along the way. There are also special items to collect, and new flora and fruit to discover, and as they bloom the lighting and animations make the entire environment spring to life. Music also plays a huge part in the game, and almost everything you touch makes different musical tones. As you fill the world with music, you’ll run into the musicians, who play different instruments and will keep you company on your journey.

Undergarden for PS3 (PSN) Undergarden for PS3 (PSN)

The game supports drop-in/drop-out co-op play, so a second player can join in and play along for the whole game, or just a level or two. We wanted to make it fun for two people to play together, even if they aren’t both at the same skill level. In co-op, the second player is there to help the first gather pollen and solve puzzles. So you don’t have to worry about getting lost or left behind: they always get pulled along and you’ll always be close together. The second player can even just float around making everything colourful and musical while the first player does the heavy lifting: it’s up to you. We think it is a great way to get a friend or significant other into the game, especially if they don’t usually play games.

Undergarden for PS3 (PSN)

Many games are really fast-paced and full of tension. The UnderGarden is pretty much the polar opposite of that. It is about creating rather than destroying: you can’t die, you can’t really fail, and you play at your own pace. In the right state of mind, it is a nice relaxing experience. You can pour yourself a beverage, shut off the lights, and just float around the world. If you are a fan of games like Flower, or flOw, then you’ll be right at home here. Even if you spend more time playing shooters, The UnderGarden is a great change of pace to help you unwind afterwards.

Undergarden for PS3 (PSN)

So who are you and why are you here? Your name’s Ludwig and you’ve been described as everything from a floating baby to a space monkey. But who you really are, and what this place is, are things you’ll have to figure out on your own, so you’ll have to use your imagination there!

Over the next few weeks, we’ll talk about some of the ideas behind the game, and the music as we get closer to release. We hope to see you in The UnderGarden in a few weeks!

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66 Comments

12 Author Replies

  • Looks good!

  • that first sentence solidified me buying this game.

  • Wow! Those visuals look pretty awesome. Looking forward to getting more information on this game. Keep the good stuff coming guys.

  • Wow, those visuals are really nice. Glad to see that there are still many devs out there that are taking risks and putting out interesting new games that are not just the same generic thing. Looks cool!

  • So this is a platform game then?

    • Antonio Santamaria

      It has platform elements for sure, but we would really call it a platform game in the traditional sense. There’s no jumping :)

      It has some soft puzzle elements, and involves some collection and exploration as well.

    • Antonio Santamaria

      I should have said we *wouldn’t* really call it a platform game in the traditional sense.

  • Definitely looking cool! I look forward to giving it a shot soon :D

  • After seeing that “cavernous” footage, I think you guys really need to head up an Ecco The Dolphin remake. =)

  • looks beautiful, is there going to be a demo?

  • at first i thought i was looking at a Little Big Planet 2 level but then i didnt see sackboy on it , looks good

  • Nice looking experience. Hardly can call creations that look like this “games” anymore. You have my attention :)

  • Can’t wait. There is a terrible deficit of co op games right now, hate deathmatches.

  • Looks out of this world. Very creative and fresh. Will look to check this out when it releases. Any word on price?

    Side Note: They should make all posts include a price and if there is going to be a demo. Someone always asks, this time it’s me.

  • Games like this are precisely why I’ve drifted more and more towards indie/small dev games. Nice to see creative vision encouraged. When I play games like Flower, or Minecraft I get a stronger sense of the ideas that led to these games, which creates a connection to developers, as opposed to some blockbuster titles that feel way too ground out sometimes.

  • Whaaaat!? This looks amazing! Im not really sure what’s happening, but it still looks super fun. Visuals and art style are awesome as well. Kinda reminds me of Folklore or Flower in a way.

    I’ll definitely grab this when it comes out. >.>

  • Saw this on PC a while back, looks unique to say the least.

  • Was I the only one that thought of Flower when watching the video?

  • Local co-op only, or can I pollinate with my online buddies?

    • The Undergarden supports local co-op only. The second player acts as a helper to the first, so they can collect pollen and grow plants, or carry the fruit or musicians around, or they can even just float around adding colour in the area around the main player if they want.

  • I’ll try it as soon as I hit level 50 on Black Ops.

  • Wow, where did this come from? Sounds neat conceptually. I’m wondering how it controls since its hard to picture based on these image (maybe its just me). The no failing comment is also intriguing, how does that work? Will any old person be able to breeze through each world with the collection/trophy aspects being the difficult yet optional parts?

    • By “no failing” it means that you can’t die, and there are no time limits that cause you to “fail” a level. In later levels there are some creatures that can cause you to lose pollen, but that’s about it. We really wanted you to be able to take as long as you needed or wanted to just explore without penalty. That doesn’t mean that you’ll get all the Trophies though…some of those will require finding special items or pollinating the whole level, and you’ll still need to figure out how to get through some areas. There are some optional areas that are a little trickier to navigate later on as well, so they won’t all come free :)

  • looks like Avatar meets LittleBigPlanet

  • Love the brilliant colors!

  • How much will it cost?
    How long will it be?
    What kind of extra features is to be expected?

    • There are 17 levels in all, plus a bunch of bonus outfits for your character that you can unlock as you play.

  • I hope this is just the tip of the iceberg for new projects this year. FPS is fine for a party setting, but once in a while I like to just relax and cruise in a game. This looks to be a “buy” in my future.

  • @21 – I was thinking it looked very Flower meets PJ Shooter. Will defiantly check out the demo on this one.

  • Outfits to unlock? Similar to littlebigplanet?

  • Looks decent.

  • Definitely getting this. Watching the video I was thinking this game has sixaxis control. Does it?

    • It doesn’t have sixaxis control. It’s pretty easy to pick up and play though: you just use the left stick to float around, pushing in the direction you want to go. There’s a boost available if you need it as well.

  • awesome first sentence

  • I absolutely LOVE games like these, I’m still enjoying Flower as a whole and I will be sure to pick up this game also, however what were your inspirations for the creation of this game? Like what games inspired you to create UnderGarden.

    • Good question! We’re fans of Flower too, and also Flow, but lots of other games as well like Little Big Planet, the PJ games, etc. One of the big things we wanted to do with The UnderGarden was make sure it was a relaxing experience, ie. something that let you unwind rather than get all tense while playing. We think Flower does a great job with that, and there are some other examples on PSN that aim for the same thing. So for influences, definitely Flower, Flow, some PJ games, maybe a bit of LBP, mixed in with some new ideas from the whole team as well.

  • So it will be relaxing but will make those that want to be a completionist sweat a little? Works for me! I don’t play shooting games, but I have played a good deal of rpgs and puzzlers recently so a game like this ought to be refreshing. So long as its more like Flower and less like fl0w… the latter of which honestly freaked me out. D:

  • Looks somewhat similar to Ambrosia SW’s Aquaria. That said, I wouldn’t have minded if the video was a little more coherent – I couldn’t really tell what was going on.

    Looking forward to trying it out myself!

  • I played it on X360 and found the game really too easy. I love having a challenge on game, from insane AI to ridiculously complex puzzles. The satisfaction of completing them is a great feeling.

    I’d love to get Super Meat Boy on PS3! It’s on WiiWare, Steam and XBL. Come on, why no PSN? :( I prefer to play games on my PS3 and would buy it again!

  • Looks really relaxing! It’s great to see developers try something new and refreshing. These are the type of games that inspire me to get into the game development field, originally is where it all counts. The game is boasting a really great visual style! Best of luck throughout the rest of development!

  • Yay a game for me the bf. :D

  • Gentlemen prefer a well-kept undergarden.

  • Wait….so you mean this winter? As in this month or next? or do you mean november/december?

    • Definitely meant this winter, as in the one that caused me to warm up my car this morning! Likely in the next month or so; there should be an exact date announced shortly.

  • @30. Awesome! I also enjoy Flow a lot, and I’ll definetely be looking forward to the demo also, regardless I’ll still be picking up this game in Winter.

  • seems interesting, I’ll keep an eye out for it

  • I’m so glad to see this coming to PSN!

    Couple of questions:
    1. does it render in 1080p natively?

    2. are there any graphical improvements over the versions on other platforms?

    3. are the audio assets 24-bit and/or losslessly compressed? (at the very least please tell us it’s not a straight copy of the crappy MP3-sounding assets from the XBLA version)

    @33, another vote from me for Super Meat Boy and more indie games on PSN! PSN had a great initial burst of indie and art games which seems to have died off in the last year or so :(

  • I have the impression I saw the conception of a game like this in the Tester Season 2… I think I’ll get it if the price is right of course :)

  • @33 – Super Meat Boy isn’t on WiiWare. It was cancelled entirely for both WiiWare and Wii retail.

    Good to see this coming to PSN. Is it a straight port from the XBLA/Steam versions, or has the code been tweaked to take advantage of Sony’s hardware (incl. Move, etc.)?

    • The PS3 version was developed at the same time as the other versions, so it wasn’t just a straight port of an already finished game. It shares the levels, but the PS3 version has a couple extra levels included with it as well.

      Move is something we would certainly be interested in looking at if there’s enough interest. We’re open for suggestions!

  • I played the demo on the 360 and it was fun but it made me so sleepy. I preffer my Ps3 to play games on so there is a good chance i will get this. If it had Move support itwould increase the odds of me getting this game.

  • I’ll buy it for the 360 then. I don’t really buy from PSN anymore.

  • I have it on 360 i’ve only beat a couple levels. It’s kinda slow for hardcore gamers but probably great for fun, relaxing coop or to play with someone who doesn’t normally play video games. As for price, i’d assume it will release at $10 since that’s what it was on 360.

    And as for Super Meat Boy, I’m pretty sure Team Meat is contractually prohibited to release that game on PS3. I’d find the link for it but i’m too lazy.

  • Antonio Santamaria said: “There are 17 levels in all, plus a bunch of bonus outfits for your character that you can unlock as you play.”

    ooooh! Unlockable Costumes! I am so in. :D

    FYI, to any other developers out there. Every game should have unlockable costumes. >_<

  • Move support would be very cool IMO. Would increase the chances of me buying. And it doesn’t seem like the kind of game where all of the core mechanics need to be changed to accomodate the Move so it shouldn’t be hard. Love the look of the game, by the way.

  • That has got to be one of the best intros to a blog post I’ve seen here! Hahaha well done, looking forward to this, and thankfully there will be a demo!

  • guess my questions weren’t worthy of an answer :(

  • @42
    Well I haven’t booted my Wii in over a year, so I didn’t really care for the Wii version, but I heard about it, just not that it was cancelled. Anyways, I still want it on PS3. :P

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