Submerged Wiki – Everything you need to know about the game

Submerged is an upcoming indie adventure game that is currently being developed by the Australia based developer Uppercut Games.

Prior to working on Submerged, Uppercut Games developed the iOS and Android video games, Epoch & Epoch 2 as well as SnowJinks.

Thus far, Submerged has been officially confirmed to be launching on the PlayStation 4, making it Uppercut Games’ first current generation video game. The game is thought to be releasing on other platforms including Xbox One and PC in “early 2015”.

• 1. Development
• 2. Story
• 3. Gameplay
• 4. Characters

Development

As clearly shown in the official development blog for Submerged, the game will be running on Unreal Engine 4. This has given the developers access to tools that have made the development process a bit easier than if they had been working with previous Unreal Engine builds. Inverse Kinematics, a system that allows for more accurate movement in certain objects, is used to help position the limbs and extremities of Miku and Taku.

Speaking about this, Uppercat Games’ Ben Driehuis has said that ,”Doing basic IK in Unreal 4 is quite easy”. While Inverse Kinematics isn’t revolutionary, it’s an important system in character focused games like Submerged. Driehuis also said, “The other issue we had is once we started adding in the level art the limbs would often look out of place or go through the meshes. The solution was to use Inverse Kinematics or IK. The quick explanation of this is that we can set the hands and feet to exact positions and the IK system will rotate the bones before it in the chain so that they end up there.”

Also talking about the options afforded to them by Unreal Engine 4, Uppercut Games’ Ed Orman said, “We use Unreal Engine 4 to create the gorgeous graphics that you see above.”

The first playable build of the game was presented to Canberra Game Devs during PAX Australia, this served as both a gameplay reveal and a means of locating bugs in the game based on played feedback.

Working on the game’s score, is the Canadian/Australian, BAFTA award winning composer Jeff Van Dyck. His portfolio is extensive, he has worked on titles like Alien Isolation, Medieval 2: Total War, Total War: Shogun 2: Fall of the Samurai among other Total War games.

Talking about getting Van Dyck on board to work on the game, Orman said, “We’ve enlisted BAFTA-Award Winner Jeff Van Dyck to provide the musical score. The gameplay is designed with no failure states: play at your own pace, safe in the knowledge that you’ll never die. It all adds up to create a relaxing, mysterious adventure that everyone can enjoy.”

Speaking by way of the European PlayStation blog, Orman has expressed an interest in introducing Virtual Reality support, but only if it’s introduced in a meaningful way. Answering a question put to him by a gamer about Project Morpheus support, Orman said, “We are interested in VR support, but we would want to put some real thought into designing for it – don’t want to just slap it in. That said, I’d sure love to be able to stand in the world of Submerged and have a good look around.”

Story

Submerged focuses on siblings Miku and Taku, who arrive at a strange location by boat. Due to Taku being injured, the sister Miku must explore the area and find supplies to help him recover. Finding supplies will be a bit of an issue though due to the collapsing nature of the nearby city. Exploring by boat, Miku will use her telescope to discover supply caches and ultimately explore various, deteriorating structures to find resources to help her brother.

Gameplay

Submerged is an adventure video game that focuses on the two main characters, the game is designed in a way that the player cannot lose, given that there are no “fail states”.

Arriving in a strange and mostly collapsing and submerged city by boat, you must find shelter for your wounded brother whom you will also provide for.

Navigating the game world with your boat, finding your way and locating useful items thanks to a telescope and climbing your way through the ruins, you will gather the items neccesary to shelter yourself and your brother as well as supply aid.

Talking about this, Uppercut Games’ Ed Orman said, “As she traverses the sunken metropolis, Miku starts to uncover the secrets of how this world came to be. And in turn, we begin to learn about Miku and Taku: what drove them to this mysterious city, where the only inhabitants appear to be malformed copies of the native sea-life?”

Character

At this time, not a great deal is known about Miku and Taku, the brother and sister duo that serve as the primary protagonists of Submerged.

Note: This wiki will be updated once we have more information about the game.