OtherSide Entertainment, a new independent games studio, today announced its formation.  Fronted by game pioneer Paul Neurath, OtherSide Entertainment revealed that its first title, Underworld Ascension.

Paul Neurath, Founder and CEO of OtherSide Entertainment, is renowned for his creative direction spanning three decades, notably leading the development of such classic franchises as Thief, System Shock and the acclaimed Ultima Underworld.

Underworld Ascension marks both the series and Paul Neurath’s return to his RPG roots, with OtherSide Entertainment aiming to innovate and revitalize the fantasy genre in the same way that its predecessor did in 1992.  “With Underworld Ascension,” said Neurath, “we are excited to be bringing back the Underworld franchise, making it more vital than ever before.”

The original Underworlds transformed the traditional dungeon crawl into a truly immersive experience. Players felt as if they were actually walking through the great underworld halls; and encountering a living community of underworld dwellers.

Richard Garriott, Creative Director, Portalarium:  “For those of us lifelong gamers that go back to the early days the Underworld franchise, created by Paul Neurath, represents a watershed event on what an immersive 3D true role-playing game can be like. In these days, where we are seeing many of these greats return, I personally am as excited about Underworld as any game I can imagine.“

Ken Levine, Creative Director, Irrational Games:  "Underworld had a transformative effect on my understanding of what games were. It was the first time I ever felt "inside" of an imaginary world. It was the game that primed all of my creative ambitions."

Chris Roberts, Chairman, Roberts Space Industries:  “Ultima Underworld was truly revolutionary for its time – it was the first fully 3D textured first person game. As such it influenced pretty much all first person 3D games that came afterwards and could be truly called the granddaddy of first person Role Paying Games.“

Warren Spector, Director, Denius-Sams Gaming Academy:  “As Producer on the original Ultima Underworld games, I'll never forget the first time I saw a working prototype of the game – I felt as if the world had just changed.  As the first fully-textured, real-time, first-person game, Underworld paved the way for every other first-person game that followed.  If that doesn't qualify as ‘changing the world’, I don't know what does!”