A new Kickstarter is underway, looking to raise at least $600,000 to develop Underworld Ascendant, a new game following in the footsteps of Ultima Underworld. This proposal comes from OtherSide Entertainment, a new developer composed of veterans of Looking Glass Studios, developers of the original 1992 role-playing game and its 1993 sequel. There are details on the project and a Kickstarter video with a look at the new game and the original featuring Paul Neurath and Tim Stellmach of OtherSide, as well as RPG legend Richard "Lord British" Garriott. If you are interested in this, they are holding a reddit AMA at noon EST today and will be live streaming on Twitch at 4:00 pm EST. Here's a bit on the plan:

Far more than a dungeon crawl, Underworld Ascendant is a next-generation sequel to the legendary fantasy RPG's Ultima Underworld & Ultima Underworld 2. It not only modernizes the series' visuals and user interface to take full advantage of the today's powerful PC's, it innovates in bold new ways.

Here's how:

THE UNDERWORLD AS A CHARACTER

No other game has such a vivid imagining of an underground fantasy realm as Underworld Ascendant. The Stygian Abyss is a vast world unto itself…

• Plunder ancient temples, navigate subterranean rivers, gaze in wonder at the masterwork of jade dwarven halls, scale plunging ice caverns, trek through enchanted forests of giant mushrooms, dare shadowy tombs of the undead, and much more.
• Alive with bustling underground societies: enclaves of human renegades scavenging for survival, villages of the mysterious shambler 'mushroom people' performing arcane rituals, dwarven factories producing the finest arms and armor.
• Face monstrous creatures like the ripper, a vicious, ambulatory plant whose bark is prized by The Stygian Abyss' intelligent races; stay clear of mass migrations of ravenous rotworms; dodge the giant spider's sticky webs it casts through the air.
• Alter the environment to your advantage. Flood an arid plain to help the damp-loving shamblers expand their territory, gaining their favor.Changes you make can ripple across the game's reactive, ever-changing ecology, producing startlingly unpredictable results.

The Stygian Abyss makes the typical fantasy game's above-ground assortment of medieval towns and wilderness seem stale by comparison.

A DYNAMIC, PLAYER-DRIVEN NARRATIVE

Get drawn into an epic story with ties to the original Ultima Underworld games. Play as The Avatar, a human newly arrived from our earth through a mystical Rune Gate. As a "stranger in a strange land" you will…

• Meet shrewd characters, with their own motivations and agendas. Some may be swayed to your cause, while others may manipulate you.
• Encounter rugged dwarf frontiersmen, fierce dark elf renegades, and strangely alien shamblers. Each faction holds a valid claim to The Stygian Abyss. Which side will you join? Will you unite, or destroy?
• Entangle yourself in a tale of intrigue and conflict as three fierce, rival factions struggle for control. Your choices will determine the ultimate fate of The Stygian Abyss.