[Press release] Nerd Kingdom revealed that TUG is rolling out its next major milestone in development with the launch of the game’s new Survival Games. All early access backers from the team’s successful Kickstarter campaign will gain access to the Survival Games.
TUG combines elements from classic survival sandbox games with more robust multiplayer RPG gameplay, offering simplicity of design and an emphasis on player freedom. The game currently has two modes of play: Creative and Survival Games.
In the recently introduced Survival Games, players can test out the combat systems in dynamic PVP battles on small, procedurally generated maps. In Creative mode, players can explore the game’s 13 unique biomes, gather resources, craft items, and dig and build the procedural terrain. TUG’s backers will all have access to both play modes.
TUG’s gameplay has no strict narrative, though the world does hold a deeply developed mythos that more curious players will be encouraged to uncover through exploration and progression. The game world is rife with mystery and ancient secrets, including an entire original language for players to translate and decode.
What is unique about TUG is the way its developers intend to use the game as a platform for social science research. Many of the developers working on the game have backgrounds in various social and behavioral sciences, and are applying research methods to collected gameplay data to guide the game’s development.
The team also hopes to use this research to further academic understanding of human interactions in virtual spaces, which can readily be translated to many real-life applications. Nerd Kingdom views the project as an experiment in truly interdisciplinary and collaborative game design.
“We’re anxious to start REALLY digging into gameplay testing with the community in Survival Games,” said Peter Salinas, a developer at Nerd Kingdom. “We have an opportunity to prove that data can be used to create solid and engaging gameplay and player interactions, as opposed to finding ways to sap every penny out of our gamers.
We could never have come this far without the support and encouragement of the community we’ve built, and we cannot wait to continue to create and share our technology and findings with our players.”
In conjunction with this latest milestone, the team has also launched a Steam Greenlight campaign for TUG. Backers will receive Steam trading cards and achievements if the campaign is successful, and stretch goals include exclusive sets of weapons, armor and tools.
To learn more about TUG and how to join the game’s Alpha, visit nerdkingdom.com. All money raised from donations and sales goes directly into supporting the game’s ongoing development.
