Our Next Game Project

DT3 Project

We are happy to announce that we are starting development of a new game inspired by the original DeepTrouble! The game will take place in a mysterious underwater world and like the original DeepTrouble it will include exploration and a nonlinear gameplay. It was especially the nonlinear  gameplay that contributed to DeepTrouble’s success and this is one of the main features we want to bring back to this game. It will of course also include new gameplay ideas that we think will add tremendously to the fun and excitement of playing the game.

Graphics have improved enormously in games since the first DeepTrouble was released and this will also be reflected in our next game. We want to create a really interesting and exciting game world for you to explore and new alien ships to fight. During the development of the game we will try to provide updates on the progress and also show you screenshots and videos.

We want to make this a really great game and that’s why we also want your input and feedback. Later we also hope to make some development builds available for testing and to get feedback. We always want your input so please don’t hesitate to email us.

More news and information will follow as development progresses.

 

15 thoughts on “Our Next Game Project

  1. Fantastic news and very exciting to hear that at long last DT3 is To be developed. Every now and then I fire up my old G4 iMac, which I kept specifically, so that I can get a fix of the original (and best) DT. I’d be delighted to share my thoughts about what – for me – made it such a great and compelling game.

  2. Finally doing it! I hope that our emails way back when helped you make that decision. Will buy when it comes out! Cant wait!

  3. I’m on an old Mac game binge, and after re-locating a few other pieces of software (which I’m super excited that the websites are still up for them) I had a particularly strong desire to play some Deep Trouble. So I come to this website after not coming here for probably at least 3 years, and… DT3?! :O I’m amazed that it’s actually happening, and I’m super excited about it.

    All aboard the hype train! Oh, just me and a handful of other people? Ok then. Hopefully this release picks up some Steam from existing gaming communities/stores, if you catch my drift.

  4. DT3 development is on hold, for the time being at least. I know there are a few of you guys who really loved DT 1 and/or DT2 but the game market is so different today. I keep asking myself if another DeepTrouble type game would make sense with that in mind? Graphically the demands are many times higher now than back then and that also means the latest in hardware is needed. In other words, it’s not so casual anymore.

  5. Ken, I know it seems like a small company like this can’t compete with big-name game development companies, but plenty of indie game developers have success releasing innovative games that don’t necessarily need top-notch graphics.

    Now, I hate Windows as much as the next guy (just kidding; I hate it more) but you really need that PC gamer fanbase to get your game played. I would suggest looking into developing a cross-platform game and releasing it through Steam Greenlight. You might look at Subnautica and think there’s no way you could compete. Yeah, you probably shouldn’t even try. But your game is different than Subnautica and offers a different style of gameplay, so you wouldn’t need to “compete” with it. I feel like you could create something that Windows users haven’t seen yet, and I personally think you might find some success releasing a game on Steam.

    I don’t know how it’s written, and how easy it would be to port DT1 (and/or DT2) to Windows, but if you could do that semi-easily, you could release that on Steam and, I think, there would be people that would enjoy it, but still we’re only talking like $5 here for a game that old. It still has plenty of charm, though.

    Whatever you decide to do, I’m rooting for you.

  6. They say time flies and it sure does! Yeah DT3 didn’t happen at the time. The engine that was going to be used was discontinued so that put a stop to any plans that was considered.
    The desire to make a game is not gone though but it seems the biggest challenge is to keep the ideas realistic as to what one man can do in a reasonable time. I had big ideas and plans for DT2 for example but in the end it just didn’t even get close.

    Gamers of today expect way way more than when DeepTrouble was made so I’m not sure how viable the idea of a new DeepTrouble is. But maybe make something for those who enjoy that kind of game? Have to see where things go I guess.

    If anybody still read this please leave a comment about your thoughts.

    1. Perhaps Deep Trouble for iPad? Perhaps as a ‘retro’ game, ie, in its original look and form? I occasionally play a WWII submarine simulator game on my iPad called Silent Depth – the purpose of that being to captain your sub and sink/destroy as many enemy ships as possible. It reminds me of DT1 in many ways and I’ve often wished that the original and best DT was available as an app. I think it would work marvellously. Even now I still occasionally boot up my old iMac so I can get a fix of Deep Trouble!

  7. It depends on the demographic one is aiming at.

    First, going Mac-only is a bad idea. In the last 15 years, the gaming scene exploded due to the success of digital distribution. Today, a game has to stand out in a sea of hundreds and hundreds of other games (“indie games” of course, the AAA market is far out of reach for anyone but the multi-million dollar companies today). That means, limiting one’s game to a single platform is reducing these small chances further. If one does a PC game, ensure that it supports at Windows and Linux too, the first because there are thousands more players there and the second because one faces less competition there.

    Next up, get your old games running under the above platforms again and release them for free, ideally when announcing your new project. This has two major benefits: First, you might bring a few of the old players back to your newsletters, nostalgia is all the rage these days. Second, it forces you to establish a nice development pipeline supporting all your new platforms. Third, it just creates good-will and that is a good thing to have when re-surfacing (by the way, checkout what what Iliyas Jorio has been doing on GitHub (https://github.com/jorio), re-releasing perfectly smooth ports of Pangea Software’s old titles like Bugdom with their blessing… that is the way to go!

    Of course, if you want to use a pre-made engine like Unity instead of custom-tech, developing the new game is easier but you are also need to learn an entirely new engine with new problems. For new developers, this is often a good option but for an experienced programmer, its weird.

    For the game: I think the underwater setting alone will draw attention. With the recent failure of Aquanox (because it was a mismanaged project), the niche that is underwater-action-game-with-submarines is still wide open. The only other project trying to fill it right now is Manta (https://psychoclast.com/games/manta).

    If you have the money and energy to start this project, now is a good time to do it.

    1. It would be fun to get the original DeepTrouble running on today’s macOS but it’s not a small task. All the assets would basically need to be reverse engineered since the tools used don’t run on today’s Macs. All that stuff was made on 68k Macs back in the days. Main parts like graphics, input and sound would also need to be redone from scratch. It would basically be like developing a new game that looks like DT1.

  8. Any update on Deep Trouble 3? Also, I was curious if there are any gameplay recordings of the original Deep Trouble or even a soundtrack link that you could send me? I’ve looked everywhere and cannot seem to find anything. Thanks.

    1. We did a small prototype of DT3 but it in the end it didn’t quite click so unfortunately the project is currently on hold.
      Regarding gameplay videos of the original DT, personally I don’t know of any. YT was not around yet so in general I’d say gameplay videos were not much of a thing in those days.

  9. Do you have any intentions of porting the first 2 DT games to PC? I’d love to be able to play them again, but don’t have a mac.

    1. My reply to another post explains a bit more but the short answer is: very unlikely. They would need to be ported to modern macOS as a first step and especially for DT1 that is like making a new game altogether.

  10. Can you release and/or remaster the code for the first DeepTrouble? To allow it to be played in full resolution, or have a farther render distance?

    1. Updating the original DeepTrouble to run on modern Macs would be very difficult. Most of the code would need to be redone from scratch. Game input, graphics, sound, file IO. Everything was developed for the 68k Macs of the time, including the game editor. It’s pretty much like developing a new game.

      I have thought about it from time to time and it would be fun to have a remastered version running on a modern Mac but the work involved is quite daunting to say the least.

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