Posted by Jungle Venture Inc. 

Hey Everyone!

First, we'd like to say a huge thank-you to all of our early backers. You've helped us take one step closer to making this brand new Jungle Adventure a reality. You've also given us a lot of great feedback and asked some important questions. So, here we are with a couple of answers and a couple of exciting announcements! Onward...

Starting from the Start. An important part of this project for us is being able to bring backers along for the entire journey. From the earliest concept sketches all the way through to a launched game, we want you to be there experiencing key moments and influencing key decisions. Admittedly, this means taking a leap of faith and using plenty of imagination when backing the game. We'd like to give you some information to help with that...

Announcement 1: Unity3D

We're really excited to announce that we've chosen Unity3D as our technology for development of the game. David has a lot of experience with Unity and it's a great tool for state-of-the-art, cross-platform game development. Unity is going to allow us to bring the level of 3D realism to the game necessary to separate it from ordinary 2D platformers. We've talked a lot about the jungle itself being a key character of the game, and working in a 3D space for a side-scrolling adventure will give us a lot of opportunity to play with perspective and depth, to make that a reality.

Announcement 2: Linux

Unity has announced that they will support Linux in the upcoming version 4.0 of their development platform, and that means we will also support it for Jungle Adventure as soon as that capability exists. Here’s what Unity says about compatibility: “Unity Games will run out of the box on most modern Linux systems, but we are only providing *official* support for 64-bit or 32-bit Ubuntu Linux with vendor-made graphics drivers.“

Announcement 3 (yes, more!): OUYA

We watched with tremendous excitement as the OUYA kickstarter campaign blew past it's target. We've backed it ourselves, and are happy to take the next logical step in supporting the platform... by supporting the platform. Yes, we will be making an OUYA version of Jungle Adventure!

More to Come. Along with all of these announcements, the team is also working night and day, occasionally breaking to enjoy the sunset, on new materials to give you a clearer sense for the direction of the game. Stay tuned - we think you're going to like what you see.

Finally. By popular demand, David will be doing an Ask Me Anything on Reddit on Tuesday, Aug. 21 at 1pm PST/4pm EST. Bring your questions about this project, Pitfall! and the early days of gaming, the founding of Activision, or anything else you've always wanted to know about David Crane.

Once again, we want to thank everyone for the support to date. We're listening to your feedback, and we look forward to continuing the adventure with you!

This game will not be made if the Kickstarter goal is not met, and as you know it is not looking good.  The strangest comments I have gotten are things like "I would back it, but it doesn't look like it is going to make it." That is a self-fulfilling prophecy.  What is the risk to showing your support?  If it doesn't make it your pre-purchase is refunded.

Many other classic gaming enthusiasts have said great things about the project and then become backers for $1 - wanting access but not helping to pay the costs of getting it made.  I'm just saying there is a lot of strange thinking going around.

Because we have chosen Unity 3D as the core technology, for different parts of the game we can depart the jungle path and play in a 3D world.  But I will only use that flexibility when it makes sense for the game.  After all, how many of you have had trouble figuring out how to navigate a first-person shooter?  A game should always be presented to the player in the way that gives him/her maximum control over the action.  I have treated this as a hard and fast rule throughout my career in game design.

More Detail on The Game:

Jungle Adventure is actually three complete games in one.  As your on-screen avatar skirts the living jungle, he collects treasures and masters obstacles on the path.  He uses all of his senses, learning to feel the jungle's heartbeat so he can identify any changes.  Every rustle of leaves or flash of color on a tree truck might signify an important clue to making it through the miles of jungle path alive.  Descend into the jungle where the path forks.  The deeper you go into the depths, the more dangerous the path and the higher the potential reward.  Combine certain treasures into clues that will help solve the final mystery.

If you survive the jungle you will encounter ancient ruins, lost to civilization for hundreds of years.  If you can find your way inside, a completely new adventure opens up before you: Dark stone passageways, dimly lit by torchlight and the occasional sunbeam filtering through chinks in the stone walls.  It quickly becomes clear that these ruins contain extensive ground-level passageways, as well as many levels rising up into the center of an ancient pyramid.  Working his way up and down through the ancient builders' maze of passageways he ends up in the Hall of Ancient Kings where much is revealed, and where the statues are so realistic you might think one of them looks just like your neighbor!  Better use all of your senses here as well, because you are not alone in these passageways.

Anyone who has played "A Boy and His Blob" will not be surprised to learn that the pyramid and ruins are built over a dramatic series of caverns.  A few upper levels of these natural passageways were excavated by the ancients to serve as catacombs.  But below that the player discovers natural, underground formations untouched by human hands.  Here our hero begins a third new adventure, and more of our adventurer's overall quest is revealed to him in the time he explores these caverns.

Spoiler Alert

At the lowest level of the caverns we realize the search for ancient astronauts, encountering a huge derelict spaceship; embedded in the rock but still fully powered.  Our transition takes us from dark and scary to bright, high-tech, and full of booby traps.  The ultimate goal of the mission is to bring back the knowledge of the ancient space travelers to the modern world.

Will we have the time and budget to add this fourth complete adventure?  That depends on you the backers.