Hey everybody, long time no hear! As already mentioned in comments to the announcement post, we’re not hiding — we’re working our asses off on UW2. So, what’s been done since the last update?

The most important part is that we’ve finished all the necessary research & planning and dived into the code! That’s right. We have decided to throw out the first game’s code base and start from scratch. It was a tough decision because usually it’s not such a good idea, leading to enormous development timelines and huge risks. In the case with UW2, after looking at the vast amount of features and improvements we want to see in the sequel, it was clear to us that the new game needed a new foundation. The awesome part is that the new code works on both target platforms, allowing for almost simultaneous release on both iOS and Android. Cool, huh?

Now with the code development on track, we’re finalizing the Game Design Document and deciding what exactly goes into the initial release and what will have to wait until the update. As soon as we figure it out, we’ll share the scope of work with everybody. That’s the topic of the next update — stay tuned, folks!

Phew, what a pleasure to finally share the news: we have officially started working on Underworld 2 (code name). And not the way we did it for the past few months, a flimsy side project with almost non existent resources (sorry folks). We are really pulling out all the stops this time!

For those who just joined us here: Underworld is our firstborn and the game famous for being packed with innovative stuff. For starters, back in 2008 it was the first location-based game on mobile. Not only was the gameplay using your real location and real life movements; we have introduced geo-aware Leader Boards  — with tremendous success. Finally, Underworld became ‘Freemium’ when ‘Freemium’ wasn’t even a thing!

With innovation all over the place, you can probably imagine how long it took us to balance the game, what a buttload of mistakes we did on the road and how much we’ve learned from that. Finally, we got an opportunity to re-use that experience.

One of the things that worked really well in development of the first game was that constant stream of support and feedback we received from the community. We intend to keep it on to gather your ideas and thoughts on the bigger, funnier and even more addictive second version! We promise to keep you posted on the progress as often as possible. Stay tuned for further details and spread the word!

Ever since we launched Underworld, we’ve been asked constantly if there’s going to be a version for Android. Fair question, considering impressive platform capabilities and its growing popularity!

Today, we are happy to announce that Android people will be able to get into Underworld this fall. We’ve been working on it for some time already and the launch date is really close now.

Details on the upcoming game on Underworld site >>

As you know, the first round of the Android Developer Challenge is over. More than 1,700 entries was reviewed by 100+ judges in the past week. Now the results are finally announced by the ADC team.

Entries were judged on the following criteria: Effective Use, Polish, Indispensability, Originality.

Out of over 1700 submissions, the Whiteboard is in the top 25% overall, as well as top 25% for Effective Use, Indispensability and Originality. We believe this it is a great result which will help us to move the product forward.

Prototype application for Google Android platform featuring family use case of our Whiteboard product.

Whiteboard (working title) is a social application enabling ad-hoc groups to make mobile sites to share info and track status of group members.

Most of today’s social services and applications are focused on communications within the wide circle of friends. That’s cool, but sometimes you only need the small group of people to share with. Like if you go for a trip and you want to show some pictures with only your family. Or you are on a project team. Or the classmates are planning a party, and etc. This is what the Whiteboard is focused on: small ad-hoc groups (< 15 people) using a mobile site to share information and discuss their events.

Features:

• Shared online site to create notes and post comments
• Three types of attachments supported: images, sounds & Google maps
• User status enriched with a geo-location mark
• Real-time event notifications for group members
• Site history - easy to use time bar to find events from the past

A prototype application, Family Whiteboard (focusing on family needs) is implemented for Google Android platform. It also going to be submitted for Android Developers Contest.

Future plans include a version for iPhone/iPod Touch and possibly other mobile platforms (Windows Mobile, Symbian).

Prototype screenshots: