Researcher: Haley Zach

Name: Undertale

Release Date: September 15, 2015

Genre(s): Role-Playing

Developer(s): tobyfox

Publisher(s): tobyfox

Version(s): PC/Mac (OS X)

Price: $9.99

Website: undertale.com

Rating Info: T for Teen

Undertale was released in September 2015 and was created almost entirely by Toby Fox, save for some of the artwork in the game. He was funded through Kickstarter and had an initial goal of $5,000. By the end of the campaign 2,398 people supported his idea and raised $51,124 to go towards the game. (1) It took Fox about 2.7 years to finish creating the game. Fox says that he did not get an influence for the game from any one place. It was a combination of everything he comes across in life -- be it internet culture, comedy acts, or other video games. (2)

From first view, Undertale looks like a fairly simple game. Kallie Plagge reported in her review of Undertale published on IGN, “My journey had begun with dumb puns and silly puzzles, but the end affected me in a way I never expected. That’s kind of Undertale’s specialty — playing with our expectations of what an RPG should be, subverting them, and using them to drive a story unique to what games can do. (3) Fox’s uniquely designed game pulls on these stereotypical game expectations and stretches them beyond what is expected of a typical RPG. By doing this, he has created a game that explores a new form of storytelling through video games.

1. http://www.engadget.com/2013/07/29/crowdfund-bookie-july-21-27-terminator-2-undertale-last-dr/

2. http://www.gameinformer.com/b/podcasts/archive/2015/10/15/gi-show-_1320_-yoshis-woolly-world_2c00_-star-wars_3a00_-battlefront_2c00_-undertale-toby-fox.aspx

3. http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/01/13/undertale-review