Carceri Factsheet
Developer:
NeonSerpent LLC
Founded April 2013, by James Beech
Austin, TX (address/phone avail. upon request)
Press/Business Contact:
Social Media:
Twitter/X/Instagram: @neonserpent
Release Platform:
Release Window:
May 2024 (if all goes well)
What is "Carceri" anyway?
Carceri [car-chair-e], noun:
Vibrant first-person explorer. Secret-filled sorta-open world. Chaotic Art-toy. Charming story about being trapped in jail, forever. Also, the Italian word for "prisons." Escape today!
Ok, that's nice, but tell me about the game.
While Carceri looks like a playful first-person adventure, it's actually an inescapable prison for fine, upstanding programs. This cold Reality is hidden beneath the warm, abstract vistas that unfold here at every turn.
Only a human, like you, can help these programs escape!
But hey, don't stress! Think of Carceri as a cozy, virtual vacation! You can do plenty of fun, non-jailbreaking activities here as well, like:
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Jumping around where you don't belong
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Chatting with the inmates
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Finding LOTS of secrets
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And best of all: taking pictures!
You get a Camera on arrival, with tons of options that change the world's look. Just snap a picture and share it online! This isn't a separate mode that pauses the action, these world changes happen on-the-fly, and remain as long as you want. Collect hidden Trail Markers to expand these capabilities, taking you from tasteful tweaks to chaotic poetry!
And that's not to mention the boppin' soundtrack, the philosophy Forum, the Art galleries, the rock concert, and so on. So stop by, check it out...and do the jailbreaking part as well. Kind of important.
Hope to see you soon!
Meanwhile, behind the scenes...
Carceri is the spiritual successor to ULTRAWORLD EXODUS (an IndieCade 2016 Game of the Year Finalist), but no familiarity is required to enjoy Carceri. This game only takes a few hours to complete, though to see/hear/find everything requires a few more. The game also comes with the full 40 song soundtrack (which is only a bonus if you like the music)!
Both Carceri and ULTRAWORLD were solo created by me: James Beech, an on-again, off-again AAA veteran that's worked on games such as Metroid Prime 4, Remnant: From the Ashes, and Crysis 3.
Videogames are my favorite Artform, so when I do personal projects, I set out to make the most interesting Art I can dream up, (and execute by myself). In this case, Carceri was visually influenced by a series of prints by the same name: Carceri d'invenzione, by Giovanni Battista Piranesi. These sixteen etchings, from the 1750s, show fantastical worlds of invented spaces, predating M.C. Escher by two hundred years!
As a Level Designer by trade, that's exactly our job: create impossible worlds. So, to my eyes, Piranesi's prisons are akin to the origin of Level Design. I've included a direct comparison screenshot, so you can see what I mean.
Anyway, while I hope people enjoy playing Carceri as much as I enjoyed making it, trust me, I'll understand if they don't! C'est la vie!
