{{Short description|2019 video game and performance space}} {{Use American English|date=July 2022}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2022}} {{Multiple issues| {{More citations needed|date=March 2021}} {{Unreliable sources|date=March 2021}} }} {{Infobox video game | title = The Under Presents | image = The_Under_Presents_cover_art.png | developer = Tender Claws | publisher = Tender Claws | director = Danny Cannizzaro, Samantha Gorman | writer = {{Unbulleted list|Brian Evenson|Samantha Gorman}} | composer = | engine = | platforms = {{Unbulleted list|Steam VR|Oculus Rift|Oculus Quest}} | released = {{start date|2019|11|19}} | genre = Magic system, interactive film, artgame, cooperative video game | modes = Single-player, multiplayer }} '''''The Under Presents''''' is a multiplayer virtual reality game and performance space<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Baur|first=Devon|date=2021|title=The Under Presents by Samantha Gorman and Danny Cannizzaro|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/787036|journal=Theatre Journal|language=en|volume=73|issue=1|pages=106–108|doi=10.1353/tj.2021.0029|s2cid=234139457 |issn=1086-332X|url-access=subscription}}</ref> which can also be viewed as an independent video game. It is developed and published by Tender Claws, and was released on November 19, 2019, for Steam VR, Oculus Rift, and Oculus Quest.
==Gameplay== ''The Under Presents'' is composed of four distinct parts: the introduction tutorial (free), the multi-player main stage, the Timeboat narrative experience, and The Tempest live actor performance. Players appear as dark forms with oval masks made of gold. No voice chat is available, with the exception of the professional actors who appear in The Tempest or at random times in the main stage. The magic system, used to manifest objects and restore scenes in the play area, involves holding the mask in one hand while performing a series of clicks and waves over it with the other hand.<ref name="6dofreview">{{cite web|last=Kamel|first=Omar|date=November 25, 2019|title=The Under Presents - Review|url=https://6dofreviews.com/reviews/games/the-under-presents/|access-date=March 24, 2021|website=6dofreviews}}</ref>
=== The introduction tutorial === This component of the game is available for free and lasts approximately 20 minutes. The player is given a backstage tour and puzzles to solve by a non-player character known as the MC, who is in the form of a strange ghostly figure with a huge, misshapen gold mask.<ref>{{ cite web | url= https://tenderclaws.com/tupwalkthrough |title = Tutorial Walkthrough | publisher = Tender Claws | access-date = March 24, 2021 }}</ref>
This game introduces the Scrunch Teleport, a unique form of VR locomotion in which the player reaches out and pulls the center of the world towards themselves, and then releases it, whereupon the rest of the world snaps into place so that there is always some part of the field of view that is fixed.<ref>{{ cite web| url=https://www.reddit.com/r/TheUnderPresents/comments/m8odh4/we_are_tender_claws_developers_of_the_vr_games/griqfz7/?context=3|title=Tender Claws Ask Me Anything| date=March 20, 2021 }}</ref>
===The Timeboat experience=== This is a prerecorded immersive theatre play that takes place between the crew and passengers on board the ''Aikman'' as it gets stranded in the ice and runs out of food. The player has to wind time forwards and back to chase down all the characters and storylines in a sort of improvised nonlinear narrative.<ref name="forbesreview">{{ cite web | url= https://www.forbes.com/sites/jessedamiani/2019/11/19/the-under-presents-is-a-novel-exploration-of-vr-and-live-immersive-theatre/?sh=5c8e652a7455 |title = 'The Under Presents' Is A Novel Exploration Of VR And Live Immersive Theatre | website = Forbes | date = November 19, 2019 | access-date = March 24, 2021 | first = Jesse | last = Damiani }}</ref>
===The main stage=== A dozen different short acts by the theatrical troupe Piehole<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.pieholed.com/the-under-presents.html| title=Piehole - The Under Presents }}</ref> take place on the stage in a permanent loop, each introduced by the MC. Players in the game can interact with one another (using hand gestures and movement, no voices), show off, and teach one another the different spells, or venture out into the desert to explore remote areas of the map. Some locations require players to actively collaborate in order to unlock them; in some places, players can acquire different masks.
===Tempest===
Tempest was a first-of-its-kind, live, scripted, participatory play that players attended using VR<ref>{{cite web | url= https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/08/theater/virtual-reality-the-tempest.html/ |title = Theatre's next act? A Show That's All in Your Head | work = New York Times | date = July 8, 2020 | access-date = March 24, 2021 | first = Alexis | last = Soloski }}</ref> based on several scenes in Shakespeare's ''The Tempest''. The play was first performed in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, from June to September 2020. This was a period with severe impact on the performing arts, as actors were unemployed and audiences unable to attend live theatre. The sense of isolation that was so strong during lockdowns was, according to a reviewer, a core theme in the performance: "Prospero’s isolation is our own, and Miranda’s delight at seeing other humans is similarly our experience".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Corts|first=Alicia|date=2021|title=The Under Presents: The Tempest by William Shakespeare|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/796948|journal=Theatre Journal|language=en|volume=73|issue=2|pages=236–238|doi=10.1353/tj.2021.0057|s2cid=238002096 |issn=1086-332X|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
The performances usually lasted 40 minutes, and audience members were networked into groups of up to six per actor. Tickets were separately purchased for each showing, with the first ticket giving a player access to the multiplayer hub as well as an exclusive mask. During the 24th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated ''Tempest'' for "Immersive Reality Technical Achievement".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.interactive.org/games/video_game_details.asp?idAward=2021&idGame=1790 |title=D.I.C.E. Awards By Video Game Details The Under Presents - Tempest |publisher=Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences |website=interactive.org |access-date=1 December 2023}}</ref>
===Live cast=== The live performers in ''The Under Presents'' and ''Tempest'' were<ref>{{cite web| url=https://tenderclaws.com/theunderpresentscredits| title=Live Cast Credits - The Under Presents }}</ref> Brandon Bales, Michael Bates, Karlie Blair, Sophie Cooper, James Cowan, Whitton Frank, Molly Fite, Genevieve Flati, Stephanie Hyden, Dasha Kittredge, Alex Knell, Terence Leclere, Deirdre Lyons, Haylee Nichele, Kelly Pierre, Soren Royer-McHugh, and Katelyn Schiller.
== References == {{Reflist}}
== Further reading ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite web |last=Martens |first=Todd |date=April 26, 2020 |title=Actors sheltering at home perform in live VR experiences, making case for new theater form |url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2020-04-26/coronavirus-vr-virtual-reality-theater-tender-claws-live-actors |access-date=March 13, 2022 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}} * {{Cite web |last=Stein |first=Scott |date=March 6, 2020 |title=With real theaters closed, actors are turning to virtual reality |url=https://www.cnet.com/culture/with-real-theaters-closed-actors-are-turning-to-virtual-reality/ |access-date=March 13, 2022 |website=CNET |language=en}}
{{refend}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Under Presents, The}} Category:2019 video games Category:Art games Category:Cooperative video games Category:Interactive movie video games Category:Meta Quest games Category:Video games about time travel Category:Video games based on works by William Shakespeare Category:Video games developed in the United States Category:Works based on The Tempest