"Gothland found first the man, whose name was Tjelvar. In those days Gothland was in dusk so deep that the island sank
during day and rose during night; but that man brought fire to the land and then it sank no more."
- The Gute Saga

Ouroboros is a persistent virtual world for games research, initially focused on rich dramatic interaction and character immersion.

The Zero-Game Studio is developing the project both to demonstrate its own research and to provide a general facility for game researchers.

In The Under, the first game set in the Ouroboros world, the folktales of Gotland come alive in a modern mythical court drama. Programatically applied character mind-models, and a wide range of social expression and engaging competitive plot structures allow the players to engage in true digital role-playing. Far from the linear monster hunts of traditional RPG's The Under is all about character interaction and social manipulation. The goal of the game is not winning or losing, but the collective creation of a captivating story. Break free from convention and join our exploration of the computer games medium as player-created dramatic art.

The game is being developed according to Open Source and Freeware principles, and is based on the NEL open source MMORPG engine used for the Ryzom game by Nevrax.