Gjøa - sailing simulation prototype release


Hi, I'm a solo developer for some time, with several prototypes and a long term project, but I realize I've never really released any game (only shared with friends & relatives) ... and I want to change that.

So here is the first release of a prototype for a single-player sailing simulation. The mechanics are currently pretty simple: 

- The player controls a small ship to cross a map simulating the Northwest Passage i.e. a sea lane through the Arctic Ocean. There is no map available, so it's similar to a maze. The only clear fact is that west side of the map and the compass direction is available.

- The ship can be propelled by sail, by the engine or both. The player controls the rudder, the trim of the sail (i.e. direction), can set or furl them, shut on/off the engine and control the throttle. It's necessary to find a balance: movement with the engine is simple to control, but the fuel is limited. The sails allow to save fuel, but need more interaction and the speed is dependent from the wind direction (the ship cannot sail against the wind) The wind direction is indicated by the flag on the mast.
The sail controls react currently immediately (set/furl, change angle) so players can see the influence of the actions on the speed (displayed in the UI) and learn to optimize.

- Apart from the land, there is drifting ice in the way of the player. Hitting the ice doesn't damage the ship (yet) but makes the sailing more difficult. A collision slows the ship down and can deviate it's course. In the worst case the ship can be trapped and it's necessary to rely on the engine.

- All the control are UI on the screen (no key control, except Escape to exit) so currently the player uses only mouse

The graphics and UI are kept very simple since the first priority are the gameplay mechanics and I still need to decide the graphics style (my other project has already "realistic" & better graphics, so I want to try something different. Sure is only that the ship model will represent the real sloop Gjoa (therefore the title) since the game is inspired by historical facts

Please give it a try and tell me what you think :)

Files

Gjoa_0_1_0.zip 34 MB
9 days ago

Get Gjøa

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