With Seafarer: The Ship Sim, astragon Entertainment invites players to dive into an expansive maritime simulation unlike anything currently on the market. To learn more about the project’s goals, inspirations, and development journey, we spoke with Sascha Hartmann, Lead Game Designer at astragon Development.
What inspired the core vision behind Seafarer, and how has that vision evolved throughout development?
From the very beginning, we were working towards creating the ultimate sandbox experience for ship enthusiasts. A world in which players can decide for themselves which line of work they would like to go into and what areas they want to explore. From there we evaluated different gameplay types that could be interesting for players, and we added mechanics to further enrich this experience. This also means that Seafarer is basically an endlessly expandable game, a vast open sea of ideas, which is exactly why we want to shape it together with the community during the Early Access roadmap.
How does Seafarer aim to stand out in the current gaming landscape, especially among other exploration or seafaring titles?
We are of course striving to be the best-looking ship simulation to date, supported by Unreal Engine 5 and NVIDIA WaveWorks 2.0. On top of that, we believe that we are delivering gameplay that is under-represented in other ship simulations. Large scale cargo delivery and the ability to explore huge container vessels in intricate detail will satisfy the players that seek for a relaxed working simulation while firefighting and police operations will bring a more action-oriented approach to the table. There will also be at least one more field of work at sea to discover – we will reveal more about this at a later point. And all this in a stunning open world that the player is free to explore at any time.
What emotional or experiential journey do you hope players will have while playing Seafarer?
The most immediate reaction that we want to instill in players is one of awe. Our presentation of the open sea, of wildlife and dynamic weather and time of day changes will make just standing on the deck of your ship and enjoying the waves rolling by an experience on its own. From there though, we hope that players start exploring in a myriad of ways – exploring their ship trying to find out what each of those little buttons and levers does, exploring the different types of gameplay, finding out if a life as a cargo hauler, as a firefighter or something completely else suits them best, exploring the open seas and finding all the little details that our designers have created.
Are there any specific themes or messages you hope Seafarer conveys through its gameplay and world design?
Seafaring is about exploration, about braving the open seas and connecting the world in more than one way.
Can you give us a glimpse into the world of Seafarer? What makes the setting unique and immersive?
For our fictional game environment we draw a lot of inspiration from the real world, especially the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the surrounding areas and coastlines. The two biomes we will be bringing in at the start of the early access period will reflect this: Craigshire is heavily inspired by the coastal lines of Great Britain and Ireland while Dansbergen emulates the shores of Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands. Using a fictional setting not only enables us to bring together the most breathtaking parts of the world’s oceans in one game, but also to create unique, awe-inspiring moments for players when they discover for example an eerie ship graveyard, an abandoned oil rig or an impressive cloister island.
How did you approach building the lore and history of the game world? Is there a central mythology or narrative thread tying it all together?
As a working simulation, our main guiding star is player freedom and offering a variety of interesting in-depth tasks to do. At the same time, we are also working on an engaging singleplayer campaign that will guide the player through the different gameplay elements we have created, and which will follow a gripping storyline involving all factions of the world of Seafarer.
What kind of exploration can players expect? Are we talking about vast open seas, mysterious islands, and underwater realms?
Vast open sea exploration and coastal exploration will be one of the key drivers for Seafarer gameplay. There is a huge open world for the player to discover, full of big and small harbors, all with their own unique little character. On top of that there is lots of wildlife and a wealth of points of interest to find. All I can say is: Keep your binoculars close, you will definitely need them. 😉
How do player choices or progression influence the world in Seafarer? Is it a static world, or does it evolve with the player’s journey?
The players’ progress will determine what job each harbor has available for them, which crew members are available for hiring in each harbor and which ships they can buy and use. On top of that, the world is filled with non-player vessels that have their own routes, from small yachts to large cargo vessels, going in and out of harbor, docking and prowling the open seas.
Seafarer: The Ship Sim launches into Early Access with a strong emphasis on player choice, stunning simulation technology, and an open-ended approach to seafaring careers. Stay tuned to Gamelevate for more exclusive insights and updates on this evolving maritime adventure.
