directional rowing
each oar produces thrust on its own side. row both sides to go forward. row one side to spin in panicked circles. there is no rudder. (yet?)
the gameit's a co-op party game.
it's a co-op party game.
the ocean is the punchline.
ship happens is a physics-based maritime delivery game for 2–4 players. you row, you balance, you panic. then you do it again on a harder map, once we've built one.
the starting dock. this is where every voyage begins, and where most of them end.
mechanicsin the demo in the demo in the demo in the demo in the demo planned planned planned planned planned
what's working, what's coming.
green pills are in the demo today. yellow pills are on the roadmap.
buoyancy that bites
the ocean uses a customizable wave system with strict buoyancy. the boat reacts honestly to every wave. so does your stomach.
cargo handling
pick up crates on the dock, carry them on board, drop them at the destination. small crates slide. medium crates slide more.
swim, slip, fall in
fall off the boat? swim back. miss the dock? swim back. penguins are good at this. you are not.
vision-obscuring large cargo
large crates fully block the carrier's view. teammates become the eyes. arguments are part of the puzzle.
oar as weapon
lift the oar out of the water and click. you swing it. crocodiles disagree with this design choice.
wildlife with opinions
sharks chew the hull from below. crocodiles climb on board for the buffet. seagulls steal small cargo. nature is not your friend.
weather that ruins plans
storms, fog, currents, and the occasional rogue wave. the forecast is always 'bad, but cinematic'.
ship upgrades
bigger hulls, extra oar slots, sails, motors, reinforced decks. spend your hard-earned cash on slightly less catastrophic voyages.
online co-op
playing locally on one couch is great. playing across three time zones while yelling about port and starboard is the dream.
regionsin the demo
planned planned
one island for now. more on the way.
tropical shallows
the one and only map you can play right now. calm water, palm trees, a dock, a dispatcher hut, and roughly one minute of stress per crate.
frostbite fjord
slippery decks. icebergs. narrow turns. sharks chewing the hull. for the post-demo build.
brimstone bay
storms, lava rocks, two enemy types at once. the endgame. very much not in the demo.
economy (planned)
risk it. earn it. lose it overboard.
the demo is a free-form delivery sandbox. the full game adds money, upgrades, and a debt to pay off, so you can decide how dangerous each run is by how much cargo you buy.
- buy-in
- pay upfront for cargo. more cargo = more chaos = more cash. (planned)
- payout
- intact deliveries earn the most. lost crates earn the least. capsized ships earn nothing. (planned)
- debt
- the whole game will eventually be paying off a vague, ominous debt. don't ask. (planned)
- upgrades
- bigger ships. sails. motors. reinforced hull. better oars. no rudder. (planned)
gallery
screenshots from the maiden voyage.
(more dropping as we play together. these are doing their best.)