Ship o' Fools is an 80s inspired story-driven arcade game that deals with misfits and monsters. Stay up-to-date with all the game's progress right here, straight from the developers!
The game now uses LWJGL - the Lightweight Java Game Library - allowing direct and high-performance access to important native APIs. This means the development of the game's graphics, audio and parallel computing will be greatly enhanced. Added miniature anchors that appear when menu buttons are hovered over. Since the menu screen is a static image, it adds a little depth to the game's UI. Added transitions between game states (e.g. from the menu to the game mode). Sound track added. Enemies now spawn in different sizes, corresponding to their damage, health, and speed. In addition, enemies can spawn from any border of the map (not just the top) and travel in a variety of directions (not just up-down, as before).Players can now press and hold the SPACE key to see their ship's health bar. This now appears directly beside the ship, instead of a static bar at the top of the screen.Players can now see important scores from the home screen, including their highscore, highest wave cleared on survival, and whether they have defeated the boss.The size of the map is now 178% bigger, from 800x450 to 1250x800. To accompany the larger map size, basic camera functionality has been added. Only the section of the map that is visible to the player will be rendered to ensure optimal performance. We have added a robust particle effects system that will eventually be used throughout the game, e.g. for enemy death animations, projectiles. The ship's 'steam' particle effect doesn't linger in the air when the player moves, making the effect quite unrealistic, however we are working on fixing this. For years now, our creative team - consisting of Luke Strong and Finn Fagerström - have been tossing over ideas regarding a quirky, engaging 80s inspired video game. We wanted every player to have an unusual but thrilling adventure. We always wanted to have the story predominantly set out at sea and this idea eventually morphed into 'Ship o' Fools'. Featuring all out strong points: visually stunning pixel art, powerful storytelling and mesmerizing audio, 'Ship o' Fools' is the pinnacle production of our team.
'Ship o' Fools' is a game that deviates from the norm and provides a whimsical episodic adventure unlike anything the player has experienced before. This game blends arcade gameplay and decision making mechanics with detailed storytelling to provide players with an unusual adventure. Charismatic, eccentric characters populate a story-driven adventure that is set out at sea. This group of out-right weird misfits must band together in a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by disease in order to survive. With nothing to lose and their health (and sanity) rapidly deteriorating, the crew takes to the high seas. On their journey, the crew must fight frightful monsters, endure in-fighting and disease, and confront their own past in order to move forward. Who will survive? Who will thrive?
Currently, 'Ship o' Fools' is still in its pre-Alpha development phase. We have the fundamental game mechanics operational, concept art drawn up and a plethora of audio tracks. We still need to finish the writing of the story mode and implement the graphics into the game engine. Provided we gain sufficient funding, we plan to release a minimum of four initial episodes. Our current operating budget is around AU$200.00 pre-funding, and we try to do as much work as possible without needless expenditure, but we rely on the support of the community to keep the ship sailing smoothly. With some additional money under our belt, we aim to expand our animation department to make sure the game is as visually polished as possible. We also endeavor to employ a professional writer to ensure our ideas flow seamlessly and effectively. If all goes to plan, the game should be ready to distribute mid next year.
'Ship o' Fools' is packed full of authentic chiptunes from our incredibly talented friend, Jason Creed.
Check out Jason's Twitter account.
General
'Ship o' Fools' is a text-based adventure that is interspersed with 80s style arcade encounters, where the crew must fight off a variety of sinister monsters. The story mode is comprised of multiple, self-contained episodes that focus on some members of the crew. The player can also make decisions in each episode, affecting the progression of the story and the characters.
Encounters
Players must commandeer the crew's ship in encounters. This involves using the ship's weapon to slay monsters, moving the ship to prevent damage from collisions and micro-managing the crew to increase or decrease the ship's stats (i.e. fire rate, speed, health). The player must also be wary of the Mutiny Meter that, when filled, disables your ship for some time and renders your crew helpless.
Coming soon to a PC, Mac or Linux computer near you!