Cutthroat Isles: A Dashing Seafaring Indie Venture

Cutthroat Isles: A Dashing Seafaring Indie Venture

Hello, I'm Admiral Herringbone, an independent artist and game designer with a passion for things naval and nautical. I would like to share with you an idea for a game of pirates vs. the navy where players co-op play through a fast-paced action adventure across a challenging archipelago. This concept emerged from my fascination with pirates and naval warfare during the age of sail, along with my interest in making a free game available to all players. Unfortunately, I lack the resources to bring this project to life, and would like to explore the interest in this idea. Therefore, I'm hoping that by describing the project and showing what it could be, perhaps we can rally support and convince you to join us in building Cutthroat Isles a rakish adventure for everyone!

General Game Concept

Cutthroat Isles is a 2D top down, multiplayer and single-player, last player(s) standing, action-survival game. Players command their own customized sailing ship, playing as either a pirate plundering the seas or as the pursuing navy. Both engage in deadly battles while amassing a fortune on their way to victory in a bountiful archipelago.

Game Outline and Overview

Players embark on a voyage into an archipelago filled with cutthroats, as either a daring pirate or the blockading navy. As pirates, amass the most plunder while staying ahead of the navy’s ever shrinking blockade for an eventual escape. As the navy, enforce the blockade and pursue pirates to elimination, attempting to prevent as many pirates as possible from plundering and escaping the archipelago.

Before the voyage starts players will be in a "waiting-lobby" island where they may select the ship they wish to use and equip the ship with any weaponry and supplies for the upcoming voyage. As well as recruit any crew from NPCs with preset skills, such as sailing, gunnery etc., or other players who do not wish to captain a ship themselves. Each voyage will have a preset time before the ships sail and once the time is up all players signed up to the voyage will be placed on their respective ships and the voyage will begin.

A voyage will begin by randomly positioning and evenly distributing players around the outer edges of the map. Players navigate into the archipelago, where they will face a challenging environment of unpredictable winds, jagged rocks, billowing waves, and raging storms, along with various perils that lie in wait among the scattered isles.

The pirates will be the first to enter, with the navy shortly following, establishing a blockade of ships and creating the Safe-Zone around the current most successful pirate. Pirates will be free to roam through the Isles in search of well-laden NPC merchant vessels sailing in and out of the archipelago and between ports of fortified islands guarding troves of treasure. The navy, trailing closely behind, will patrol the outer edges of the Safe-Zone with naval ships periodically cruising through the Safe-Zone, scouring for prey. Any pirate daring enough to exit the Safe-Zone will have their positions reported to nearby Naval vessels which will pursue them relentlessly.

To gain prizes and plunder, both pirates and navy will need to board and capture any vessel of interest. Boarding will require close combat of melee and ranged weapons, where the captain of any ship will need to direct their crew to successfully engage, disable, and capture any enemy vessel. Once captured, ships may be plundered for their cargo and treasure, where ammunition, repair supplies, and various other equipment may be restocked and treasure collected and counted. The ship captured and under control of the victorious crew may be used as their new ship if they choose, be abandoned/sunk, or if they are a larger crew incorporated into a fleet.

The most fortunate plunderers will rise from the ranks of typical pirates to be considered the three or five most wanted pirates in the Isles. These notorious pirates, having plundered and pillaged their way into infamy, will have many merchant vessels yield before them. Some islands will surrender at the sight of them, and even smaller naval vessels will relent when engaged with them. A bounty will be placed on the Most Wanted, and the navy will send Naval Hunters, who are especially equipped to hound the Most Wanted players into submission. Each Naval Hunter repelled by the Most Wanted will send greater numbers of larger and more powerful Naval Hunters and warships. Players with the navy may be selected at random to command a Naval Hunter ship, while all will have a chance to collect the bounty on the Most Wanted players, including other pirates!

As the game progresses towards the final stages, the Safe-Zone gradually shrinks, leaving a diminishing area not dominated by the navy. Once the Safe-Zone has shrunk to a certain size, it will be abolished, and players will be in the Danger-Zone, pursued by all naval vessels on the map. An Exit-Zone will be revealed, and pirates will have no choice but to flee towards the zone to save their ship and precious plunder and make a daring escape, or face destruction at the cannons of the relentless navy. In close pursuit of their enemy, the navy must ensure that the pirates do not evade their fate of annihilation.

Once all pirates have escaped or been defeated, the plunder and eliminations will be calculated, and the most successful pirates and navy will be determined and displayed to all players who participated in the voyage. The victor(s) will receive prizes such as ships, equipment, and potential placement on the leaderboards, where they may join the ranks of other legends. Those who have been defeated will lose the ship and equipment they risked and the plunder gained in the voyage. If it was their only ship, they will have to revert back to the starting vessel for future voyages. Following the completion of the game, all players will be returned to the game's main menu, where they may look over leaderboards, manage their profile, customize or equip ships with their newly gained treasure, or journey back into the archipelago for a new voyage!

How you can support

Any project worth its salt needs supporters to be brought to fruition. If you are interested in this project and would like to help, please support us, so we can build this together!

If you would like to be a rakish daring pirate or a stalwart valorous navy sailor and would like to sail into the isles please support Cutthroat Isles with your fellow pirates and navy! Thank you!

How Will The Funds Be Used?

The funds will mainly be used to program the game using all the completed art assets you see in the images! We will be focusing on a playable first version to be released on mobile or the web. Funds may also be directed toward web hosting costs and mobile app store subscriptions.

All donators will receive a custom ship and character when the game is completed along with an image of their ship and character sent to them and posted on our social media.