The crew are below deck when the battle starts. Unbeknown to them, another galleon has drawn up alongside and is now pummelling their ship with cannon fire. They know they should race up and into their battle positions, they know this is the only way to defend their craft. Players take to their ships, form crews with their friends, and then head out onto the vast open ocean, searching for treasure-stuffed islands. There will be sea monsters to face, and a variety of journey quests to discover, some quick, some epic in scope. But there is no over-arching narrative; just a world to ransack. It is also an inhabited world. The action takes place in shared servers so your crew will, once in a while, spot a ship occupied by other gamers. Is there a chance you could co-operate on an adventure, or do they look aggressive? All the ships in the game are highly customisable, both in terms of looks interchangeable flags and figureheads and abilities, with upgradeable cannons, hull style and sail size. So if one of your crew looks through a telescope and sees that the other craft is flying the Jolly Rodger and has a skeleton painted on its main sail, you know that someone should be ready to operate the guns. Crew members can indulge in grog-drinking sessions, perhaps followed by a boozy accordion knees up. Photograph: Rare In a sense then, Sea of Thieves is an online RPG combining elements of DayZ-style survival games with shooters such as and. There are quests, there is progression and customisation, there will probably be larger raids; there is a commitment to support the game with subsequent DLC, though the financial model has not been explained. The beauty and individuality of the game, however, is in the crew dynamics. In Sea of Thieves, the system is completely different, and completely geared toward co-operation. We wanted to make a Rare version of a pirate fantasy. We were also trying to make the most immersive co-operative game ever devised... The few seconds of Sea of Thieves shown at E3 last year provided a tantilising promise that the Rare of Donkey Kong Country, Conker and Viva Pinata was back. With its colourful, almost cartoonish visuals devised by Viva Pinata art director Ryan Stevenson , Sea of Thieves looks like a somewhat traditional family-friendly adventure. Brilliantly, if one crew member knows a particular song, others can pick up an instrument and join in, providing accompaniment. If you go on deck and play a song while another ship is nearby, that crew will be able to hear it. Although there are a couple of familiar tunes the trailer features a new take on Drunken Sailor , most of the songs are written by veteran Rare composer Robin Beanland. Alternatively, maybe you want to play a upbeat, fun one to counter the game tone. But what Rare also wants to do is provide almost a theatrical imaginative space, somewhere players can have fun, improvise and make believe together. In this sense, there is perhaps more in common with creative titles such as Minecraft, where the impetus is on player activity rather than player progression. Ship battles involve all the crew working together to defeat a foe. When ships meet and cannons fire, there is genuine tension as players shout orders and scuttle about the craft, attempting to sail into the best position to fire on an opponent. One question that emerged from E3 was whether players would be able to take part alone. Rare has said that it is currently prototyping smaller one or two person craft and has plans to allow a single-player approach to the game — its emphasis, though, is very much on the shared experience. At a packed showcase event, on the Monday night before E3, Sea of Thieves was the game people were clambering to play, it was the game people were talking about, it was the game that had us sharing stories and experiences. That seems to be exactly what Rare is going for and what, really, the Midlands-based developer has always excelled at. Player stories, player imagination. There has been room in every great Rare title for the individual to exert their character and curiosity into the experience. This also feels like a regenerative project for Rare, a labour of love. Chapman is so incredibly enthusiastic about game, the ideas it contains and the prospect of people getting their hands on it. At one point during the demo on that Monday night, he stands watching as a group of new players awkwardly sail their ship out into the open water for the first time. It is night and the sea shimmers under the blueish moonlight. You can really navigate by it. This is how Rare makes video games. Sea of Thieves is released on and PC in 2017.
