Sea of Thieves absolutely tops the highest peaks of my hype list. We saw our first video of true gameplay at E3 yesterday during Xbox’s Press Conference. Let’s take a look at their “Let’s Play” style video showcasing teams of 5 players.
[su_youtube url=”https://youtu.be/bQlsN6EO2oU” width=”700″]
This is my dream come true to crew a pirate ship, sail the ocean, explore islands, and battle on the high seas. I write about it at least once a year that I wish someone would make this game, and now I might just get my chance.
What We Know About Sea of Thieves
What we know is that you’ll be able to crew a ship, interact with everything from the anchor to the sails to the cannons and steer the vessel. There will be battle damage! There will be roles to play. Everyone will need to work together to survive. You’ll be able to get out and explore islands, find treasure, and battle other players.
What We Don’t Know (And What Scares Me Most)
Those who got to try the gameplay demo at E3 say it reminds them of Destiny. I’m still trying to figure out what they mean by Destiny. Teaming up in lobbies and going out on missions in a psuedo-open world? Is there an economy? Is there progression of some kind for your character? Your ship?
Sea of Thieves could be nothing more than an arena battleground where you team up with 5 people and go head to head against maybe 3 other teams (total of 20 players) in an “ocean-like” arena. I’m pretty confident this isn’t the case.
Although my ideal of a big open world with RPG elements is likely reaching past the mark, I think it will come close. I do believe the people saying it’s like Destiny are right on point. I bet towns where you drink will be like hubs where you can upgrade gear and your ship. You’ll go to the mission starter or whatever and you’ll sail out of your port on your ship with your  crew. Out in the world you’ll see other players like you do in Destiny—maybe they’re doing their own thing.  At some point I’m going to guess the world becomes contested and you can fight others. I would be shocked if the world was always 100% open PVP.
I’m hyped. I want to crew a ship, explore an ocean, and be a pirate!
Omg yes. I hope this turns into more than just ship battles. Exploration, building, economy, piracy…..fishing. This has a ton of possibilities that I have also wanted since my Puzzle Pirates days!
I found myself liking that video a lot, and then started questioning why, besides just the whole coolness of pirates and stuff.
You being a big marketing guy and me focusing on how to motivate audiences, big or small, and lead them where I want them to go (perhaps all life is marketing, but I digress) probably noticed those fun talking heads in the upper left hand corner of the screen. They seemed to have so much fun! I wanted to join them.
Can you turn the sound off and still want to play? I have no idea. But it was a little like Allods with really happy people on my screen.
@Sanz: Oh they knew what they were doing when they turned their trailer into a let’s play. It was brilliant to show that initial reaction (or well-acted) to all that was going on. It’s like when I was flying a ship in Allods for the first time and I was freaking out because we were actually sailing in the sky in real-time and it was all player-controlled action.
For me it goes beyond those people and the presentation. I actually thought their presentation was lacking. What I like is the IDEA of the game. And then my mind goes crazy and fills in the gaps and I get hyped because I create this scenario in my head where every day is a glorious adventure on the high seas.
Hey Keen
You should try Naval Action.
I have heard that some of the things added to the open world were inspired by your hardcore mmo desires expressed in your blog.