We’ve long been fans of Tomas Sala and his unique games. Titles like The Falconeer, and later Bulwark: The Falconeer Chronicles display a distinct love for the sea, but ShipShaper is something else; something new.
This is a game that lets you design your own ships, then export them into (perhaps) your own unique game, or just to look at, or 3D print into reality. It’s a game type not really seen too often, if at all before. We spoke to Tomas about how he’s getting on with all things ShipShaper, the fact it has a “live demo” that is constantly evolving, and a whole lot more. Read on to find out what he’s getting up to, and how it all came about.
What’s the story behind ShipShaper, and how did it come about?
Well, doing something with ships has been on my mind for a very long time; a few people have noticed that Bulwark is perhaps a very Dutch game. An ocean world, people fighting against the rising swell… Windmills, boats… So I guess something nautical is in my genes, and I did grow up on the classic Dutch ocean and ship painting tradition.
So a big sailing adventure it will have to be, but I wanted a ship construction to make a leap, away from Minecraft-esque cube clicking into proper ship design and elegant shapes like tall ships.. So Its been on my mind for the last two years. And for me, these things become an ide-fixe an obsession, and I start to work through outlets and ways of bringing it about. And with the ongoing support for Bulwark, that seemed a logical first place. That everything I do for the foreseeable future is in the same universe is a given.
A “live demo” isn’t a very common thing, how do you balance developing the final product vs the demo?
It’s a bit of a challenge, but when you experiment a lot, you need users to pierce your tunnel vision, to drag you out of your bubble. That’s why its so good to have players be part of that cycle. Couldn’t do without it.
ShipShaper lets people make ships that can be used in their games, have you seen any cool examples yet, or heard of people planning to use It this way? Or any 3D printer models?>
I’ve seen a few prints, but it’s only been days since it got released. I hope to see a lot of folks fiddle around with ShipShaper and use the models in their prototypes or mods. One of the things that was top of mind for this was my modding days. I made a string of very popular Skyrim mods, “Moonpath to Elsweyr” that featured an airship of mine. At some point, I turned my models over to the modding community, and other modders ran with it.
Underneath a gazillion improvements of the Dev Aveza Airship mode, is that old airship of mine. That was a glorious time and the idea that other people improve on your creations, adapt them, make them their own, it’s wonderful. And it was the basis for the decision to let folks have what they create with ShipShaper – true ownership to take the output and do what they want.
You mention that ShipShaper is a “small” ship builder on the Steam page, but often your products end up much bigger…
My games tend to grow over time; I am aware of this, and it’s not always the best outcome. This time round, I realise that ShipShaper being small and cosy is part of its charm, it’s approachable. It doesn’t even have a main menu. I’ve never tried to make something purposefully small, and it’s a lovely challenge. A limitation to work with.
But ShipShaper will grow somewhat. Folks are already asking for a sailing or test-drive mode, and it seems to trigger something in people. At the moment its sitting close to 70 reviews in at 100% positive. Which is insane, if you realize how many experimental design choices are in this, how many quirky little limitations. But sometimes you at the core of something and a spore-like design tool for boats.. It seems to scratch an itch. So a little over a week in the reception has been overwhelmingly positive, even the trailer did over a 100K views on IGN and GameTrailers. It’s quite insane for what’s basically a really cozy editor.
How has the community response been to ShipShaper, as it’s quite different to Falconeer or Bulwark!
It’s also pretty weird to see large sections of my community get into ShipShaper. I had that before with folks transitioning from Falconeer to Bulwark and going “I’m not a strategy gamer but somehow this hits”. I think the future for indie devs like me is to market and deliver personal experiences, as a writer does, you love RR Martin, and thus you feel connected to his works, invested. To see this happen with ShipShaper is wonderful, there are now three radically different experiences tied together by a sole creator and they feel as a whole and they appeal broadly to the same people.
There’s a future here for indie devs and indie games that’s different to the AAA or big viral successes, I’m not making a Balatro or Blue Prince, (I think) not in the sense that my games are chart-topping viral sensations, must play games, no I’m making an oeuvre of experimental and cohesive games that tell a story and grow a world, step by step, sometimes stumbling sometimes sailing along briskly like ShipShaper is shaping up to do.
Thanks to Tomas for his time.
ShipShaper is coming to PC via Steam, the demo is out now.