Huge progress on our Arctic survival game

For those new here, we're a husband and wife team working on The Perilous North, a narrative survival game set in the golden age of Arctic exploration with slight Lovecraftian twist.

(If you haven't yet, Wishlist The Perilous North to support us!)

[dynamiclink href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/3672160/The_Perilous_North?snr=1_5_9_"]

Since the last update a lot has been added to the game, so let's just jump straight into it!

World building

Anna has been doing some incredible world and narrative building.

We made a conscious decision for our own sanity to choose our battles wisely, and not to stray too far from reality.

When you first boot up the game, we don’t want you to feel like you’re in a totally unfamiliar world. A spoon is a spoon, the British empire is still the British empire, and if you go out naked into a -60 degree blizzard, you will get frostbite. The logic of the normal world applies.

That said, there’s still a ton of world building to do in order to pull this off the narrative and characters in a believable way.

We also put together a video showing our love and appreciation for the period. The algorithm hated it - haha *cry laughing* but we're still proud of it.

Navigation layer maps

The navigation layer also uses the same system. Exploring is its own form of progression. As you explore and find locations, more and more of the map will become filled in.

Landmarks and flags

This is a juicy one.

The landmark sketchbook just got a huge overhaul this month. While it was a lot of fun in its previous form, we felt it was a little too “treasure hunt” and not quite “arctic explorer”.

We’ve since updated it to involve more thematic mechanics. Navigating with a dodgy map, using limited information to find your way.

It’s still very simple, but we want you to have the experience of 19th century Arctic navigation, and the philosophy behind the design is still the same - to feel like “if I don’t use my brain here, I will die” - without the frustration that doubtless came from it.

“Transactions”

You see something you like, you buy it. Using your resources to trade, whether for a native good luck charm or a new steam engine is one of the main ways to progress in the game.

Credit where it’s due, this was ripped straight out of Zelda, where rather than trading items, you just buy things directly in the world. It feels more visceral than shuffling icons around in inventories.

Item loadouts

With the simplification of abilities, a lot of the cool ideas like “explosives” or “flares” or “traps” have been moved over to craftable items.

These are taken with you as a sort of loadout when you leave the ship and enter a location. They’re not strictly mandatory, but might save you in a pinch, and will help you play in your own way.

Abilities simplified

We’ve simplified abilities.

Each crew member will now have one “signature ability”. This can still be modified, so abilities will change throughout the game, but it simplifies gameplay a lot. It also means each ability can have its own meaningful mini game.

• The Engineer has the tent, with a placement mini game.

• The Navigator has the flags, which you need for the navigation mini game etc.

Every crew member feels very important, and has their own role within the game.

Crew clothing