It’s been a while since I created a post on the forums, but I really wanted to finish this finally. This is a tale that has been six years in the making, as my very first draft was around this time in 2017. Why has it taken me so long to write this? Well, it is because there have been so many things that have changed in this game that I never felt quite happy with my writing.
Unhappy because I was trying, and having a hard time with, putting into words what makes Sea of Thieves so special and why it is one of my favorite co-op games ever made with a community I still feel is one of the kindest communities I have been a part of. Unhappy because the game changed, my critiques changed, and now here we are all that time after. But I still want to finish my writing.
So, if you will bear with me, let me explain to you why I feel the way I do. Let me take you through my journey as a member of this community.
A Swabbie on the seas
My first day upon the Sea of Thieves is a story I remember like yesterday. It was just before Gamescom 2017 and I had just been invited to be part of Alpha testing. I was lucky because that week, contrary to usual shorter play sessions, the servers would be open an entire week. I downloaded the game and was eager to start and finally get to play and test this game I had been excited about since I saw the first trailer.
When I loaded up there were not any closed crews, sloops or brigs, but just open crew galleons. I loaded in and woke up at Daggertooth with three other gentlemen. One of the three gents immediately started speaking and dubbed himself the captain after finding out we all had no experience. A friendly gent as he showed us the ropes and I remember how he encouraged us to explore the outpost and familiarize ourselves with the island, the shops, the resources, before telling us there was a special event put on for this week. He showed us a map made just for this event that had been shared online!
Having absolutely no clue of any islands, or anything in this game we had no idea where to start. Our captain did not have a clue either, so we decided we’d systematically just visit every island to find a clue. The next hours and days we would set sail to visit every island to see if we could find anything. We sank in almost every ship fight we found ourselves in but that did not deter us. It did not matter that we sank, our ship respawned and we could just try again.
We eventually solved the map after we figured out part of the riddle through the meaning of darkness. I remember finding the final chest and fighting over it with other crews, losing it once, and claiming it back another time. We had so much fun just running around, sailing, sinking. Before I knew the seas had claimed me and I could not wait to play again with a friend I had made during that week.
That friend and I sailed a few more times until we got ambushed by a renown enthusiast of ship and player combat. Our crew of 50% randoms did not communicate well and was not good at this aspect of the game, but I was decent enough at sailing to get some distance between us. It did not last and they caught up. Before they saw I took our most valuable chest, a chest of sorrows, and swam to the nearest outpost.
While I was trying to achieve my own personal victory to sell this chest, my crew was repeatedly getting instantly spawn killed on our ship was not a scuttle option back then and it led to my friend being disheartened and quitting the game that very day. And while that experience sucked at the time, I also found in Sea of Thieves I could always find a different way to win. After all, I had swum that chest of sorrows back to the outpost to sell it and that was a victory in my book.
Why am I telling you all this? Because even then Sea of Thieves possessed something many games do not, it gave me creative freedom in this sandbox. I could hide my loot, I could sail away, I could hide on their ship with my loot, I could choose to give them my loot and play music. Not only that but it was a game that generates stories in a way that no game I’ve ever played has ever quite done in such a way.
This is what hooked me, not the player vs player or the player vs environment. No, the mix of everything that could provide some chaotic gameplay magic that I could tap into and enjoy to the fullest. But I am also telling you this because after I lost my crew, I found another crew right here on the forums.
My enthusiasm for the game led me to these forums where, at the time, I found such a kind community where many discussions were had in surprisingly civil manner. It led me to engage in the forums, sharing lots of ideas, engaging in loads discussions about the game. I even somehow ended up sailing with some of the finest pirates I know in one of the finest communities I have had the opportunity to be a part of: Fortune.
And all of this occurred before the game had even been released. But I’m not done yet!
Becoming a Sea Dog Swine in a Boot
At the time Fortune is a group of likeminded people with a similar love for the game. Our commander in chief, SirioNDB, was enthused about doing community events. Trying to stretch what was possible in the game by being creative with the things that were given to us. Sirio is the reason we organized a Grand Odyssey.
In this Grand Odyssey, some of our members had put together various tasks to perform where next tasks were given out in real time after completion was shared. In this event we created, we all helped crews navigate the tasks while we ourselves played the game and gathered loot so that we could give that to the winner. It was one of the most awesome in-game experiences I’ve been a part of in my life of gaming.
Playing with my friends SirioNDB, Thor von Blitz, and DrBullhammer we created mini games to play on the seas, experimented with explosives thoroughly and engaged in the community vigourously. We would help people do voyages, be equally merciless to those who attacked us. More games were created we could do when we played with more of our friends. Like SkullBall, or when we did water fights after a fort, dare a crew to hit the bell in the crowsnest with a blunderbuss.
The game had not even been released and yet we had been having tremendous fun playing together and just getting up to all sorts of nonsense. This is where Sea of Thieves truly shines, by being a game that is just amazing to play with a good group of friends. I found a lot of amazing friend sin that group, friendships that still exist, people I have met in person and that I still sail on the seas with. It’s Fortune that ensured you Arena dogs had a hot tub in your tavern, and Rare best let us back in to soak sometime soon! 😉Hot Tub Flashback
Not only that, but I also found a newfound appreciation for the game by savouring the small things we saw get added. But also seeing how much fun could be had when you played with a group of likeminded people. We got excited over a ladder being added on mermaid’s hideaway on the back of the island. I remember how excited we were when booms got added and can detail you the story of our very first explosion. I also remember when the ability to set a fuse on a boom was introduced. Every addition was one we enjoyed because it just made the game we enjoyed fuller and richer in experience.
There is no game quite like it, capturing that magic of co-operation, silliness, goofing around, setting goals for yourself, and just providing a place to hang out and chat with friends. Nor are there many games like it where you can try and meet other pirates on the seas and see whatever might happen next. Maybe you will even make a new friend.
Through the Devil’s Shroud
The release of the game brought a whole new crowd to the game and brought even more passion to the game in the form of even more communities. In the years since then the game has grown further, updates have enriched the game more. And while Fortune isn’t as active now as it was back then, I still play with these friends I have made. I still play with friends I have made interacting with other communities, and still interact with the community regularly through the official discord.
And that is what makes Sea of Thieves truly special, because I think what binds all these people together is the stories we all have from playing. A game that allows you to hang out with your friends, chat away about anything and everything, to shoot some other pirates if they mess with your vibe, or to spend your time fishing in peace. The game offers something for everyone, and it is the mixture of all the elements coming together that make it so special.
Now that isn’t to say that the game doesn’t have flaws, or that there are not things that I wish to see improved. I still wish there was a way to save different outfit styles, or that there was a larger selection of cosmetics in the non-emporium stores tied to in-game commendations. I still wish that Pirate Legend voyages would feel Legendary and would make you use all the knowledge you’ve gathered working for the other trading companies.
A voyage where you piece together a legendary shanty to summon something.. tentacular. I wish the world would evolve further than we have seen it now. To see more of the magic, more of the many hideouts, hidden secret caves that we know exist on the islands. I want the story to continue to progress so we have more mystery and intrigue. For the unmarked islands to play a new role.
I could go on and on of things that I think could be, or should be, added to the game. Things that I think are to be improved. But, when it comes down to it, I’m pretty darn proud to see how far Sea of Thieves has come since that week in 2017. To be able to look back at the many stories I have and tie them to important moments in my life.
Sea of Thieves was there when I graduated college with my degree, it was there when I was struggling to find my first job out of college. The seas were there when the entire world went on lockdown and provide some semblance of freedom. I played Sea of Thieves throughout the period when my mother had breast cancer, and could make her smile by sharing stories of funny things I had done with my friends. I made many friends on the Sea of Thieves that I could share adventures with, laughs with. But also had the opportunity to introduce friends to the Sea of Thieves and make new memories and share my enthusiasm with them.
I'm embarrassed to say I even fell in love while playing this game and opened myself up to someone for the first time in over half a decade. The Sea of Thieves was also there for me when that did not work out and I was back at square one closing myself all the way back up. It was there in the background, growing, when it hurt to play the game because of the painful memories of that time we spent together. It’s been there when I switched jobs, moved to a new city, started new hobbies, and made new friends. The community has also been there always, growing, diversifying, and yet retaining that charm and friendliness at it’s core. It warms my heart to see some of those pillars, the legends of the sea in my mind, still playing the game and working with the community.
Sea of Thieves has been there for me in the last couple of months, some of the toughest I’ve had yet. In those months it has brought me closer together again with some of my dear friends, and I engaged with the community again and was met with open arms. Sea of Thieves has been the reason that I’ve gotten up from my behind the last couple of days to write down just how appreciative I am of all that the game has brought me.
With all that being said, I hope to see the game and community continue to grow. I would love to read some of your stories, and am thankful for you reading mine.
With much appreciation from this Bootswine
~ Erinome (Entinome)
