Too long; didn't read version:
- Four players load on a single island in a local environment on a single console (no online connection),
- No assets outside of this island loads (no wind, no assets in the distance, simplified body of water akin to those in tall-tales, surrounded by invisible game wall),
- A goal is set (killing one another, competing against each other to complete a voyage, etc.),
This allows
- Players to gain PvP experience outside of high risk situations in Adventure Mode,
- Players to grow comfortable and aware of island environments and gameplay mechanics,
- A sample of gameplay to provide to brand new players to encourage them to buy the game on their own,
- Arena assets to be recycled before they're defunct
Long detailed version:
Sea of Thieves is in a strange limbo as a casual title...
As a game, it's best with one-to-three friends, but the basic design of Sea of Thieves make it nigh impossible to run in split-screen (my computer struggles enough as it is running the game on its own, let alone rendering everything multiple times). This means, if I wanted to play it with my loved ones, I'd have to convince them to buy into a $40 game, and hope their machine and internet connection can run it, all on the faith of my word. The game isn't a good "quick, try this game" opportunity because it requires a big investment of time through voyages and sailing alone.
A good way to have circumvent this is to call back to classic arcade-style versus games! Up to four players would spawn on the player's choice of island that they'd be locked to, and have a certain goal they'd have to achieve: Race to get a chest, or solve a riddle, fight one-another for kills, team up against a Pirate Lord boss or fight independently against group of skeleton captains. You could have team games or free-for-all games. It wouldn't need a lot of depth, just a small opportunity to dip your toes into the gameplay.
This would negate heavy hardware usage too, as nothing in the distance would need to be rendered or considered, complex systems of the ocean could be completely disabled, everything would be in a small controlled environment of a single island.
It would also be a good way for players to ease into the PvP style gameplay. With the removal of the Arena, Sea of Thieves will no longer offer a safe and controlled environment for players to grow comfortable with player combat, and having a skill gap of combat can make things really frustrating for players (assuming it doesn't already). If I set up a game between me and my buddy, we can both sit down and experiment with efficient ways to fend each other off. Assets could be borrowed from the arena too, like chests, teams, special NPCs, nothing would go to waste and no longer be preserved in history.
Even the Maiden Voyage could be a split-screen opportunity. While the other Tall Tales require players to go across multiple islands making split-screen possibilities almost impossible, the Maiden Voyage is in a small and controlled environment. It would also help the maiden voyage be a little less frustrating for players grinding through it again for a little renown per-season.
Great local multiplayer is something Rare has been famous for, from the 90's to the 2000's, but, ironically, its biggest multiplayer game lacks what multiplayer is famous for, and could serve a great opportunity to bring friends into such a great game.
