7 Lessons ‘Sea of Thieves’ Can Teach Us About Great VR Game Design

Original article: 7 Lessons ‘Sea of Thieves’ Can Teach Us About Great VR Game Design

TL;DR

Sea of Thieves offers an immersive experience by using minimal UI, natural interactions, and a shared game world, allowing for engaging cooperation and emergent fun. The game’s design promotes flexibility in pacing, catering to different play styles and moods. Its innovative principles provide valuable insights for VR developers in crafting engaging virtual environments.

Bullet points

  1. 🎮 Minimal UI & Natural Interactions: Sea of Thieves has a minimalistic UI, relying on natural interactions and in-game tools like compasses, clocks, and maps instead of abstract menus. This offers immersive gameplay by providing essential information through spatial organization and real-world objects. It makes the world feel more real and engages the player’s natural spatial understanding.

  2. 🌍 Shared Game World: The game’s shared world model enhances immersion by seamlessly blending single player and multiplayer experiences. Players inhabit the same world, leading to random encounters with real players, creating a world that feels more like a place rather than a simulation. This also accommodates a wide range of concurrent players and encourages unique interactions, whether friendly or hostile.

  3. 🤲 ‘Physical’ Objects Make for Emergent Fun: Many objects in Sea of Thieves are treated as ‘real’ or ‘physical’, allowing for shared and dynamic interactions. This creates emergent fun and cooperative play, as objects like treasure chests are not owned by any particular player and can be carried, stolen, or lost. This real, physics-based interaction with items adds depth to gameplay and opportunities for unique experiences.

  4. ⛵ Strong Moment to Moment Gameplay, Even When ‘Nothing’ is Happening: The game’s interactive sailing mechanics make even basic movement engaging. With actions like raising the anchor, adjusting the sails, or navigating, there’s an inherent challenge and skill involved in simply moving around. This engagement, even in quiet moments, adds to the overall enjoyment and complexity of the game.

  5. 🤝 Cooperation that Goes Beyond ‘Doing the Same Thing at the Same Time’: Cooperation in Sea of Thieves goes beyond simple team play and requires players to perform different, intermingling roles to achieve common objectives. Whether it’s steering, managing sails, or manning cannons, players must work together in diverse ways, enhancing immersion and creating a rich cooperative experience.

  6. ⏳ Wide Ranging (Optional) Pacing: The game offers players the ability to choose their own pace and style of play. Whether seeking action, relaxation, adventure, or just goofing around, Sea of Thieves operates like a sandbox, letting players pursue their desired gameplay. This flexibility caters to different moods and preferences, making the game more accommodating and enjoyable.

  7. 📈 Lessons for VR Developers: Though not specifically built for VR, Sea of Thieves offers valuable insights for VR developers. Its design decisions, such as minimal UI, shared world model, physical objects, and diverse cooperation, can be applied to create immersive VR experiences. By studying these principles, VR developers can learn how to craft engaging and innovative virtual environments.

Keywords

  • Minimal UI (User Interface): A user interface with only essential elements for functionality, making it simple and uncluttered.

  • Natural Interactions: Interactions within a digital environment that feel intuitive, mirroring real-world behavior.

  • Shared Game World: A game environment where all participants inhabit the same space for shared experiences.

  • Emergent: Complex gameplay patterns arising from interactions of relatively simple rules and mechanics.

  • Moment to Moment Gameplay: Ongoing experience where every action in the game is engaging or meaningful to the player.

  • Cooperation: Working together towards common goals in a game, often requiring communication and coordination.

  • Pacing: Refers to how fast or slow events happen in a game, influencing the tension and excitement.