Ambitious Titanic game lets you explore the sinking ship in real-time
As you try to solve a crime most foul.
There have been video games set aboard the infamous ocean liner the Titanic before, but proposed Indiegogo project Titanic: Honor and Glory is by far the most ambitious recreation of the historical disaster yet.
Set in real-time, you'll assume the role of the fictitious Robert Morgan, a man framed for horrible crimes who must clear his name by catching the real culprit. Unfortunately for Mr. Morgan, he's received a hot tip that the criminal in question has gained passage aboard the Titanic's maiden voyage. As such, you'll have to trot about Southampton, find a way to gain passage onto the ship, solve the mystery, prove your innocence, and survive the unfortunate bit of iceberg-related unpleasantness Leonardo DiCaprio is most known for.
If this time pressure is too much stress for you, there will be a "free roam" option to explore the game's historical locales at your leisure.
The developer behind this game is very concerned with authenticity and has hired a crack team of contributors to help with its historical accuracy. Multiple historians, authors and Titanic wreck divers have been lending their services to this project.
As such, the developer hopes to accurately account for the whereabouts of numerous known passengers during their ordeal. "We are going out of our way to make sure to include as many people as we can in the game, all based on real life people (with the exception of the main character and the villains)," the developer said.
"The number of real-life Titanic passengers and crew in the game who you can talk to, interact with, and even 'stalk' during the sinking to watch their real-life actions is around 200. However, this number may increase or decrease as final production decisions are made, based on how successful our campaign is."
To fund such a gargantuan project the developer estimated it will need $950K, but the Indiegogo goal is listed as only $250K. "This does not give us enough to complete the project, but fuels our fires for longer," the developer admitted. "We set this as a low goal to hit the threshold of four per cent IndieGoGo fees as early as possible." Previously the developer was looking for $20K to get past the initial pre-production phases for the game, which it acquired in an earlier Indiegogo campaign.
Given the scope of the project it's unclear when it will be ready, but backers can reserve a copy of it for $50 now or pay $15 to receive an early demo that lets them scope out limited sections of the ship.
To see how Titanic: Honor and Glory's setting is coming along, here's a midship walkthrough of the ill-fated vessel recreated in Unreal Engine 4.
