Plunder Pirates
An arcade sailing prototype focused on game feel and core concept iteration. Ride currents to build speed, outmanoeuvre and take down larger ships, and collect treasure.
ROLE
Solo developer: design, programming and tools
TEAM
Solo project
ENGINE
Unity, C# and Shader Graph
PROJECT
University prototype, about 8 weeks, 2026
Spline Based Movement with Tools
• Catmull-Rom spline runs through placed points
• Holds and aligns players to the centre, with tuneable strength
• Currents set speed to 12 m/s and lean the ship into bends
• Editor gizmos for rapid placement and iteration
Sail Efficiency Curve
• Angle between bow and wind picks one of four speed steps
• Wind shifts periodically, shown with particle effects
• Wind levels, audio cues and a wind flag came from playtester feedback
• Ship leans on a curve, with camera lookahead and pullback
Galleon AI and Combat Feel
• State machine re-plans every 5 seconds: chase, circle or run alongside
• Five whiskers steer it around islands, currents and the player
• Weak point kills drop more gold, rewarding skill
• Hit stop, camera shake and an i-frame blink sell every impact
What I Took From It
• Start small and tune: focus on emergent design and find the fun
• Telemetry, gizmos and tunable curves let me iterate on feel again and again
• The galleon AI took far too long. Cannon towers on islands would have proven the loop sooner
• Built to stretch from level and narrative design into hands-on gameplay implementation
Credits
Solo project
Lachlan Taylor: Design, programming and tools
