Building Golden Tides: Our Open-World Journey

When we first conceived Golden Tides, we knew we wanted to create something special. An open-world adventure that would capture the magic of exploration while delivering a compelling narrative about the mysteries of the sea.

The Vision

Our goal was ambitious: create a seamless open world where players could sail between islands, dive into underwater ruins, and uncover a story that spans centuries. We wanted every horizon to promise adventure, every wave to hide secrets.

Technical Challenges

Building an open-world game on water presented unique challenges. Traditional level streaming doesn't work well with ocean environments. We developed a custom solution using Unreal Engine 5's World Partition system, modified to handle our dynamic ocean simulation.

The ocean itself required months of iteration. We needed waves that looked beautiful, responded realistically to weather, and allowed for smooth ship navigation. Our technical artists created a layered system combining Gerstner waves with FFT-based simulations.

Art Direction

We drew inspiration from golden age exploration, maritime mythology, and Studio Ghibli films. The result is a world that feels grounded yet magical—where ancient temples emerge from fog-shrouded islands and bioluminescent creatures light underwater caves.

“Every island tells a story. We wanted players to feel like explorers discovering lost civilizations, not tourists following waypoints.”

What's Next

Golden Tides launches on PC in Q3 2024, with console versions following. We're already planning post-launch content that will expand the world map and introduce new regions to explore. Stay tuned for more updates!