The Ship (video Game)
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''The Ship'' (later retitled ''The Ship: Murder Party'') is a
first-person shooter A first-person shooter (FPS) is a video game genre, video game centered on gun fighting and other weapon-based combat seen from a First person (video games), first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action directly through t ...
video game developed by Outerlight using
Valve A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or Slurry, slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically Pip ...
's
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engine. The game was released on 11 July 2006, on
Steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...
with retail distribution in Europe and Australia in September, and 10 April 2007, for North America. A playable concept for ''The Ship'' was released as a
modification Modification may refer to: * Modifications of school work for students with special educational needs * Modifications (genetics), changes in appearance arising from changes in the environment * Posttranslational modifications, changes to prote ...
for the game ''
Half-Life Half-life is a mathematical and scientific description of exponential or gradual decay. Half-life, half life or halflife may also refer to: Film * Half-Life (film), ''Half-Life'' (film), a 2008 independent film by Jennifer Phang * ''Half Life: ...
'' in 2004. The game is set on a 1920s recreational
cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports of call, where passengers may go on Tourism, tours k ...
. Each player is assigned a quarry, and the object is to
murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...
them with nobody watching, while at the same time watching out for, and defending themselves against their own hunter.


Plot

A mysterious man named Mr. X has handed out free tickets for his luxury cruise. Little did the passengers know they were falling into his devious trap. All the passengers are required to track down and murder another passenger. If a passenger chooses not to do so, Mr. X will kill them.


Single-player plot

The single-player story begins with an introduction from Mr. X. He tells the passengers of his wish and warns that those too weak to play his "game" may be of use to the sharks, but not for him. The player assumes the role of Charlie Panther, second class passenger. After (easily) dispatching his quarry, Charlie hears a young man whisper to him from a nearby third class cabin. Upon investigating, he is greeted (and complimented on how well he killed his quarry) by the young man who introduces himself as Jimmy the Bellboy. Jimmy explains that "Mr. X don't like no loose ends" and that he is planning on destroying the boat after the hunt is over—along with whoever wins. Jimmy then offers to get Charlie off the boat for $100,000. However, before he can start gathering money, Charlie has to deal with his own hunter. Jimmy suggests he find someone who looks just like him so he can fool his hunter. Charlie notices someone who could definitely pass for him at the museum, so he steals a tranquilizer syringe from the sickbay and injects the man with it, causing him to instantly become unconscious. Charlie returns to Jimmy, who in turn tells Charlie's hunter that he is in the museum asleep, therefore taking the target off Charlie's back. With Charlie safe (from his hunter, at least) Jimmy sends him to the Vesuvius bar on Deck B, where Bruno, the bartender, has him steal wallets from rich customers and give him half of what's in them. This works for a while, but the guard become suspicious of their plot, and Charlie is forced to leave. Jimmy then directs him to the Fence, a portly British man in Deck B's restaurant. The Fence has Charlie steal several treasures (including the Holy Grail), paying him more for each returned. He then has to escort an ambassador around the ship to complete his "mission". After the ship is picked clean, Charlie returns to Jimmy, who has been injured by an assailant who was soon jailed. He tells Charlie that he wants the man dead, and if Charlie does him in, that he will take him off the boat for $25,000 less. Charlie gets himself arrested by pulling a weapon in front of a guard and is hauled to the brig. Inside the brig, Charlie meets with a very large muscle-bound convict, who hints to Charlie about the whereabouts of a knife hidden in a Bible. The convict is shot dead by the guards, however, as he begins to become insane with rage as he talks about Mr. X and the Bermuda Triangle. Charlie finds the shank in a bookshelf and stabs Jimmy's assailant. Upon being released from the brig, Jimmy is ecstatic that his assailant is dead and gladly takes $25K off Charlie's escape price. Charlie is then directed to a Japanese
Yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media (by request of the police) call them , while the yakuza call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ''yak ...
, who wants the captain of the ship dead for having an affair with his wife. After killing him, Jimmy tells him that the captain is still alive. After killing the captain, this time for real, Charlie is directed to Miss Tweed, who wants him to kill some kidnappers who took her dog. The player then meets with them, but upon seeing that he does not have the ransom money, they kick the dog off the ship, presumably to its death. After killing the kidnappers, Charlie returns to Mrs. Tweed, who sobbingly (due to her dog going overboard) gives him the money. After, Charlie returns to Jimmy who gladly accepts the reduced price, but tells him to do one last job, in which he has to go to the Radar room of the ship, and put the radar itself out, so when in the water he can't be spotted by the crew. Returning to Jimmy on the Boat Deck, he wishes him good luck, and that the two can maybe see each other again. As Charlie floats away in his escape boat and Mr. X flies off of the ship in a helicopter, a massive explosion tears through the ship, separating it in two, and starts to sink. It is then revealed that Mrs. Tweed's dog survived, as it pops out of the water. The screen suddenly goes black, which might have meant Charlie was hit by debris from the explosion. Charlie then wakes up in a hospital lying on a bed with a nurse treating him. Mr. X's voice is heard on the nearby speaker saying "Welcome ladies and gentlemen, welcome one and all..."


Multiplayer gameplay

Each player is given a nickname by which they are identified. This is done to make it more difficult to tell players apart from NPCs, who have similar names and look the same as normal players. Each player is assigned a quarry, whom they must murder. The last known location of a player's quarry is always revealed to the player. However, the appearance of the quarry is only revealed if the player converses with the quarry. There are several different weapons with which to eliminate one's quarry. Different amounts of money are rewarded for a kill depending on how difficult it is to use the weapon and how many times it has been used. If a player murders an NPC or anyone other than their quarry or hunter, a cash amount - dependent on the server settings - will be deducted from their bank account. Players with less than a certain figure, set by the server, in their bank account will be kicked from the cruise. Various weapons can be found scattered all around the ship, such as
flare gun A flare gun, also known as a Very pistol or signal pistol, is a large-bore handgun that discharges flares, blanks and smoke. The flare gun is typically used to produce a distress signal. Types The most common type of flare gun is a Very (s ...
s, fire axes,
firearm A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...
s,
knives A knife (: knives; from Old Norse 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, usually attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidenced ...
,
sword A sword is an edged and bladed weapons, edged, bladed weapon intended for manual cutting or thrusting. Its blade, longer than a knife or dagger, is attached to a hilt and can be straight or curved. A thrusting sword tends to have a straighter ...
s,
crowbar A crowbar, also called a wrecking bar, pry bar or prybar, pinch-bar, or occasionally a prise bar or prisebar, colloquially gooseneck, or pig bar, or in Australia a jemmy, is a lever consisting of a metal bar with a single curved end and flat ...
s (which state "to be used by a free man" - a reference to ''
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''s storyline), even secret traps provided just for killing your quarry, like falling lifeboats,
sauna A sauna (, ) is a room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions or an establishment with one or more of these facilities. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. A thermometer in a sauna is used to meas ...
s, freezers, even a deck that turns into a 60 degree angle by command, among others. If a player is seen pulling out a weapon in front of a guard or a camera, or spotted by eyewitnesses, then they are sent to jail. There is an "eye" symbol in the player's HUD that tells them whether they are being spotted or not; if they are watched by security the eye turns red; if not, the eye is green. The meter for trespassing counts down and the player is fined when the countdown is complete (and, if they run out of money to pay the fines, go to jail). Guards can be bribed to overlook weapons. Everyone has eight needs similar to ''
The Sims ''The Sims'' is a series of life simulation video games developed by Maxis and Video game publisher, published by Electronic Arts. The franchise has sold nearly 200 million copies worldwide, and is one of the List of best-selling video game fran ...
''. Such needs are eating, drinking, sleeping, socialising, maintaining proper hygiene and using the bathroom. Some of the needs would cause impairment, such as lack of sleep would cause the player to fall asleep on the spot. Other needs could become fatal, such as thirst and hunger. If the player does not fulfill these needs, they will die, resulting in a loss of $1,000. Needs are sated by going to restaurants, taking showers, talking with other players, etc. This forces players into situations where they are vulnerable to attack, and also attempts to prevent players from
camping Camping is a form of outdoor recreation or outdoor education involving overnight stays with a basic temporary shelter such as a tent. Camping can also include a recreational vehicle, sheltered cabins, a permanent tent, a shelter such as a Bivy bag ...
.


Reception

''The Ship'' received generally positive reviews from critics and has a score of 78 on
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, indicating generally favourable reviews, with no negative reviews. Reviewers praised the innovativity of the game and their enjoyment of the game itself, but thought it would need some refinements and fixes to some inconsistencies to complete the game. It received some slightly less favourable reviews from users.


Spiritual sequel

In September 2010,
Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Anno'', '' Assassin's Creed'', ' ...
and Outerlight announced '' Bloody Good Time''. The game was released on 28 October 2010 for
Xbox Live Arcade Xbox Live Arcade (or XBLA) was a video game Digital distribution in video games, digital distribution service that was available for the Xbox (console), Xbox and Xbox 360 consoles. It focused on smaller downloadable games from both major publisher ...
and 29 October for
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. The game is very similar in style and gameplay. A mysterious individual, known as X (except this time he is a British director), finds eight stereotypical slasher victims being sent to kill each other or partake in other missions during scenes.


Sequel/HD remake

In November 2011, developers Blazing Griffin bought the game from Outerlight, who were going to disband. Blazing Griffin ran a
Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...
campaign in order to fund a direct
steampunk Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and Applied arts, aesthetics inspired by, but not limited to, 19th-century Industrial Revolution, industrial steam engine, steam-powered machinery. Steampun ...
-themed sequel to ''The Ship'' titled ''The Ship: Full Steam Ahead''. After several months, Blazing Griffin was unable to secure the funding goal of £128,000, only amassing £18,247 instead. The project appears to have been scrapped in favour of creating a HD remake of ''The Ship'', titled ''The Ship: Remasted''. The new iteration of the game is in response to the fact that when Blazing Griffin acquired the right of the game from Outerlight, they were not given a license to make technical changes to the source code and thus, were not legally allowed to make new updates or content for the game. ''The Ship: Remasted'' was released on
Steam Early Access Early access, also known as alpha access, alpha founding, paid alpha, or game preview, is a funding model in the video game industry by which consumers can purchase and play a game in the various pre-release development cycles, such as pre-alph ...
on 15 February 2016. It has since left Early Access.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ship, The 2006 video games First-person shooters GoldSrc mods Multiplayer and single-player video games Multiplayer online games Source (game engine) games Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games set in the 1920s Windows games Windows-only games Mindscape games Outerlight games Video games set on ships Merscom games