Ship in a Black Ship

A 1-bit horror game where you must find and scan a signal somewhere deep underwater, and bring it back without getting killed by the shadows down below... or your own clumsiness.

Horror isn't really my thing, so this was an interesting project for me. I think the game-play could best be described as a fusion of Five Nights at Freddy's and Iron Lung.

The web-version runs surprisingly well, but the executable's are still a better experience - the HTML5 has some graphical and audio bugs.

Made for the 2023 1-Bit Game Jam hosted by MYline media.

WARNING: This game contains jumpscares and loud noises. There are also mild flashing lights.

Keybindings -

    Esc - exit game / reset game data

    F / F5 / F11 - toggle fullscreen

Samples used (all from Freesound.org) - 

"Creaking attic door." by jymdavis, ID: 210105

"Buzzing, Electric Lamp, A" by InspectorJ (www.jshaw.co.uk), ID: 415873

"camera with flash.wav" by skynproduction, ID: 91480

"Camera Flash Charging.aif" by ftpalad, ID: 119902

"camera flash charge.wav" by adeluc4, ID: 125326

"Rusty Metal Creaking" by unfa, ID: 207993

"Click" by abstraktgeneriert, ID: 217482

"Plugging In Guitar" by yfjesse, ID: 240132

"Glass Smash.wav" by chewiesmissus, ID: 244238

"Guitar and amp.wav" by FrankyBoomer, ID: 251274

"Camera shutter and flash combined" by montclairguy, ID: 353044

"Finger Snaps" by JohnsonBrandEditing, ID: 369549

"Full radio sweep.wav" by vedas, ID: 396902

"Old camera flash.wav" by MichelleGrobler, ID: 410559

"Click 06.wav" by gusgus26, ID: 415094

"Fuze Switch Flick" by LordForklift, ID: 448394

"water spray in plastic bucket fill from hose with nozzle.wav" by kyles, ID: 452663

"Orange Guitar Amp Noise" by Sassaby, ID: 517183

"Gun Hammer Click" by magnuswaker, ID: 523087

"Fan 2.mp3" by denstoltejyde, ID: 553746

"Foley_Object_Metal_Oven_Creaks_Mono.wav" by Nox_Sound, ID: 585734

"Scrap metal dropping / crashing" by SamsterBirdies, ID: 587443

"Car Crash (with Glass)", by magnuswaker, ID: 592388

"amp_feedback_7.wav" by strangehorizon, ID: 622128

"Vlissingen Coast Area Marine Radio NL 220221.ogg" by klankbeeld, ID: 626963

"CLICK - plastic bottle lid - SNAP.wav" by Duisterwho, ID: 644049

"Scary Machine Startup.wav" by TraceyRegina, ID: 647225

"Camera Flash Sound.wav" by juanstrydom2002, ID: 655045

Each one of these samples was put through some sort of processing.

Oh, and by the way, try and finish each expedition with as much power remaining as you can. Who knows? Maybe something special will happen if you play well enough...

INSTRUCTIONS (for those who couldn't understand the in-game tutorial)

A lot of people were confused as to how to play the game. So here's a little guide I've whipped up. It's a hacky solution for a complex problem, but it's better than nothing.

Click and hold the buttons on either side of the radar screen to move the ship. You should see the arrow on the radar screen rotate as you turn the ship. The button above the one on the right moves the ship forward.

Click the white button by the porthole to toggle the lights. General rule of thumb: if you see white pixels through the window, there's a wall straight ahead. Be careful!

Click and hold the pulley (hanging lever), then drag down to initiate flash. It'll immediately dissipate every nearby living shadow and keep them away for a good while. It'll also use a lot of power.

Every once in a while, the radar will ping, finding the objective and showing the direction on the screen. If the arrow is pointing towards the porthole (up), the objective is straight ahead. You may have to take a detour if there's a wall in the way.

Once the signal is scanned, the arrow will point towards the drop-off location. Basically, go back the way you came.

Throughout the expedition, shadows may appear around the ship, gradually trying to break in. If you think there's a shadow somewhere on the ship, turn on the light and turn the ship around until you find it. But be careful - lights use up power, and turning the ship takes a long time.

Hitting a wall will damage the ship. A screen all the way to the right will alert you if the ship is damaged. If you hit too many walls, the power will cut out and the ship will eventually shatter. Basically, don't hit walls. Walls bad.