through caverns measureless to man, down to a sunless sea...

[frith_in_thorns]

Sunless Sea is out of beta and is fully released! You guys, it is so good.

You may have heard of Fallen London, possibly through the bizarre crossover fic series sholio and I have been writing. Sunless Sea is a "proper" computer game, set in the same universe, in which you captain a ship and sail out into the darkness of the Unterzee to explore. You can find treasure, yes, but what you mostly find are words. Delicious, delicious storytelling. This isn't a game which needs "gaming" skills. It's for people who love absolutely immersing themselves into worldbuilding.

Eurogamer gave it 10/10. They also have a really good description of the game, much better than one I'd write.

It's the 1800s and London has fallen into the ground. As the soil overhead closed (Essex: meet Surrey), a twilight and subterranean archipelago landed a mile below. Here in the luminous ocean, known as the Unterzee, the map is unfamiliar. Gone are London's boroughs, replaced by islands that go by new names. Some are archaic: Pickett's Bluff, Watchmaker's Hill, Lick-a-Monkey Crag. Some are futuristic: Station III, Codex. Others are just playfully wistful: Low Barnet.

You'll want to visit them all, you and your crew. Regardless of whether you're in the business of trading goods, stories, or blows, your livelihood depends upon travel. Indeed, while the geography surrounding Fallen London is unfamiliar, the question that greets you here is common to all who come to the city: where are you headed?

And one thing about the game: You die. A lot. This isn't a save-and-repeat game; it's a die and pass your legacy to the next captain game. Maybe in your next incarnation you'll learn you really should stay clear of the Dawn Machine*. (Probably you won't, though.)

People who've played, share your favourite deaths in comments! Or, uh, even if you haven't, try leaving fic prompts for me (and sholio)!

"" (Watch on YouTube)

*REJECT THE DAWN MACHINE.

Comments

[frith_in_thorns]

This is my favourite death:

If your ship's Terror level gets to 100 then your crew mutinies and you probably die. Well one mutiny was because I ran out of fuel and I prayed to the ur-god Salt to move me somewhere, and Salt moved me to Kingeater's Castle WHERE YOU CAN'T BUY FUEL. But there was an option to leave my mind as an offering on an altar so I thought since I can't go anywhere anyway, what the fuck, why not.

Shockingly, that was a Bad Idea and it made my Terror shoot to 100 and my crew tore me to pieces.

(Note to players: if you go to Kingeater's Castle, pay attention to the warning text that says that choice is A BAD IDEA.)

[sholio]

So far, my most tragic tale of Sunless Sea death-woe was having my crew mutiny and kill me WITHIN SIGHT OF THE LONDON HARBOR. Morons. (Though morale had been running low; perhaps the cannibalism was a bad idea.)

[frith_in_thorns]

Cannibalising your crew does tend to lower morale, yes.

Maybe they just wanted you to experience that bitter irony as you died...

[umadoshi]

I bought it! But it's not one of the Steam games that works on Linux, so I won't be able to play except when I think to boot a computer into Windows. ^^; But it sounds awesome and I'm glad I got it!

[frith_in_thorns]

It is TOTALLY worth booting your computer into Windows for, trust me :D

[goodbyebird]

oooh this sounds very cool!

[frith_in_thorns]

I see from Twitter that you have acquired it! How are your voyagings going so far? :D

[goodbyebird]

hah, badly :p I got eaten by a shark! (or, well, sunk... but I bet it ate whatever went in the water)

[aqwt101]

Sounds really cool! :)
I don't have any specific prompts, sorry, but omg, just about anything with Peter, El and Neal travelling, adventuring, and getting into trouble exploring new worlds - that sounds absolutely fabulous and I will eat it with a spoon! It's like my favorite characters meet my favorite kind of setting! ♥
So, really hope you and Sholio will get inspired for more WC/FL AU:)

[frith_in_thorns]

I am REALLY inspired to write random fic of the characters zailing around in Sunless Sea! So many situations it would be great to throw them into :D Once I am not spending all my free time PLAYING it, writing will definitely happen! :D

[aqwt101]

Looking forward to it! I miss your stories!

[dhampyresa]

ATLANTIS IS THE SIXTH CITY

That's my prompt.

[frith_in_thorns]

...oh my god.

I WILL THINK ON THIS.

[spiderwolves]

I found I couldn't do anything with the Dawn Machine! I figured something new would come with the Carnelian update, but I must have missed a thingy. So many deaths, and so much zailing about: I loved the scenery and the atmosphere, just, Fallen London but morreee. Delicious. Excited that your fic is going well!