Our goal at Black Salt Games is to be known for high-immersion experiences that are excellently executed, with a bit of a difference from anything you might have played before.
Who are we?
Like most who are passionate about game-crafting, the team at Black Salt grew up losing (and finding) ourselves within games.
Based in Christchurch, New Zealand with over 25 years collective experience between us in building and releasing games and entertainment experiences. We have dozens of titles under our belts for world-leading entertainment brands including Disney, Disney Pixar, Dreamworks and Sony. We’re a team that knows how to game dev.
Now after working for years together on games enjoyed by millions of players on behalf of other companies, we’re going to make our own mark on our players.
Joel Mason
Alex Ritchie
Nadia Thorne
“An unusual fishing adventure with a sinister undercurrent”
Dredge is an adventure game set in a Lovecraftian-inspired world with a core game mechanic of collecting and selling resources, then upgrading your equipment and abilities. It encourages exploration with light story elements.
You play as a fisherman new to a mysterious group of islands with some peculiar inhabitants – both on land and in the water. Getting involved with some of the stranger folk is lucrative but you might just be helping them bring about the end of the world…
Platforms: PC & Nintendo Switch
Content: 8-10 hours
Areas to explore: 5
Timeline
- Jun 2021 – Demo Build: The Marrows
- Oct 2021 – Steam Next Festival, PAX Australia*
- Nov 2021 – Beta
- Early 2022 – Full Release on PC stores and Switch
*Pandemic allowing ><
Main Gameplay
You’re a boat. That’s how you explore this world.
Fishing, selling and upgrading equipment is the core loop of this game. Players will need to manage their inventories, equipment and fishing stocks to progress.
Fishing
Find a fishing spot and reel the fish in before finding a spot for it in your cargo.
Trawling
Equip trawling nets to your boat and deploy when in allowable areas. What will you find in your nets when you haul them aboard?
Potting
Purchase crab pots and deploy them out at sea, then return to harvest the catch at a later time (if they’re still there…)
Fishing
Fish regenerate over time but depleting the pool too much means it takes longer to replenish.
Different types of fish require different equipment to reach them.
Cargo
Cargo holds are very tactile; when your boat gets damaged, inventory spaces are no longer usable until repaired, and you lose any item occupying that space.
Equipment that is installed on top of a damaged square won’t work until repaired.
Fish Market
Sale prices depend on the rarity of the fish, the size of the fish, how fresh the fish is and specials run by the individual fishmonger.
To access all the fish in the game players will need to install different equipment on their boats, purchase bigger boats and find skill books distributed throughout the game world.
Main quests will award new player abilities.
Equipment
- Fishing Rods
- Trawler Nets
- Dredging Equipment
- Engines
- Fog Lights
- Harpoons (for monsters, not Whales)
Player Upgrades
- Fishing Speed
- Dredging Speed
- Movement Speed
- Sanity Resilience
- Sustainable Fishing
- Equipment Maintenance
- Bartering Value
Relic Powers
- Teleport
- Flare Gun
- Boost
- Shield
Dredging
Dredging equipment will allow the player to recover rare and expensive items from the seabed.
Some characters will pay handsomely for particularly powerful artifacts.
Shipyard
Players will be able to purchase different equipment while visiting the different shipyards in the game world, or store equipment for later use.
Players can also upgrade their base boat model ~5 times, each successive hull offers more and different types of loadout slots.
There is a day and night cycle. Time progresses as you sail on the water or when you need to repair your boat or install new equipment at dock.
Day
- Good visibility of fishing spots and landmarks
- Sanity replenishment
Night
- Sanity reduces while you are alone on the waters at night
- You’re more likely to encounter strange things
Monsters
Each of the five environments will house its own eldritch terror(s), if the players want the power of the relic in that area they’ll need to defeat or outsmart this monster.
Insanity
As the player goes progressively more insane, the environment and audio will change.
Eventually, shadowy creatures will be able to make physical contact with the player.
The Story
You play as a fisherman new to a group of islands where the characters you meet are a bit strange.
You meet the strangest one of all, a Collector who encourages you to seek important but forgotten treasures at the bottom of the seabed, but you’ll need to locate a specific relic for him and brave the dangerous waters to find it.
Other locals hint at mysteries surrounding the Isles, will you uncover what has lain hidden all these years?
World
The Marrows
You start your adventure by moving to the island fishing village of Greater Marrow. The inhabitants aren’t accustomed to visitors.
You’d better keep them fed.
Other Zones
Gale Cliffs
A reclusive community built into the high cliffs – they don’t want to be close to the water.
Devil’s Spine
A series of treacherous rocky outcrops along the ridge of an active volcano.
Stellar Basin
A research station set up to study strange new bioluminescent creatures.
Twisted Strand
Twisting runways of water between giant stands of mangroves.