Waves of Fortune

Inspiration

Waves of Fortune began with a simple question:

What if every voyage permanently changed the place you called home?

Many exploration games focus on what happens away from home. Many management games focus on optimising systems. I became interested in combining those two ideas. Rather than collecting resources for their own sake, I wanted players to return from every expedition with something that would physically and emotionally change their harbour.

The project draws inspiration from Animal Crossing, Pokémon, Hay Day, Wind Waker and Sea of Thieves. Each creates a strong sense of ownership, discovery or attachment. Waves of Fortune attempts to combine those feelings into a single experience where exploration, progression and personal ownership are deeply connected.

What it does

Waves of Fortune is a Simulation & Management game where players build a legendary harbour through exploration and discovery.

Players recruit captains, launch expeditions across seven mysterious seas, uncover creatures, artefacts and legends, and return those discoveries home.

Every discovery permanently changes the harbour. Museums fill with exhibits, creatures inhabit sanctuaries, monuments celebrate achievements and captains develop histories that become part of the player's legacy.

The long-term goal is to complete the Atlas of the Seven Seas and uncover the mystery of Whitebeard, the greatest explorer who ever lived.

How we designed it

The design process focused on identifying the emotional core before designing systems.

Rather than asking "What buildings should the player upgrade?" the question became "Why would players care about upgrading them?"

This led to a central design philosophy:

Players aren't collecting resources. They're building a harbour that reflects their journey.

From that point, every major system was evaluated against the same question:

"Does this make the harbour feel more personal?"

Captains became characters rather than statistics. Discoveries became permanent landmarks rather than inventory items. Progression became visible through the evolution of the harbour itself.

Challenges we ran into

The biggest challenge was avoiding traditional mobile game patterns.

Early concepts relied heavily on timers and passive progression. While functional, they didn't create memorable experiences.

The design became significantly stronger once voyages evolved from waiting mechanics into short interactive adventures filled with decisions, risks and discoveries.

Another challenge was balancing scale and ownership. The world needed to feel large enough to inspire exploration while ensuring the harbour remained personal and meaningful. Much of the design process focused on maintaining that balance.

But the main challenge was the 48 hours it was turned around in! So Waves of Fortune was an idea i built our 2 years ago as an MR title for the Quest 3, it never was developed, but when i saw this at the weekend, it instantly made me want to revisit! I wish id had the full time on this, as its not presnted 100% how i would like, but, i love the Waves of Fortune idea, the captains, the harbour, the exploration. I really want to build it so i can play it.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

The aspect of the design I'm most proud of is how every major system ultimately reinforces the same fantasy.

Captains, creatures, monuments, discoveries, the Chronicle, the Atlas and the Hall of Legends all contribute toward the same outcome: creating a harbour that feels uniquely yours.

The final design feels cohesive because every system serves the same emotional goal.

What we learned

The biggest lesson from this design challenge was that progression alone is not enough to create attachment.

Players remember stories, places and characters far longer than they remember numbers.

Many of the strongest design decisions emerged when focusing on emotional outcomes rather than mechanical ones.

Instead of asking "What does this system do?" the better question became "What does this make the player feel?"

What's next for Waves of Fortune

The current design focuses on validating the core fantasy of exploration, discovery and harbour building.

Future iterations would expand the social aspects of the experience through harbour visits, cooperative expeditions, seasonal world events and new Atlas volumes beyond the original Seven Seas.

The long-term vision remains unchanged:

Create a world where every voyage matters because it leaves a permanent mark on the place players call home.

The goal is not to build the largest harbour in the world.

The goal is to build one worth remembering.