Rare: There's No Game Like Sea of Thieves

For a while there, Rare Ltd. was one of the most innovative developers on the planet, making great games like Donkey Kong Country, Goldeneye 007 and Conker's Bad Fur Day. But on the Xbox platforms, the team was stuck making experiences like Kinect Sports, leaving some wondering if they were losing their touch.

But those doubts should settle away later this month when Sea of Thieves makes its way to the Xbox One and PC, as it's looking like one of the most innovative games from the company to date. And design director Mike Chapman recently reassured that there's no game quite like it.

Speaking with EDGE Magazine, Chapman explained, "I'm biased, but I actually don't think there's another game like Sea of Thieves. Even though Rare has never really made such a multiplayer-focused game before, I think the type of multiplayer game it is is so different anyway. I don't think any of us have ever made a game like this before. But I think it means we've looked at it with fresh eyes."

But Sea of Thieves is also all about utilizing power the right way. "The idea is that players share voyages. Power-levelling is, I guess, a bad thing in other games," Chapman explained. "It's the best thing in Sea Of Thieves, and we've fully embraced it. You want to play with people in your crew at a different level of promotion. You want to have that feeling of, 'They've got something I don't yet have access to'. And by forging those connections with others, it's that whole story of, 'Jack Sparrow's got the map to Fountain of Youth – but he needs a crew to go and get it.

"People want to be friends with a Pirate Legend. They can't get access to the hideout or Legendary Voyages unless they're with you. This is kind of the endgame for Sea Of Thieves at launch. It's going to be fascinating to see. Do Legends play with Legends? Do they play with people who've just started, and shepherd other people into the game?"

And he also hinted at another possible feature coming to the game – the ability to…paint? "One of the things we prototyped early on, which we loved, was a painting canvas. And as part of our service, and the game growing and evolving, there's something really interesting we want to do with that. It's possibly my favorite thing we'll ever do in Sea of Thieves – at least of what's on the mid-term roadmap."

We're excited to see what the future holds for the game when it arrives on March 20. Shiver me timbers!

(Tip of the hat to WCCFTech for the info!)