Last Updated on Oct 2, 2025 @ 11:25:40 AM.
Rise of Piracy is the debut title of the developer IrishJohnGames that puts players in command of a ship, or, depending on how well the player is at the game, a fleet of ships as they sail the oceans pillaging, trading, and conquering as they see fit while being able to explore a completely hand-crafted world full of unique characters and locations to visit.
We recently had the opportunity to talk to the developer behind Rise of Piracy about all things Rise of Piracy, including its inspirations, the vast hand-crafted world, and the various gameplay mechanics present.
| EDITOR’S NOTE |
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| Due to this being a written interview, some answers have been edited for clarity/brevity, without removing intent or context. |
First of All, so Our Readers Know, Do You Mind Telling Us Your Name and What Role You Played Within the Development of Rise of Piracy?
My name is John, and I have been the sole developer for Rise of Piracy for the guts of around 5 years, with the addition of some folks jumping in and helping with regard to user interface, artwork, and, most recently, a musical composer.
What Led to the Decision on Focusing on Pirates and the World of Plunder and Mayhem Within the Rise of Piracy?
I’ve always loved pirate games–most of my inspiration came from a game I loved as a child called ‘Cutthroats: Terror on the High Seas’. I really enjoyed the scaling in games like ‘Mount and Blade’ and wanted to combine that level of scaling with a pirate setting, so that the player can grow from having one ship and a handful of crew, to having a large fleet with plenty of diverse ships at their command.
What Were the Inspirations Behind the Rise of Piracy, if There Was One at All?
Definitely the games ‘Cutthroats’, ‘Assassins Creed’, ‘Sid Meier’s Pirates’, ‘Mount and Blade’, and a plethora of others. I definitely take a lot of inspiration for the mechanics from classic RTS titles, also.
Rise of Piracy Is Full of RTS (Real-Time Strategy) Gameplay Mechanics. What Led to the Decision to Use This Form of Gameplay?
I’ve always loved playing RTS games. I grew up playing ‘Age of Empires’ and any Command and Conquer title I could get my hands on. I was also very into ‘Starcraft: Brood War’, and still to this day enjoy following the ASL games casted by Tastosis.
In Rise of Piracy, the RTS mode allows you to have a very granular layer of control that you don’t really get in Mount and Blade. You can deploy your crews to land to capture control points, or to land cannons for some heavy shoreline support. Without the classic RTS controls, the game would be very different.
Players Will Be Able to Deal With Smuggling, Selling Cargo, and Other Situations Such as These. Were There Any Difficulties in Making This System Both Fair and Fun to Play With?
The campaign map is heavily loaded with trade mechanics. Merchants and faction fleets move around the tradable goods within the game, and islands produce them. This was a very challenging piece to create, and it is still going to potentially change a lot during the Early Access phase as I receive feedback from players. Trade is one of the main ways a player can potentially make a lot of profit during all phases of the game and is a great way to grow your fleet. Some of our testers have played with that specific mindset in place – curating their fleet to include a lot of cargo space for their goods.
Within Rise of Piracy, Players Will Be Able to Command Numerous Different Types of Ships. Did You Find It Difficult to Both Design and Keep These Ships as Realistic as Possible?
Luckily, I’ve got MicroProse on my side, and they’ve been helping a lot with that aspect of the game. I can’t speak much for realism, but the ships do look fantastic. I’m very happy with the artwork. The sail system is also quite nice, allowing for rips and tears to appear on the sails, and nicely reacting to the wind. The cannons recoil, the effects, and the roaring sounds really bring it all to life nicely.
Were There Any Kinds of Ships That You Wanted to Include Within Rise of Piracy That You Were Unable to Include?
There are still many I’d like to include in the future; perhaps during the development, I can incrementally add more. There was always the question of which era to use in Rise of Piracy. I feel like we have a really nice mix, from gigantic 80+ gun ships of the line, to the smaller Xebecs and Brigs. Each ship has roles it excels at, as well as things that it’ll ultimately struggle to do well. Larger, more powerful ships will need to be earned by boarding or unlocking for purchase as you level up.
Players Will Be Able to Take Part in Ship-To-Ship Combat Within Rise of Piracy, but How Much Control Will They Have Over the Actions Their Ships Take, or Will These Battles Be Relatively Automated?
Players have full control of each battle. At any point, a player can switch from direct control of their flagship to an RTS mode, where they can give individual units to each ship or individual crew members deployed to land. There should be no end to the strategies you can employ.
I recently added some very nice formation movement systems. This will allow players to very accurately define where your ships should try to maintain position relative to any other ship in your fleet. This allows for very nice defensive or offensive maneuvers and interesting formations.
The ships will make their own decisions at times, depending on how the player has left them – your captains do act in the best interest of their ships. You shouldn’t have to constantly worry about what your fleet is doing as you’re busy micro-managing an intense land battle.
Although Rise of Piracy Will Most Likely Focus on Sailing Across the Seas Doing Dastardly Deeds, Players Will Be Able to Go On Land. How In-Depth Did You Go Within the Feature?
The land battles are integral to the game as they allow players to capture islands to use as their own. During a battle, a player in RTS mode can command any of their vessels to drop anchor and deploy their crew to land. The player then gets the choice to customize which crew will remain on board, and which will sail in landing boats to the landing zone chosen.
When the soldiers reach land, they will immediately begin securing the landing area and await orders from the player. It’s up to the player to decide where and what they do by using classic RTS controls.
Personally, when playing, I’ll dump a bunch of marines off at an island with a few cannons and use them to bomb any defending ships nearby, whilst telling the rest to attack-move towards enemy formations of troops. I then try to support these pushes using my fleet by bombarding enemy fortifications and troop concentrations with my larger ships. Periodically, I’ll send more crew to land as needed.
I really enjoyed a game called World in Conflict for its support abilities. As you’re sending in troops or armor, you could call in abilities to help support them. I feel like that style is similar to how you can support your troops in Rise of Piracy. Your fleet is always offshore, ready to reinforce or provide fire support.
Was There a Temptation to Have Players Explore These Lands to Their Fullest, or Was This Something You Found to Be Overwhelming?
One of the core aspects of the game is exploration. I handcrafted every island in the game, and players can “visit” them from the campaign map any time they like. During a visit, a player can explore every nook and cranny with a free-look mode. There was a bit of storytelling in every level, from sprawling capital cities to smaller tribal lands. All can be explored and/or conquered.
There was a question early on if I’d use any procedural generation for the levels, but I’ve always thought a handcrafted approach would allow me to guide the player a bit better, whilst ensuring that every island plays differently and comes with its own challenges. The process was time-consuming but enjoyable, and I look forward to designing more challenges as Early Access progresses.
Will Rise of Piracy Have the Opportunity for a Form of Multiplayer, either Working With Other Players or Fighting Against Them, and if So, What Challenges Did You Have With This?
I absolutely want to include multiplayer in this game. I actually started by implementing the multiplayer framework specifically for that purpose. I’m not sure what form the multiplayer will take, but we’ll act on player feedback with regard to that specifically. Currently, we have a few basic PvP modes available.
The World of Rise of Piracy Looks to Be Quite Large During Its Trailers, and There Is Plenty to Explore. How Did You Manage to Keep This World Both Interesting and Fun to Explore?
Honestly, the campaign map itself was designed to have plenty of fun biome-style areas. I wanted the map to be large enough to show off the game and interesting enough for the players to want to continue exploring.
There was always the idea that I’d be including a Caribbean map – we’ll be releasing the Early Access map initially and listening to feedback, with the Caribbean map planned to come after.
After a player completes this map and defeats all factions, there will be new things unlocked to further challenge even the most threatening of fleets. I find that a lot of these style games will peter out after a while once the player gets too strong. I wanted to avoid that, so I added some secrets for after the player defeats the campaign and wants to continue exploring.
Players Will Be Able to Meet Different People Throughout Their Time With Rise of Piracy. Will They Be Able to Make a Form of Bond With These NPCs to Aid in Their Journey?
Yes, most recently, actually, an amazing artist has been helping create unique characters for each faction. Every faction leader has their own personality. A player can work for these characters to increase relations. Deals on goods, gifts, and special missions unlock based on how well a player is received by an island they visit.
On the flip side of that, if you have bad relations with a faction, you may have to accept some very difficult missions in order to get back on their good side. Some ports may not trade with you, and some mayors may deny you an audience upon visiting.
If the player runs into trouble on the open sea, if a “friendly” ship is nearby, it may come to your aid during the battle. This could be a commander that you have helped in the past, or a fleet from a friendly faction.
A Question We Like to Ask Here at Thumb Wars Is, as a Game Developer, What Is a Misconception That the Public Has About Game Developing That Annoys You?
Great question. I see a lot of people complaining on social media, asking for indie devs to “take notes” on things that they see some AAA studios doing. Some of which are simply impossible for teams of 1 or 2.
People always assume that I’m not a solo developer on the Steam forums and expect way too much from one person. It doesn’t take much to find out that information – I stream on Twitch under ‘IrishJohnGames’ 3 times a week and engage with the community as much as I can. Anyone can come in at any time and find information about the game or about me as a developer. I try to be as transparent as possible. People assume a lot and don’t understand the effort that goes into these creations and the people behind them.
If I could, I’d hire an army of amazing people to build the most amazing pirate game the world has ever seen! But alas, that’s just a dream for now.
With This Being Your Debut Game as Irishjohngames, Was There Any Challenges You Came Across in Terms of Getting the Game in a Place Where You Are Confident to Publish It?
Absolutely yes. There are so many hats to wear as a solo developer. It felt like every day I was finding a brand new skill set that I needed when I was starting out. Luckily, through the streams and amazing game dev community on Twitch and Discord, I was able to meet some incredible people who have taught me so much about it all.
I’m fairly confident about publishing the game now. I have an amazing publisher (MicroProse) that is helping out massively in that regard. They’ve published some incredible titles, and I grew up playing many of them, such as ‘Sid Meier’s Pirates’ and Civilization. Having them on board has raised my confidence level massively.
Is There Any Advice You Would Give Upcoming Developers Such as Yourself to Help Them Get Further Within the Career of Game Development?
This is a question I get a lot. I say manage your expectations. There’s a lot of content out there, especially on YouTube and TikTok, glamorising the process. These videos make the process of making a game super easy. This is not the case. It is incredibly difficult to make something special, in my opinion.
My advice to folks is don’t go into it with the mindset that it won’t take time and hard work. Go into it hoping to enjoy yourself and the process. Remember as well to start small! Join some jams, meet some folks, talk it out, and develop your ideas from smaller chunks. Game development is incredibly fun and rewarding at times. There are also times of frustration and headache, but that’s all part of it, same with anything really!
At the Moment, Rise of Piracy Has No Set Release Date or Release Window. We Understand You May Not Be Able to Answer, but Is There Any Potential Window You Are Hoping For?
Unfortunately, I cannot share anything related to the Early Access release other than its content. A collection of scenarios and tutorials that will teach you all the basics and allow you to create your own pirate battles. There will also be a campaign released with Early Access that should show off the main mechanics of fleet building, customization, trading, and competing against the other factions.
Due to Rise of Piracy Having Rather Complicated Gameplay Mechanics, Will You Be Looking to Keep It on PC, or Would You Look to Put It on Consoles as Well?
Initially, the only targeted platform is a PC with a Mouse and a Keyboard. I’ll be listening to feedback during Early Access and reacting to that with regard to controls and mechanics.
What Are You Offering That Makes You Stand Out Compared to Other Pirate Games, Big and Small?
I feel like Rise of Piracy is unique in the way that it blends the RTS and 3rd person control aspect. There also doesn’t seem to be many games that offer this style of progression, starting with one small ship, and working your way up to having a huge fleet of powerful warships, all customised and upgraded to suit any play style.
I notice that some RTS games nowadays do take a lot of control away from the player. Some even kinda play themselves without much input from the player at all. That may make sense for a lot of the styles, but I’ve always loved granular control and micro-management of my armies. In Rise of Piracy, being able to enact a complex strategy with your troops and ships is always a rewarding experience.
The Gaming Industry Seems to Be Changing, but for the Worse, With Constant Layoffs and Cancellations. What Do You Think Needs to Happen, Both for Indie and AAA Studios, to Make Things Right and Bring Some Stability?
I don’t feel qualified to answer this one. I came from a software engineering background and started in game dev as a hobby around 6 years ago. I feel like I never truly experienced this firsthand, but, unfortunately, I do see it happening around me and to recent friends I’ve made. I do hope things improve for all – I honestly don’t know how that can be achieved though.
I hear stories of crunch time, rushed deadlines, and massive layoffs from AAA studios. Not sure where the problems themselves lie – Management? Investors? Scope? The actual costs of games, perhaps? Or maybe it’s a crossover where software development is driving unrealistic expectations within game dev itself. They are, after all, completely different worlds and should have their own methods of delivery. I reckon there may be some misunderstanding there overall.
I don’t know enough about this side of it all, and I’ve been very fortunate to dodge it so far.
For more Thumb Wars Gaming coverage, check out our article talking about the recent update to The First Descendant, or check out our article talking about the Battlefield 6 roadmap and its start date.
I am a long-time writer who enjoys talking about numerous different game genres as well as playing them. My main focuses are games like Helldivers 2, Warframe, and so much more.
