The premise of "Iron Lung," which Szymanski told Insider was "the most potent submarine-focused nightmare" that he could imagine, is much more fantastical than what's happening to the Titan sub in real life. But to know that it could be rendered when "lots of money mixes with lots of bad decisions" is something that Szymanski said he finds both "surreal and frightening."

  • Frank [he/him, he/him]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Barotrauma is a game about dying horribly underwater in the seas of Jupiter's moon Europa. It's a coop game inspired by old games like space station 13. Everyone picks a role - captain, security officer, engineer, mechanic, doctor, intern, and you try to accomplish missions in the pitch black seas under miles of ice. It's one of those games where a small problem can rapidly escalate in to a fatal disaster and frantically trying to repair your ship as it plummets towards crush depth is a constant theme. There are also things down there in the sea. It's great for people who like fiddling - it has a complex wire system that can do everything from make light switches to run the nuclear reactor to create complex auto-targetting canons. There's a very involved submarine editor that takes a while to learn but is basically pure sugar for people who like tinkering and building complex stuff you can actually play with. All and all a really fun, unique game to play with friends.

    • FourteenEyes [he/him]
      ·
      2 years ago

      I remember the original inspiration for that game was a communal copypasta that kept going around /v/ for a game idea called "Pressure," which described the basic concept in broad strokes. I was pleased to see that someone took that and ran with it eventually.