What makes “ghost ship” sci-fi media so engaging, in my view, is the sense that, as you first arrive at the floating husk of the ship, you have no idea what to expect. Crew members driven mad? Encamped marauders? Rogue robots? Anything could happen, and — cosmically cut off from any possible aid — you and your crew will need to be adaptable. Therein lies the thrill!
This recognition informed foundational elements of Derelict’s design. Room tiles for each of the ship’s regions are shuffled before every game and placed gradually by the exploring player characters, meaning the vessel will look vastly different from one playthrough to the next. Random hazards and discoverable items add to the unpredictability, encouraging players to embrace the improvisational spirit essential to the ghost ship subgenre every time they break out the game.
The capstone to this approach is our unique combinatorial method for organically determining which scenario players will have to contend with on a given playthrough — a narratively satisfying mechanic that generates a challenge befitting the specific pieces of evidence the explorers uncovered in their session.
With these systems in place, Derelict should be as engaging to play the twelfth time around as the first — and it will hold onto some of its secrets well beyond then!
– RPS