Sleeping With The Fishes

[CURRENTLY UNDER DEVELOPMENT]

Summary

SWTF is a multiplayer co-op game where you and your friends get up to nothing but mischief and in procedurally generated cities inspired by 1920s Chicago and New York. You’ll have to complete the various objectives your boss gives you to climb the ranks of your crime family, even if you have to dump a couple bodies in the river.

BACKGROUND

My friend and colleague, VK, showed me some 3D models he’d been making as practice one day when we were out. He mentioned wanting to use them for something, ideally a videogame, but didn’t know where to start, since he’s never made his own game before. I offered my help, of course, and we started brainstorming.

We both really liked the idea of a game themed around the mafia, and we both had a similar vision for a 1-to-4-player co-op game, where the players must complete tasks or meet a daily quota in order to progress, not too dissimilar to games like Lethal Company or R.E.P.O. However, we wanted to add our own twist to this genre. We decided on some key concepts:

  • Procedurally generated worlds

  • Complex levelling and skill-tree systems

  • Non-linear gameplay

We wanted our game to be as re-playable as we could physically make it, making sure that no two games ever quite feel the same. Once we felt we had a good grasp on what we wanted our game to be, we asked three friends of ours if they would like to be involved, and as such, SWTF was born.

COMING SOON

As this game is still in the early stages of its development, there are very few things that we can confirm about the gameplay, art, sound design, and level design. As of the time of writing this, levels and player models are still in their preliminary blockout stage, and although we do have basic functioning player controls, AI, and world generation, we are not ready to demonstrate SWTF just yet. We estimate that a functioning demo version could be released around October 2026.

Contributors

Ivan (Project Lead, Programmer)
VK (Project Lead, 3D Artist)
Antonio (Programmer)
Elie (Programmer)
Cosimo (3D Art & Animation)

Early concept art made by VK.
(Left to Right: Gunslinger, Mage, Thief, Tank)

The Bank (left) and the Vault (right).