AirBuccaneers is a multiplayer airship pirate game with shamanistic Buccaneers and infamous Vikings fighting over domination of the North. This cooperative 1st person game requires seamless teamwork and strategic battle skills.
Welcome to the ancient North that, once the cradle of culture and peace, is now corrupted by magic and inhabited by nasty bandits sowing destruction in airships.
The Buccaneers blame the Vikings who, according to old sagas, once let the magic escape from their hands. The hatred just keeps adding up, leading the antiheros to even fiercer battles.
Fight over the questionable honor of your tribe in airships loaded with cannons, rockets and gunpowder. The success, as well as the bitter defeat, is solely dependent on how well you co-operate with your crew mates. Maybe one day you will conquer the ancient North and find wonderful Atland, the city of scholars, that was once destroyed by no one but your own tribe.
Finding the right kind of battle strategy is not self-evident in the merciless winds and twisted magic of the North…
Heavy emphasis on teamwork. Solo players, time to team up!
Intense air battles. Airship armadas fighting against each other in berserk frenzy.
Mythical story. This is what really happened in the darkness of the past.
Character development. Start as a lousy low-life and turn into a crazy shaman warlord.
Powered by Unity 4. Game developed by an independent game studio from northern Finland.
The Tribes
Buccaneers
The buccaneers are a tribe that arrived from east by foot and traveled to the ancient city of Atland in hopes of finding goods to steal. The people of Atland were not worried of the raggedy scoundrels, even though they were stealing from citizens and doing mischief. The magic practiced by the buccaneers was the main cause of trouble. Though far from advanced, the magic was nasty and capable of taking unexpected forms.
No-one knew for certain where the buccaneers came from and they themselves had no means of recording their history, for they could not write. It was assumed they were outcasts driven into exile from their homeland. This may have been because of the means they used to defy natural laws. The buccaneers were fascinated with amulets and they were skilled in handiwork, both characteristics being echoes of some older heritage. They could create equipment out of almost nothing and make utensils from natural materials and abandoned junk.
It has also been speculated that the buccaneers have their roots in some woodland culture, for they use simple weapons traditionally used in hunting wild animals. Their skills are few and they blindly believe in higher powers in nature, as well as in giants and spirits. All these characteristics suggest a connection with the tribes living in east.
At one time the buccaneers had a brief alliance with the Vikings. During that time the buccaneers learned ship building from the vikings and in exchange taught the Vikings their magic. Combining these two the thieves together created a vessel that moved with hot air and magic. Soon the Vikings had an argument with the buccaneers and the two groups of outcasts started a war against each other. During the battles the magic got away, took evil forms and Atland was destroyed.
The thieves fled from the chaos on their airships. They are now convicted to live their lives up in the air, out of reach of the magic.
At present time the magic called Kirmukarmu by the thieves dominates the ground. The golden age of Atland is long gone by. The long war against the Vikings is diminishing the little resources the buccaneers had in the first place. The ways of the buccaneers are now even worse than in the time of Atland. Their only emotions are the desire to survive and win the next battle.
Vikings
The thieving tribe of the Vikings carries the name of glorified seafarers. The Vikings of our tale, however, have never achieved glory or riches. In one saga there are some mentions of a Viking who was to become the next king according to the law. When the actual king died an honorary death in battle, the Vikings faced a problem. The legal heir was not suited to become a king, for he was a malicious troublemaker. A sword fight was arranged to settle who would be the next king. The troublemaker lost and madly retreated to lick his wounds, deciding to part from his tribe.
The defeated heir gathered a group of his followers for a crew, hoisted the sails and vanished from the home harbor for good. This is the last record there is of the heir that lost the sword fight. His name has not been carved into any rune stones either. Perhaps his ships sunk in a storm or their group integrated with another culture. Like the vanished ghost ships of myths, no-one knows what became of these separatists.
Much later talks were heard of a group of thieves that worshipped something resembling Viking heritage. They also claimed to be royal. The question arose, whether these could be descendants of the rebellious viking. They had already gained reputation similar to their captain as evil-minded troublemakers.
Of course these may be mere fictional tales. Still the description fits these air thieves uncannily well. They are like misbehaving bullies in school, near whom no-one wants to be. Bits and pieces of their Viking ancestry has survived, though this heritage is strangely twisted. They know hardly any of the traditional Viking sagas, nor are they familiar with the brave and horrible deeds of their ancestors. They are as fond of shining objects as magpies and greedily steal any treasures in their reach. They love luxury, fur clothes and decorating themselves with fancy accessories.
Shipbuilding, with some new characteristics, was a skill well preserved probably because it was a skill essential for their survival. The Vikings met the buccaneers, parasites like themselves, in the ancient city of Atland. They decided to unite with the buccaneers to learn the magic known as Kirmukarmu amongst those useless robbers.
The buccaneers were foolish and gullible. They shared all their knowledge with the Vikings, who soon turned the airships against the buccaneers in their greed for resources.
At present the Vikings are keeping up the war. They still believe they are the heirs of the legal true king and shall one day return to their rightful place. Though the future is reflected only by their accessories made of stolen noble metals, they do not intend to give up. They challenge everyone and anyone into battle. Who could be a better opponent for them than another quarrelsome, chaotic and senseless tribe, the buccaneers?