Welcome to our sixth Dev Diary, where we return once more to the world of DREADMOOR to talk about something that is central to how the player experiences the Submerged Lands: the trawler.
In our previous Dev Diaries, we looked at the world after the collapse, the Sea Blight, the importance of fishing, and how DREADMOOR builds tension without relying on constant combat. All of those topics connect back to one simple fact: the world of DREADMOOR is not a place where the player can freely walk from one safe point to another; rather, the world is flooded, broken, and divided by water.
Because of that, the trawler is not just a way to travel; you can't see it as simply "the boat" that takes the player from one location to the next. It is the thing that allows the player to reach dangerous places, return from them, gather resources, fish in deeper waters, and ultimately survive in our flooded, post-apocalyptic world. In that sense, the trawler is both a tool and a lifeline.
More Than Transport
At first glance, the trawler might seem like transport, and that is an understandable way to look at it simply because in a flooded world, a boat is the most obvious way to move from place to place, the player needs to cross water to reach pretty much any place they need to go.
However, for DREADMOOR, the trawler means much more than that, it is directly linked to the player's survival as it is the thing that carries them through the swamps, across dangerous waters, and away from places where staying too long can become a mistake. Not just that, it is also the thing they return to after fishing, exploring, scavenging, and generally whatever activity the player needs to do to survive.
This is important because the world of DREADMOOR is built around distance and risk. The further the player moves from inhabited areas, the more unpredictable the world becomes. All of this is amplified when the player has to be outdoors during the night.
A Worn-Out Beginning
The trawler does not start out powerful, or even clean, and to some, it’s not even a reassuring sight.
Just look at how you first acquire the trawler!
Why’s that? Well, when you first get the trawler, it is fragile and worn-out, just like much of the world around it, and that’s what we wanted! It should feel like something that has already survived more than it was meant to. Given the state of the world, it is clearly going to be useful, but not something that should be relied upon blindly.
As the player gets used to the game, the feeling that we're aiming for is that they should value the trawler, but they should also understand its limits, for example, it can take them out onto the water, but that does not mean it keeps them safe. Ultimately, if the player is careless or unprepared, the boat should not (and will not) feel like a magical shield that protects them against the world.
This is a key part of DREADMOOR’s tone, safety is not automatic, instead, it depends on where the player goes and how prepared they are.
Upgrades, Personalisation, and Attachment
With all of that said, the trawler can be made more reliable and also a bit more personal to the player, this is where progression comes in, specifically progression of the trawler itself.
On the practical side, this makes sense because the world demands it. Why? Because the deeper the player travels into the Submerged Lands, the more important preparation becomes, and so the trawler needs to grow alongside the player’s journey.
However, the practical side is only part of it, we also want the trawler to become something the player feels attached to. Not because the game tells them to care about it, but because they have spent time with it, and in doing so they have relied on it, and ultimately they've survived thanks to it.
This all builds a special type of attachment, as when something helps you survive like this, it stops being only a vehicle and ultimately becomes something more “yours”.
When the Boat Feels Safe
One thing that we want to make clear is that the trawler can feel safe, but that does not mean it always is.
That distinction matters because, over time, we want the boat to become much more familiar to the player. It is the thing they return to after setting out into the world, and in a setting where so much is uncertain, that familiarity can feel like a small point of control.
However, DREADMOOR is still DREADMOOR. Being on the trawler does not remove the danger of the world around it. Close to safer areas, the boat may feel reassuring, but far from inhabited places, especially at night, that feeling can change quickly.
This is where preparation matters. A stronger, better-prepared trawler gives the player a better chance of surviving the waters, but it should never make the world feel safe.
We’ll Leave You With This
For us, the trawler matters because it ties so many parts of DREADMOOR together.
It connects exploration by allowing the player to reach places that would otherwise be impossible to access.
It connects fishing, because the player needs to travel across the waters to find different catches and resources.
It connects survival, because distance from safety is one of the biggest dangers in the world. It connects atmosphere, because being alone on a boat, surrounded by fog, darkness, and open water, is very different from being inside a settlement.
Most importantly, though, it connects the player emotionally to the journey. The trawler begins as something rather worn out, but over time the Trawler becomes so much more.
It will never be a perfect machine nor a place to hide from danger, but it becomes a familiar place, akin to a home where you know where every part is, giving you at least a small sense of safety.
Steam PvE Survival Crafting Fest 2026
Before we end this Dev Diary, we also want to mention that DREADMOOR will be taking part in Steam PvE Survival Crafting Fest 2026.
The event runs from August 31 at 10:00 AM PDT to September 7 at 10:00 AM PDT. Since so much of DREADMOOR is built around survival, preparation, scavenging and crafting, this event is a great fit for us!
So if you’re new to DREADMOOR, come check us out and make sure to wishlist us!
Best Indie Games Showcase
That's not all, DREADMOOR will be part of the Best Indie Games Showcase, which starts on September 1 at 8:00 AM Pacific Time.
https://store.steampowered.com/curator/26397247/sale/BIGFallShowcase2026
As part of the showcase, we’ll be revealing a brand-new gameplay trailer for the game, giving you another look at the world of DREADMOOR!
So, if you want to see more of what we’ve been building, make sure to keep an eye out for it.
About DREADMOOR
DREADMOOR is a dark first-person fishing adventure game. Anglers explore both land and sea, fishing for a wide variety of aquatic creatures lurking in the depths of the treacherous waters, and fighting their way through a flooded wasteland filled with danger and mystery.
https://store.steampowered.com/app/3629430/DREADMOOR
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