Off Course

Off Course is a story-heavy puzzle game with a short time loop where a player controls one of three characters at each iteration of the loop. The character's actions in that iteration are recorded and replayed in the next iteration, creating a co-op experience in a single-player game.

The Story

The three characters Heavy, Holzi, and Häkchen are part of a pirate crew that must work together to get to the deck of the ship and steer it away from a giant maelstrom to prevent it from sinking. Their captain keeps steering the ship into the maelstrom, which is called Neptune's Eye because, according to myth, it will take you home. The problem is that the captain's real home is the sea, which is why the ship is trapped in a time loop. Immerse yourself in their world and help them escape this endless time loop.

The crew is accompanied by Luna the pig, who has a strong bond with Häkchen and can support the pirates as Häkchen can call her to different places. The characters can then use her to overcome gaps.

There's also a narwhale, called Phil, on the ship, who acts as an element of comedic relief by commenting on the situation when you approach it.

Controls (Keyboard & Mouse):

• WASD: move
• Mouse: look
• E: interact
• R (hold): end loop and switch character
• Escape: open menu
• Space: Arrr

Controls (Controller):

• Left Stick: move
• Right Stick: look
• A (button south): interact
• B (button east) (hold): end loop and switch character
• Special right: open menu
• Right Shoulder: Arrr

Team

• Martin Schacherbauer, Lara Liebmann, Kerstin Pfaffinger: programmers
  
• Fabian Krebs: story writer, trailer

Special thanks to:

• Anna Demol: character artist
• Lukas Stipar and Fabiola Wörter: music and sfx
• Marcell Achrainer and Christoph Gruber: voice actors
• Mingqi Han: Poster
• Jassi Buum: Icons
• Tadeo Puga: 3D Artist
• Daniel Dyrda: Supervisor

The game features custom adaptive music, custom sound effects, and voice acting.

Off Course was developed for the course "Immersive Storytelling: Games", a collaboration between TUM and HFF, and continued in the course "Level Engineering" at TUM over a period of 7 months.

The final version of the game will be released on Steam in early 2026 (for free).