The Making of Dredge: An Inside Look at Black Salt Games’ Debut

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Indie games often appear unexpectedly, and one such success story is Dredge, developed by Black Salt Games, a small team from Christchurch, New Zealand. Released in 2023, Dredge blends a relaxing fishing experience with cosmic horror, capturing the interest of players worldwide.

Black Salt Games, founded by Nadia Thorne, Joel Mason, and Alex Richie, began with three game prototypes. These prototypes were tested among colleagues and friends, and Dredge stood out thanks to its unique combination of fishing and horror elements. The other prototypes included a real-time strategy game and a stealth vehicle game, but the team felt Dredge had the most potential.

The development process involved refining the game from its initial concept, which was inspired by titles like Papers, Please. The core idea, merging cosmic horror with fishing, remained intact, but the game evolved significantly. Early versions of Dredge used a top-down, turn-based system, but the team switched to real-time gameplay to reduce stress and improve player flow.

Art and design played a crucial role. Due to time constraints, early prototypes featured blocky, low-poly visuals. This style eventually transformed into a more detailed yet still stylized look, balancing simplicity with an unsettling atmosphere. The water shader, a key visual element, went through many iterations to achieve an attractive and functional representation of the sea.

The game world is divided into biomes, each with its own theme and challenges. The Marrows serve as the starting area, introducing players to the game. As players progress, they encounter the Gale Cliffs, Stellar Basin, Twisted Strand, and Devil’s Spine, each inspired by different environments and featuring unique threats. The biomes were designed to be explored in any order, similar to Breath of the Wild, giving players freedom in how they navigate the world.

In hindsight, one aspect that could have been improved is the world structure. The game loads everything into a single large scene, which caused performance issues, especially on the Switch. The team initially lacked the expertise and time to implement more advanced world-loading techniques. This decision became problematic as the game grew.

Dredge explores cosmic horror through gradual tension rather than jump scares. Players face risks when venturing out at night or damaging their boat, creating a sense of anxiety. The atmosphere was designed to make nighttime sailing genuinely tense, with limited visibility and unsettling audio cues to heighten the mood. The team aimed to deliver a creepy atmosphere rather than a traditional horror game.

Fish design in Dredge blends real-world knowledge with creative twists. The team used Wikipedia and personal expertise to choose fish species suited to each biome. These fish were then adapted to fit the game’s unsettling aesthetic, making them more grotesque and appropriate for the cosmic horror theme. This detailed approach helps create a more immersive and eerie experience.

Another challenge was integrating a harpoon mechanic, which was ultimately scrapped. The team decided it didn’t fit the game’s cosmic horror theme and would interfere with the intended experience.

Securing funding was also a major hurdle. Black Salt Games initially planned to self-publish but eventually secured a deal with Team17. Their successful pitch and positive pre-launch reception helped them achieve strong sales, far exceeding early expectations. If you’d like a deeper look into the making of the game, you can watch the documentary below.