SALVAGE RUSH
5 TEAM MEMBERS
ABOUT
48 HOURS
"Salvage Rush" is an entry for Global Game Jam 2026, developed in less than 48 hours.
You play as a diver exploring the undersea wreck of an Oil Rig, searching for lost & valuable treasures. You must manage your oxygen, and escape an incoming storm with as much as you can!
UNREAL ENGINE 5
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CONCEPT
01
I originally envisioned Salvage Rush as a fast-paced exploration game, inspired by the extraction shooter genre. I wanted the player to be tense, and the game to be fast, with lots of collectibles and repeated quick trips to the surface and back under.
Early on I added a boost function to the player for this exact purpose. I wanted to try and find a way to create the tension of an extraction game – but without any enemies.
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CHANGES
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What Salvage Rush became was quite different, on account of the speed of a game jam, and natural design changes when working through a team. In the end, I’d describe Salvage Rush as a more chilled exploration game, the player is unlikely to drown or feel the sense of panic I’d originally envisioned.
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REFLECT
As game jams tend to be, lots went wrong, especially near the end. The weight limit system was actually a last minute addition – I realized near the end of the project that there was hardly any reason to bank your loot. In the original idea, there would have been upgrades but that ended up being out of scope for us.
I was working with new people, so we hadn’t actually had much time to get to know each other. I’d not done a jam in a while so wanted to get out of my comfort zone. I’m quite happy with the result, especially for the 48 hour window. I still think about my original concept sometimes, and I’d like to follow on from that idea, but ultimately a jam is about teamwork, a bit of fun, and getting a game out there. I’m happy to say we did that.