Shivaliva press kit: factsheet, screenshots, videos

Description

Short description

Shivaliva is a single-player puzzle-skill adventure among floating sky-islands. Go on a space adventure, build relationships, and play mini-games along the way. Every job, card table and ship's station is its own mini-game, and so is every fight.

The demo starts you on Cradle Rock with nothing. You take work at the mine, the grove, the tavern sink and the coin table, and each job is a different puzzle with its own rules. You sit down at the inn's poker table. You walk into the Cradle Gym and climb its five-rung ladder in Skirmish, a two-board versus block puzzle where your cleared lines land on your rival's floor. Topping the ladder opens the Labyrinth, the first of the Ordeals, which stands across the sky on Driftspar, and its beasts wait one at a time. To get there you sign on with the ferry's crew, or buy a ship at the sky dock and hire your own. Every duty station aboard is another mini-game, and a voyage can end in a battle in the sky and a boarding.

The islanders are the thing players find on their own. Nobody has to talk to anyone, but walk up to any of them and they know where they are standing, what they are doing, and who just won at the table. They remember your last conversation the next day. Word about you travels: win at the gym and the barkeep has heard about it before you reach the bar. Needle a fighter about their record and they may challenge you for it.

It is a spiritual successor to Puzzle Pirates, made by one person in Godot, and grown into its own thing: a sky instead of a sea, the Stardust you sail through between the islands, and a crew of your own.

Conversations with islanders need a live internet connection. Everything else in the game plays offline.

History

The game has been public on itch.io since June 2026 as a Windows download, and over June and July Cradle Rock was rebuilt as a 3D island.

On 16 July 2026 it gained version numbers (v0.1.0), printed in the corner of the title screen so every bug report could quote them.

On 17 July the backpack and shops started showing every item as itself, in 3D, and clothes became buy-then-wear with dyes you purchase once and keep.

On 1 August the title screen became key art, and the itch page was refreshed with shots of the 3D island.

On 13 August (v0.10.0) a portrait-based character creator arrived with 23 faces, 38 haircuts and 18 beards, along with a loading screen and a Blind Run option that switches off all guidance.

Between 16 and 21 August all six mini-games were converted from flat boards into 3D rooms without changing a rule. v1.0.0 followed on 22 August, v1.1.0 on 27 August made the island continuous terrain, v1.1.4 came on 28 August, v1.3.1 on 1 September, v1.4.0 on 2 September, v1.4.1 on 3 September, v1.5.0 on 3 September, five builds on 5 September 2026: v1.6.0, v1.7.0, v1.7.1, v1.8.0 and v1.9.0, v1.9.1 on 6 September 2026, v1.10.0 and v1.11.0 both on 7 September 2026, v1.12.0 on 8 September 2026, v1.13.0 on 9 September 2026, v1.14.0 on 13 September 2026, v1.15.0 on 14 September 2026, v1.16.0 on 15 September 2026, v1.18.0 on 19 September 2026, v1.19.0 on 20 September 2026, which cut the opening walkthrough from twelve steps to five and the island tour from nine stops to six, v1.20.0 the same day, v1.20.1 that night, which rebuilt Navigation's round, ceiling and deck, v1.21.0 on 21 September 2026, which added the space battle and the Gunnery station to the voyage, v1.21.1 on 24 September 2026, which gives all twelve mini-games a finishing pass and puts Coin Drop on the tavern wall, v1.21.2 on 27 September 2026, which remakes the trophies, icons and duty stations as objects from the island and puts an hourglass beside the Mine and the Grove, v1.21.3 the same day, which fixes the symbols the browser version could not draw, v1.22.0 on 1 October 2026, in which the captain of a ship you sign onto fights her battles while you keep your station, Driftspar gains her lighthouse and its keeper, and the islanders sit, sleep, work and turn to look at you, v1.23.0 later that night, v2.0.0-alpha on 3 October 2026, in which the islanders laugh in their own voices and their voices keep pace with their words, card players go home when they go bust and say hello when they sit down, armour shows on every health bar, and the Mine and the Grove pay for how well you work them, v2.0.1-alpha on 4 October 2026, in which the sky becomes a turning cosmos of planets and nebulae with the haze over the islands cleared away, a ship's battle gets its own song, voyages pay a wage for every leg you work, and the Labyrinth's chart maps the maze as you walk it, v2.0.2-alpha on 5 October 2026, in which the card tables get new cards, you can sit down on the benches, and a ship no longer sails on into port while her captain is still fighting, v2.0.3-alpha on 6 October 2026, in which the islanders walk round the tables and stools instead of over them, a bar stool is no longer a step you can climb, and the ships get more Sailing stations, v2.0.4-alpha on 7 October 2026, with a lighter graphics setting that the game picks by itself on weaker computers and a Windows download that is a single file, and the current v2.0.5-alpha on 8 October 2026, in which the Space Galleon and the Man-o'-War get their decks laid out with a Sailing station at every mast, the duty report after each leg of a voyage moves on by itself, a fight's music no longer follows you back to your station, and the little Dinghy leaves the shipwright's list.

On 17 September 2026 the game settled on its final name, Shivaliva.

Features

What the public demo contains.

Cradle Rock, Driftspar, and a ship to crew. A small island with a tavern, a forge, a market, a gym, a mine, a grove and a sky dock, and a rock across the sky where the Labyrinth stands. Sign on with the ferry's crew, or buy a ship at the dock, hire a crew and sail out.
Twelve mini-games. On the island: Mining (a forage grid carved into rock), Coin Drop (the tavern's coin table, a pegboard the coins bounce down), Lumberjacking (a log frame in the grove), Dish Duty (the tavern sink), Skirmish (a two-board versus block puzzle: clear lines and steel lands on your rival's floor) and Poker (the inn's table, ten stools round it). On the ship: Sailing (crewing the rigging), Navigation (a bubble shooter at the wheel that steers the leg), Gunnery (ramming powder, wad and shot into the cannons as the deck brings them down), Carpentry (sealing the holes a battle opens in the hull) and Venting (clearing the Stardust haze out of the hold). And when a raider catches you: the Space Battle (ship against ship in a box that closes in, with a grapple to board her).
The Cradle Gym ladder, then the first Ordeal. Five rungs of Skirmish against named islanders, then the Labyrinth Ordeal on Driftspar and its beasts, one at a time.
Character creator. Every option shown as a portrait: 23 faces, 38 haircuts, 18 beards, brows, scars and war paint. You start in plain clothes and buy the rest.
One currency. Gold. A shop that shows the item itself, not an icon, dyes you buy once and keep, a backpack, and a chart of the island.
Islanders worth talking to. Optional, and easy to miss. Each knows the room they are standing in, what they are doing, and what just happened. They remember you between conversations, and they pass word about you across the island.
Hearties, and sweethearts. Rapport runs from Despised to Confidant, and it changes what people say and what they will do for you. Put someone on your hearties roster or your crew, and if the feeling runs both ways, court them: fond, then smitten, then sweethearts.
Everything drawn in 3D. Every board is a room with objects in it, and the rules underneath are unchanged.
Windows, free, no sign-up. About 421 MB.

Planned

The full game goes past Cradle Rock: eight Ordeals, each on an island of its own with a master waiting at the end, and every one you beat is a bearing on the secret island. More mini-games along the way.

Videos

Gameplay trailer, v1.5 alpha demo.trailer_720p.mp4, 1280x720, 60 s, 8.8 MB. A 1080p master is available on request.

The opening. Stars spell the title, then the camera falls to the island.star_intro.mp4, 1280x720, 4.7 MB

Meeting an islander and talking to him.clip_5_meet.mp4, 960x540, 1.2 MB

A Skirmish duel at the Cradle Gym.gif_1_duel.mp4, 640x360, short loop, 0.25 MB

Longer capture of each mini-game (Mining, Coin Drop, Lumberjacking, Dish Duty, Skirmish, Poker) and of the character creator is available on request, 1280x720 MP4, 1.4 to 5.7 MB each, captured on v1.1.1. Ask via the Contact section.

Images

Fifteen screenshots, 1280x720 PNG. The six ship minigames were captured on 30 September 2026 from the development build just past v1.21.3; of the nine island shots, Coin Drop, Lumberjacking and Dish Duty are from v1.3.1 and the other six from v1.1.1, 28 August. Click for the full-size file. All fifteen are in presskit.zip.

A Skirmish duel, two block boards side by side in the gym — Skirmish duel at the Cradle Gymshot_1_skirmish_duel.png

The inn's poker table under a lamp — Poker at the innshot_3_poker_table.png

The mining board carved into rock — Miningshot_4_mining_board.png

A job notice on Cradle Rock — Taking a job on the islandshot_5_wanted_job.png

The outfitter's shop with a garment preview — The outfittershot_6_outfitter.png

The character creator with portrait choices — Character creatorshot_7_create_hero.png

The Coin Drop pegboard in the tavern — Coin Dropshot_8_coin_drop.png

The lumberjacking frame in the grove — Lumberjackingshot_9_lumberjacking.png

The tavern sink in Dish Duty — Dish Dutyshot_10_dish_duty.png

Gunnery on the gun deck: six lanes of coloured rings over the cannons, Stardust lightning running down both edges of the road, the gun crew cheering with their arms up, and a x8 multiplier — Gunnery on the gun deckshot_11_gunnery.png

The Space Battle, turn 5 with the box closing: a red-sailed raider takes a hit alongside the Stardust Cutter on a glowing grid, the move tokens and gun ports below — The Space Battleshot_12_space_battle.png

Sailing: rows of bricks over the ship's sails and the ball's glittering trail below them, with Drawing Well! called out — Sailingshot_13_sailing.png

Navigation: a board of blue, red and yellow bubbles, the aim line rising from the ship's wheel — Navigationshot_14_navigation.png

Venting: a board of gems set in the hull, a match lighting up with Spark! +12 — Ventingshot_15_venting.png

Carpentry: planks fitted into a starry hole in the hull, a green outline where the next one goes, combo 2 — Carpentryshot_16_carpentry.png

Logo & Icon

The logo is the name, cut from the game's own blue gem. Please use it as supplied: no recolouring, no added emblem, and never re-typeset as text. Use the files with the rim of light over the game or any footage, and the clean ones on backgrounds you design.

Logo, transparent backgroundlogo_600.png, logo_1200.png, logo_2400.png (with the rim of light) · logo_clean_600.png, logo_clean_1200.png, logo_clean_2400.png

Logo on skylogo_on_sky_1920.png, 1920x560

Splashsplash.png, 1920x1080

Iconicon_256.png, 256x256

Credits

Trojan Bulldog: design, code, world, writing, and everything not listed below.

Art

Music

Epic Medieval Music Pack I by pegonthetrack & ELVGames (purchased licence). Tracks used: Theme, Clear Waters, Sewage, War, Fortified, End of the Road. Credits to pegonthetrack & ELVGames: elv-games.itch.io, linktr.ee/pegonthetrack.

The gun deck's songs, by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com), each credited by title: "Galway", "Kings of Tara", "Village Consort", "Netherworld Shanty", "Master of the Feast", "Pippin the Hunchback", "Celtic Impulse", "Adventures in Adventureland", "Fiddles McGinty", "Minstrel Guild". Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Sound

Files	Origin	Licence	Credit
`voice_talk.ogg`, `voice_talk2.ogg`	"Talking Synthesizer" by tcarisland (OpenGameArt), via GDQuest Learn 2D Gamedev	CC-BY-SA 4.0	"Talking Synthesizer" by tcarisland (CC-BY-SA 4.0)
`type_key.wav`	"Keyboard soundpack 1" by unicaegames (OpenGameArt), via GDQuest Learn 2D Gamedev	CC0	none required (credit appreciated)
`pickup.wav`, `powerup.wav`, `hit.wav`, `bop.wav`, `hurt.wav`, `ko.wav`, `pain.wav`, `laser.wav`	GDQuest "Learn 2D Gamedev with Godot 4"	CC-BY 4.0	Additional assets CC-By 4.0 GDQuest (https://www.gdquest.com/)
`explosion.ogg`	Kenney (Sci-Fi Sounds / Digital Audio), via GDQuest Node Essentials	CC0	none required (Kenney, https://kenney.nl, credit appreciated)
UI, puzzle and world effects: `error`, `accept`, `decline`, `window_open`, `window_close`, `trophy`, `puzzle_soft`, `puzzle_bright`, `rock_break`, `wood_break`, `item_get`, `fall`, `swish`, `chest`	Universal Sound Effects: User Interface Pack 1 (Puzzle Game), User Interface Pack 2, Game Sound Effects 2	Purchased licence	none required
The mini-games' coins, cards, chips, plates, axes, picks, sails and blows: `coin`, `clack`, `toss`, `card_`, `chip_`, `drop_`, `plate_`, `axe_chop`, `pick_strike`, `blow_`, `sail_`, `grapple_hook*` and more	Kenney "Impact Sounds", "RPG Audio", "Interface Sounds" and "Casino Audio", cut to length	CC0	none required (Kenney, https://kenney.nl, credit appreciated)
`eat_bite*.ogg`	"Crunch sounds (cucumber)" by cogitollc (OpenGameArt)	CC0	none required (credit appreciated)
Everything else, including `pop`, `whoosh`, `thunk`, `chime`, `buzz`, `click`, the tavern sink's water and steam, the hearth, and the Skirmish, Helm, Gunnery, Lumberjacking and Mining sets	Synthesised in-engine, original to this project	Original	none

Voices

NPC voices are generated on the player's own machine, and nothing is sent anywhere. Made with sherpa-onnx (Apache-2.0) using the Piper en_GB-vctk-medium voice model, trained on the CSTR VCTK Corpus (University of Edinburgh), CC BY 4.0.

Shivaliva is not affiliated with or endorsed by Synty Studios, Microsoft, Mixamo, GDQuest, Kenney, Kevin MacLeod, Three Rings or Grey Havens.

Contact

Game page and devlog: tairoyzone.itch.io/shivaliva-shanty
Developer profile: tairoyzone.itch.io
X: @trojanatoplat
Email: tairoy.zone@gmail.com

Keys, interviews and the full-length clips: send a message on either channel above.