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'Surf Da Earf' is the Minecraft of surfing

'Surf Da Earf': a simple yet quite addictive surfing video game

In the days of Artificial intelligence (AI), coding has become accessible to virtually anyone. If you have an idea for a game, you can execute it and make it playable quickly.

The concept of "vibe coding" is an AI-assisted programming approach where individuals, even those without extensive coding experience, can create functional software by providing high-level instructions to AI tools.

Do you want to develop your own surfing game? Write a good set of prompts and queries and ask "the machine" to do it.

If you're more into classic programming, you can try to blend your coder skills with the support and quick responses generated by AI.

In the 2010s and 2020, several surfing video games have tried to conquer the market and the hearts of real-life surfers.

However, most of them were solo attempts, demos, and part-time projects by passionate developers.

'Surf Da Earf': a retro and old-school surfing video game

A Game With a Retro Look

Apart from the WSL-backed "True Surf," there hasn't really been a realistic surf gaming experience that was as groundbreaking as, for instance, "Kelly Slater's Pro Surfer" was in the early 2000s.

However, that doesn't necessarily mean there's no space for indie coders trying to please the surfing audience with an enjoyable digital wave-riding game.

"Surf Da Earf" is surfing's equivalent to Minecraft.

Everything in this game, developed by Nightwork Studios (the name says it all), is retro, lo-fi, and old-school.

Everything is retro, except for the flow and the obsession to recreate the fluidity of a surfer in the water and on the wave.

And that is actually smart thinking.

Generally speaking, one of the problems surfing games have always carried upon their shoulder was the lack of real-life motion and physics.

The feel of surfing is rarely there, and everything is very arcadey.

So, instead of focusing too much on the looks, most of the time, resources should be channeled to make the surfing video game feel like you're riding a surfboard.

Most developers have created titles that are just skateboarding on waves, with huge unrealistic airs and impossible tricks.

Sometimes, it's easier and more fun to stick to the core of surfing, and that, maybe, is one of the problems wave-riding games have been suffering from.

Simplicity Could Be Addictive

"Surf Da Earf" is a homemade experience that could be improved and actually become quite addictive.

It looks like the type of games millennials and Gen-Z youngsters would play for hours or something coming out of a night-long vibe coding run.

The surfer looks as pixelated as a Minecraft character; the whitewater reminds us of those early PS1 titles, and the wave itself brings us back to ZX Spectrum's "California Games" days.

The playing is pretty straightforward.

In the time attack mode, you have 60 seconds to get the most out of the wave: carve, turn, cut back, stall, get barreled, and airborne.

The countdown watch is appropriately sponsored by Brolex.

If you want, you can also freesurf one of the few waves and spots available and even unlock a 1978 Dome Zero concept car to ride... as a surfboard.

With a little bit more work, feedback, and support from the community, "Surf Da Earf" could become one of the most entertaining indie surfing games out there.

The hardest part is done.

"Surf Da Earf" is available on iOS and the web at surfwear.com.


Words by Luís MP | Founder of SurferToday.com



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