Every submarine needs a crew. So does every game about a crew that probably should not have been trusted with a submarine. Behind S.O.N.A.R. – Submarine Operators Not Actually Ready is a team of artists and developers turning underwater adventures into cooperative chaos, one concept, character model, and deeply questionable dance move at a time.
Developed by Abylight Barcelona, S.O.N.A.R. is a cooperative submarine game for one to four players, built around teamwork, communication, and the inevitable discovery that your friend has pressed the wrong button. Again. But before players could take their stations, someone had to imagine, design, model, and animate the world around them.
That work came from people. No generative AI was used in the development of S.O.N.A.R. Its visual identity reflects human creativity, artistic decisions, collaboration, and the occasional conversation that probably began with: “Wouldn’t it be funny if…?”
Let’s meet some of the people responsible.
María Ayuso: Concepts, Characters, and Extremely Important Submarine Memes
María Ayuso is responsible for S.O.N.A.R.’s 2D art and concept designs. Before an idea becomes something you can encounter inside the game, concept art helps establish what it should look like and how it belongs in this unusual underwater world.
Designing for a cooperative multiplayer game means thinking about more than individual images. The artwork needs to support a shared atmosphere: a submarine where important missions and completely unserious behaviour somehow occupy the same space.
María also created the manual. Yes, the manual: that useful collection of information your crewmates may decide to consult immediately after causing an emergency.
And those meme posters inside the submarine? Also María. Because even when your vessel is heading towards disaster, workplace decoration matters. Someone has to maintain morale, and apparently a sensible safety notice alone cannot compete with a well-placed joke.
José de Miguel: Making the Models Move, and Occasionally Embarrass Themselves
José de Miguel is in charge of 3D models and animations, helping turn the game’s visual ideas into the characters and objects that populate S.O.N.A.R.
A model gives something its shape. Animation gives it movement, personality, and, in this particular submarine, opportunities to behave in ways that would concern any qualified commanding officer.
José is also the man to blame for those funny emotes.
When your crew celebrates at a wildly inappropriate moment, remember that somebody had to make that possible. Those movements did not emerge spontaneously from the engine room. They are part of the artistic work that gives this co-op submarine game its sense of humour.
Teamwork can involve clear communication and carefully coordinated actions. It can also involve watching a friend perform an emote while you wonder whether anyone is actually steering. José has contributed to that second possibility.
Víctor Ávila: Keeping the Production Afloat
Víctor Ávila is the game’s producer, keeping everything on course while the rest of the team builds a world where staying on course is considerably less guaranteed.
Game development involves creative ambitions, practical decisions, and many moving parts. Production brings those parts together so that individual contributions can become a coherent game.
Think of Víctor as the person checking the route while everyone else discusses whether the submarine needs another entertaining distraction.
It is rumoured that he had some free time a few years ago. Historians are still investigating.
Despite his production responsibilities, Víctor also helps with some 3D models. Apparently, keeping an entire project moving was not enough, so he decided to contribute to the submarine’s contents as well.
Miguel García Corchero: Creative Direction Below Sea Level
Miguel García Corchero is S.O.N.A.R.’s creative director, helping guide the vision that connects its gameplay, personality, and underwater setting.
He is a true expert in making games and building submarines. Or building games and making submarines. We recommend clarifying the distinction before accepting an invitation to a sea trial.
Creative direction helps the team’s different disciplines work towards a shared experience. For S.O.N.A.R., that means bringing together the appeal of operating a submarine with the unpredictable fun of playing alongside friends.
The result gives the artists room to contribute their own strengths while building a recognisable world together. From concept designs to animated emotes, those contributions help establish the character of the game.
Play the S.O.N.A.R. Demo on Steam
Want to see their work in action? The free S.O.N.A.R. demo is available on Steam, including a tutorial and two selected missions.
Gather your friends, explore the submarine, inspect María’s posters, and discover exactly how distracting José’s emotes can become when teamwork is required.
Play the free demo and add S.O.N.A.R. – Submarine Operators Not Actually Ready to your Steam wishlist to support the team and follow the game towards launch.
S.O.N.A.R. – Submarine Operators Not Actually Ready on Steam
The artists have done their jobs. Now it is your turn to find out whether your crew can do theirs.
See you in the deep blue, captains.
