Move = Arrow Keys, WASD | Action = Z, X, or Enter

Flight Commander is an action game made for the Game Jam, "Gaming Like It's 1930". Starting on January 1st 2026, works from the 1930 entered the public domain. The game jam is a collection of games made using at least one work from that year.

This game is based on the 1930's film "The Dawn Patrol", starring Richard Barthelmess. The film was remade in 1938 with the same title, and the original movie was then renamed "Flight Commander". The plot of the movie centers on the pressure faced by the unit's commanders, who must constantly send inexperienced pilots on dangerous missions with low survival rates.

In the game Flight Commander, you take the role of Captain Dick Courtney, the leader of the RFC's 59th Squadron "A Flight" during World War 1. Every day you'll be assigned a dangerous mission to complete and then be required to fill out the squadron with new pilots who are not likely to survive.

ROADMAP: Currently the gameplay loop revolves around picking pilots from a randomize list and then completing the same mission where those pilots will be shot down. After several completed missions the game will end. I intend to actually tell the story of the movie throughout the game. I also still need to implement music and sounds effects.