“In that sense, [the] genres can be different.”
Image credit: Mintrocket
It’s been nearly two years since Dave the Diver first surfaced, immediately dazzling the world with his distinctive underwater exploration/sushi restaurant management charms, but developer Mintrocket isn’t done yet; the studio has now confirmed a story expansion is on the way, and perhaps even spin-off games for each of Dave’s pals.
That’s according to Dave the Diver creator and director Jaeho Hwang, who shared the news with VGC during Singapore’s recent Gamescom Asia. “I want to expand Dave the Diver IP itself,” he explained of the studio’s future plans. “I think that’s every director’s dream, since we have a relatable character.” Hwang (who also serves as Mintrocket’s CEO) added while the base game “didn’t go really deep into the personal stories in Dave the Diver, because we wanted to keep the game very casual”, he wants to start filling in some of those blanks.
It seems at least some of that will happen in “the story DLC [Mintrocket is] working on right now”, but Hwang said he also wants to make “separate games about each character to show how they met, what they did before coming to the Blue Hole.” He noted there’s some precedent for this already, albeit in reverse, given Dave the Diver character Cobra’s backstory is technically told in Evil Factory, one of Hwang’s earlier games.
Hwang added spin-offs focussing on different characters could give the studio a chance to explore new genres within the Dave the Diver universe, and maybe visit Dave the Diver at a time in his life he had a different profession. “He’s always been a diver,” he continued, “so we really haven’t thought about how we should move with Dave… I really want to show how he grew up, and how he became a diver, and how he ended up coming to the Blue Hole.”
To date, Dave the Diver – which has sold over 4m copies since launching last year – has received three bits of post-launch DLC: the Digital Extra expansion feature various cosmetics, plus a digital art book and soundtrack, as well as a free Dredge collaboration and another focused on Godzilla. Hawng offered no hint as to when Mintrocket might be done with Dave the Diver’s story DLC, but it should provide the perfect excuse to revise an already stellar game.
“Wholesome, harmonious and completely unwilling to settle,” is Eurogamer described Dave the Diver in our five star review, “this is one of the most generous games in years.”
