Interview: Dave the Diver Director Confirms More Crossovers “Are Being Discussed”
Dave the Diver
Dave the Diver is a single-player adventure RPG that puts the players in Dave’s shoes. A diligent diver who collects fishes and completes various quests, many requiring him to take a dive into the deep depths of the ocean. The game contains elements of resource management, action-adventure and role-playing, giving players the best of everything.
Soon after its release, Dave the Diver found stellar success, accumulating over a million copies sold weeks after release. The game has since released its first crossover DLC with another title from last year, Dredge. In order to get more insights into Dave the Diver and talk about some of the future content, we spoke with Jaeho Hwang, Director of Dave the Diver, over an email interview.
Dave the Diver – via Mintrocket.
Dave the Diver, for many gamers, was one of the most welcome titles this year, and with even more content planned ahead, I am curious how long the team expects to support the game with content updates.
Jaeho: First of all, thank you for all the love. We made it with a relatively small team of about 25 people, so there are still a lot of stories to tell. We initially planned to keep adding content and improving QOL for at least another year or two, regardless of success. Still, we can do much more, especially since the game has gotten much attention, so we’re more comfortable with collaborations. We have collaborated with Dredge, and a few more are being discussed for this year, so keep an eye out.
In one of your Dev Interviews, you asked other developers to contact you for potential crossovers. Did the Dredge crossover come about after that? And was it them who reached out to you?
Jaeho: Dredge was a game I really enjoyed playing, and there were a lot of requests for a crossover from players on our Discord and other channels, so I started reaching out to Black Salt Games by posting some fan art on their Discord server. Black Salt Games, the developers of Dredge, responded very positively, and the discussions went well after that. Other developers have also contacted us, and while we’re still waiting to reveal anything, we have some fun plans in the works, so stay tuned.
Dave the Diver – via Mintrocket.
Do you plan to release the game on Xbox and PlayStation consoles? I am sure fans would love to see it even come to Game Pass some time in the future.
Jaeho: Many of you have already had fun with it, but we have yet to have a chance to release it on PlayStation and Xbox. Last year, we were swamped preparing for the Nintendo Switch version and updating new content and QOL. But this year, we will start preparing to expand the game to various platforms. It may take some time to deal with adding unique features as well as making the game run smoothly on each platform, but sooner or later, we’ll make sure you can play the game everywhere.
Dave the Diver and Dredge, although similar in some aspects, are still different in many others. Did the team also think of it that way, or did the idea come naturally once a crossover was agreed upon?
Jaeho: When we played Dredge, it was fascinating how they represented the ocean differently than we did, and the “aberrations”; the mutant fish in the game were creative. But since it’s a fishing game, we thought catching these fish by diving in and fighting them would be more fun. We pitched the idea to the Dredge developers, and they liked the concept, so we quickly fleshed it out and developed it.
What other major challenges came with the post-launch support following the game's massive success?
Jaeho: We’ve focused and put the most effort into improving QOL. Specifically, adding an automatic option for those who prefer less button mashing, adjusting the difficulty of areas where players are struggling, improving loading times and making changes to the cocktail colors for better colorblind support. We’re still working on perfecting the game by adding new missions to the second half, which we felt was lacking in content. With the game’s massive success, the team is taking on more responsibility and working hard to deliver more and better content.
Dave the Diver – via Mintrocket.
Is it the first crossover you have done with another title? If so, are there any things you wish you knew beforehand?
Jaeho: Players liked the Dredge crossover very much, but some may have wanted a deeper story connection because we casually offered it as an event. We’ll have to think about how deep we want to go with the crossover, but if we have more time to develop it, it would be fun to really weave it into each other’s stories.
Will Dave the Diver have any paid DLCs in the future? Or are you planning on keeping all additional content to be free?
Jaeho: We will provide DLC with a small amount of content that goes into an event mission for free as much as possible. We will consider providing them as paid DLC for more significant amounts of content. In particular, we will charge for an expansion type of DLC that expands the story and introduces new systems, but we are aware that the level of content prepared should be as rich as possible.
Are there any plans to make a sequel to Dave the Diver? In your personal opinion, what would Dave the Diver 2 be like?
Jaeho: It’s probably every developer’s dream to make a sequel. We could work with new areas and characters; there are many fun things to do. But there has to be some pressure when we make a sequel because it has to be a better game. For now, we’re just going to build on the characters and the story of Dave the Diver with updates and possible DLC and see what else we can offer in the future.
Dave the Diver – via Mintrocket.
Can we expect to see bigger and even more ambitious titles coming from Mintrocket now that the studio has found great success with Dave the Diver?
Jaeho: There are a lot of various titles that MINTROCKET could release. However, as our development team is 100% focused on Dave the Diver, we want to share our success experience with the dedicated teams for other titles and help them avoid the same trial and error.
Now that we are moving into 2024, what can we expect from the game? (e.g., more crossovers, DLCs, improvements, etc.)
Jaeho: There are some fun crossovers being discussed, so they’ll be coming soon. As for the DLC, we want to get as much as possible and have it out this year. Other than that, we’re looking at expanding the world of Dave the Diver, so we’ll let you know as soon as it’s ready.
Is there anything else you want to share with the readers?
Jaeho: We’re so grateful that more people love it than we ever imagined. It’s your feedback that allows us to provide an excellent service. We’re still communicating with many of you on our Discord to see how we can improve the game, so please feel free to visit our Discord and give us feedback!
Dave the Diver is a single-player adventure game by Mintrocket. It was released on macOS and PC on June 28, 2023, and later on Nintendo Switch on October 26, 2023.
From writing short stories in his room to finding true enthusiasm for video game and computer hardware journalism, Huzaifa plays video games and write all the latest and greatest news about them. Currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Data Science, he dives deep into the news, authenticating every tiny detail to serve his audience. When he’s not breaking news, he becomes a master storyteller, conjuring up captivating tales from the depths of his imagination. With a wealth of experience as a Video Game Journalist. He has also worked with Publishers like eXputer, The Nerd Mag and Gamesual making him an expert in Gaming News Industry.
