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Episode 34 – Water Worlds
In this episode Sian and Heather ‘dive in’ to underwater worlds and level design in video games, particularly the kinds of storytelling inscribed in watery environments. We first catch up on different research projects we’ve been working on and what we’ve been playing recently, before discussing a few different artistic and scientific projects that bring game design and the ocean together. We discuss some projects where games are used to showcase underwater cultural heritage and others where game design is world in installations to simulate conditions underwater. Lastly, we talk about some of our favourite underwater levels in games, including the Bioshock series, Laguna Bend in Cyberpunk 2077, the Spyro series, and (of course) the new Fontaine region in Genshin Impact.
Ludography
2K Boston & 2K Australia. (2007). Bioshock. 2K.
2K Marin. (2010). Bioshock 2. 2K Games.
CD Projekt Red. (2020). Cyberpunk 2077. CD Projekt.
Colorful Palette & Crypton Future Media. (2020). Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage! [Project Sekai]. Sega.
f4samurai. (2020). Disney Twisted-Wonderland. Aniplex.
Giant Squid. (2016). Abzû. 505 Games.
Insomniac Games. (2000). Spyro: Year of the Dragon. Sony Computer Entertainment.
Kitfox Games. (2021). Boyfriend Dungeon. Kitfox Games.
Larian Studios. (2023). Baldur’s Gate 3. Larian Studios.
Microids Studio Lyon. (2023). Agatha Christie – Murder on the Orient Express. Microids.
miHoYo. (2020). Genshin Impact. HoYoverse.
Paralune LLC. (2020). Mythic Ocean. Untold Tales.
Rare. (2018). Sea of Thieves. Microsoft Studios.
References
Bellarbi, A., Domingues, C., Otmane, S., Benbelkacem, S., & Dinis, A. (2012). Underwater augmented reality game using the DOLPHYN. The 18th ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236898930_Underwater_augmented_reality_game_using_the_DOLPHYN
Cozza, M., Isabella, S., Di Cuia, P., Cozza, A., Peluso, R., Cosentino, V., Berbieri, L., Muzzupappa, M., & Bruno, F. (2021). Dive in the Past: A Serious Game to Promote the Underwater Cultural Heritage of the Mediterranean Sea. Heritage. 4(4), 4001-4016. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage4040220.
Huang, C., Chen, Q., Petrovic, V., & Rissolo, D. (2021). Interactive Game-Based Exploration of an Underwater Paleontological Site. 7th International Conference of the Immersive Learning Research Network (iLRN). https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9459364
Pell, S. J., & Mueller, F. (2013). Designing for depth: underwater play. Proceedings of the 9th Australasian Conference on Interactive Entertainment: Matters of Life and Death (IE ’13). https://doi.org/10.1145/2513002.2513036
Credits
Music created with Per Nyblom’s Abundant Music.
View all episodes
By Sian Tomkinson and Heather Blakey
5
11 ratings
In this episode Sian and Heather ‘dive in’ to underwater worlds and level design in video games, particularly the kinds of storytelling inscribed in watery environments. We first catch up on different research projects we’ve been working on and what we’ve been playing recently, before discussing a few different artistic and scientific projects that bring game design and the ocean together. We discuss some projects where games are used to showcase underwater cultural heritage and others where game design is world in installations to simulate conditions underwater. Lastly, we talk about some of our favourite underwater levels in games, including the Bioshock series, Laguna Bend in Cyberpunk 2077, the Spyro series, and (of course) the new Fontaine region in Genshin Impact.
Ludography
2K Boston & 2K Australia. (2007). Bioshock. 2K.
2K Marin. (2010). Bioshock 2. 2K Games.
CD Projekt Red. (2020). Cyberpunk 2077. CD Projekt.
Colorful Palette & Crypton Future Media. (2020). Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage! [Project Sekai]. Sega.
f4samurai. (2020). Disney Twisted-Wonderland. Aniplex.
Giant Squid. (2016). Abzû. 505 Games.
Insomniac Games. (2000). Spyro: Year of the Dragon. Sony Computer Entertainment.
Kitfox Games. (2021). Boyfriend Dungeon. Kitfox Games.
Larian Studios. (2023). Baldur’s Gate 3. Larian Studios.
Microids Studio Lyon. (2023). Agatha Christie – Murder on the Orient Express. Microids.
miHoYo. (2020). Genshin Impact. HoYoverse.
Paralune LLC. (2020). Mythic Ocean. Untold Tales.
Rare. (2018). Sea of Thieves. Microsoft Studios.
References
Bellarbi, A., Domingues, C., Otmane, S., Benbelkacem, S., & Dinis, A. (2012). Underwater augmented reality game using the DOLPHYN. The 18th ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236898930_Underwater_augmented_reality_game_using_the_DOLPHYN
Cozza, M., Isabella, S., Di Cuia, P., Cozza, A., Peluso, R., Cosentino, V., Berbieri, L., Muzzupappa, M., & Bruno, F. (2021). Dive in the Past: A Serious Game to Promote the Underwater Cultural Heritage of the Mediterranean Sea. Heritage. 4(4), 4001-4016. https://doi.org/10.3390/heritage4040220.
Huang, C., Chen, Q., Petrovic, V., & Rissolo, D. (2021). Interactive Game-Based Exploration of an Underwater Paleontological Site. 7th International Conference of the Immersive Learning Research Network (iLRN). https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9459364
Pell, S. J., & Mueller, F. (2013). Designing for depth: underwater play. Proceedings of the 9th Australasian Conference on Interactive Entertainment: Matters of Life and Death (IE ’13). https://doi.org/10.1145/2513002.2513036
Credits
Music created with Per Nyblom’s Abundant Music.