Get Your Virtual Feet Wet in Vertigo Games' World of Diving




I've got to hand it to some video game developers. Just when you think that video games have become little more than a series of beat 'em up, shoot 'em up and blow 'em up excursions (not that there's anything wrong with that, of course), someone comes along and uses the available technology to create something beautiful, elegant and mesmerizing. In this case, it's World of Diving by Vertigo Games. Check out the gorgeous teaser trailer in the video window below.




At its core, World of Diving is a scuba diving simulator for the PC, Mac, and the Oculus Rift virtual reality system. Players can swim through a virtual ocean alone or with friends, find and interact with different kinds of marine life, and explore submerged ship wreckage. This game follows in the footsteps of Endless Ocean and Endless Ocean: Blue World, two diving simulators that were developed by Arika for the Wii. Even though World of Diving is not a sequel to the Endless Ocean games, I'm glad that someone is taking what Arika started and pushing it into the latest generation of video game technology.

I'm fascinated with how World of Diving aims to be an exploration experience that's rooted in the real world, as opposed to a hyper-violent military campaign or a magical quest into a world of fantasy. Appealing to gamers' desire for high-octane action is the most obvious way to generate profit, but I think it would be a waste of potential if video game developer didn't use modern high-definition technology to create immersive experiences that encourage players to marvel at the detail of well-crafted virtual environments and explore them in depth. Then again, I've always been intrigued by video games that are willing to recreate and put a unique spin on mundane environments and situations, such as island resorts (Go Vacation) and adolescence (Bully: Scholarship Edition).

That said, with such impressive graphics and game play provided in World of Diving, why hasn't anyone developed a deep sea survival horror game yet? At the very least, one could be made based on Jaws, a blockbuster franchise that has yet to see one worthwhile video game adaptation. (Jaws Unleashed had some fun ideas, but it was largely mediocre. The rest of the Jaws games were even worse.) I think that being stuck underwater with a 25-foot long monster shark would make for a terrifying video game experience, so why hasn't anyone made one by now?


Just when you thought it was safe to play video games ....


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Art of Tron: Uprising (Part 1 of 4): Characters

Image
This month marks the one year anniversary of the cancellation of Tron: Uprising , which aired on Disney XD for 19 episodes. Set between the events of Tron and Tron: Legacy , Uprising chronicled the events shortly after Clu’s rise to power within the stand-alone Grid created by Kevin Flynn. Personally, I think that Tron: Uprising got a raw deal from Disney. It’s a fantastic addition to the Tron saga that went on to win both Emmy and Annie Awards , yet Disney clearly had other priorities and was willing to toss Uprising aside without so much as an official cancellation notice. Even to this day, Uprising has yet to be released on DVD or Blu-ray and I’m wondering if it ever will. In honor of this amazing animated series that was cut down in its prime, I have decided to do something that Disney won’t. Since there will never be an official Tron: Uprising art book, I have searched across the Internet to find a selection of art from Uprising that I can share here on my blog with
Read more

FOUND: Mechanical Shark from Universal Jaws Theme Park Ride

Image
When the Universal Studios Theme Park in Florida shut down its Jaws ride back in January 2012, Jaws fans everywhere were devastated. Yet even though this part of the Jaws franchise is no longer operational, some of its sharks are swimming around out there … including places such as Frederick, Maryland. A few days ago, I was contacted by a fellow Jaws fan named John Ryan, asking me if I knew anything specific regarding the sharks from the Universal Jaws ride. He was asking because he thought he found one and is trying to verify its authenticity. We spoke on the phone and exchanged a few emails, and here’s what he told me about his find: “I've been collecting Jaws memorabilia for decades and when I found this incredibly rare gem sitting in a backyard in Frederick, Maryland, I wondered about its connection to the state. The current homeowners said the shark was already there when they purchased the property. They also told me it had been the subject of neighborhood rumor for y
Read more

Machine Robo's Magnificent Robot Combiners

Image
I don't collect Transformers merchandise, but I see articles and advertisements about it when I browse through Japanese robot toy sites. From what I can gather, one of the latest product lines for Transformers is called "Combiner Wars" , a line that consists of five or six transforming robot toys that combine into one bigger robot. Combiner robot toys have been around for a long time, and Transformers had quite a few of them even back in the '80s. Yet of the many combiner robot toys I've seen over the years, the ones that have consistently impressed me were the ones released by Bandai under the Machine Robo line. Whereas other robot toy lines are stuck in the novelty of combining smaller toys into a bigger toy, Machine Robo has used the concept of combination to promote creative play. Read on for a review of how Machine Robo has built upon its combiner toys throughout the years.
Read more