Dolphin Chase
Jan 2014
HvA
Interaction-, UI Design, Illustration & Development
A casual game
based on cold reality
To get that shiny graduation paper, Hogeschool van Amsterdam gave us the assignment to create an interactive product which added value to the world. Having recently finished my minor in game design, I knew what I wanted to build. But how could a game add value to society? That same period, I bumped into a documentary called The Cove about dolphin abuse. This really touched me- So much I decided to make a game around this tragic truth. A game with a shocking twist, that would raise awareness amongst players.
It's all about perception
The first version of Dolphin Chase had a small price that would partly be donated to the Dolphin Project. The game featured illustrated Japanese hunters. After the release I ended up in a Japanese newspaper as a "racist, greedy, propaganda spreading game developer". Due to this suprising development, I changed the hunters into various races, removed the emphasize on Japan and made the game free. My intention was to raise awareness, not cause anger. A few weeks later, the game ended up in the dutch newspaper "Spits". Downloads skyrocketed and the game was a success!