A new campaign parodies Dave The Diver to warn of overfishing
In partnership with We Are Social, NGO Sea Shepherd has plunged into the virtual deep seas to confront players about the dangers of overfishing
Marine conservation NGO Sea Shepherd has launched a campaign highlighting the dangers of overfishing, by releasing a new parody DLC for the popular Dave The Diver video game.
Released in 2022 by Mintrocket, the game sees millions of players killing in-game fish every day in order to serve them at their virtual sushi restaurants, but with this latest addition to the game, players will be shown the true consequences of overfishing – even in the digital world.
Whereas the virtual seas of Dave The Diver are typically filled with an abundance of fish species, the DLC, titled The Final Boss, transforms the watery depths into a quiet, desolate space, void of any life.
As the name would suggest, the release also sees the introduction of a new in-game character: Sea Shepherd founder, ‘Captain’ Paul Watson (believed to be the inspiration for the character John Watson in the original game). In the new version, players have to face off against Captain Paul Watson in a final showdown.
“We knew that some players of Dave The Diver already noticed the reference [to the] Sea Shepherd founder in the game,” notes the team at We Are Social, who helped to create the campaign. “So Sea Shepherd France, along with its founder Paul Watson, saw this parody as a wonderful opportunity to set the record straight, by showing them a vision more accurately aligned with reality in order to raise awareness of the consequences of overfishing and its impact on marine biodiversity.”
The Final Boss surprised players by introducing Paul Watson through an in-game cinematic. Upon attempting to confront his virtual counterpart, players realise he is an unbeatable boss – with an unignorable message for the world.
