Game of Faune : Endless Ocean, or the perspectives of the “naturalist video games”

Once upon a time, there was a book about the world. The third chapter of its anthology has just begun, and it is called Autumn. As the pages turn, the sun tries to pierce the thick curtain of fog while the forest is covered in an ochre color. The bare trees reveal the secret of a whole labyrinth used by birds, whose privacy has been exposed. Tits, often hidden among the branches, betrayed only by their song in the summer months, can no longer hide. So they organize their meeting. Once territorial, Blue Tits, Great Tits , and Marsh Tits gather in a circle, much to the delight of a self-important observer: me.

Suddenly, a bird unfamiliar to this flock slips in. An intruder of circumstance, coming from the north, relying on the kindness of the local birds to help one who is only passing through. This bird is a Yellow- browed Warbler. It is difficult to distinguish from other Warblers, even if its large eyebrow gives it away. It waddles among the Tits, dodging those who try to take its picture (me again), but as an observer, I can’t hold it against it. I am charmed by this unexpected, unplanned encounter, my first encounter with it in fact (even if, inwardly, I curse those rascals). This is one of the 1,000 reasons why I love birdwatching; the other 999 would take too long to count.

Starting this new episode of Game of Faune, which is all about aquatic animals, by talking about birds seems like a bad ea. But it’s not so much the animal itself as the way it shows up unexpectedly, which some ancient writers might even call deus ex machina. And that’s exactly what this is all about. One of the first topics that came to mind when I was developing this column could only be Endless Ocean. A diving game for Wii released in 2007, which I consider to be perhaps the greatest game about nature and its representation ever released. And I’ll try to explain why.

PRAYER

It was 2004 when Nintendo’s “Revolution” was about to be unveiled. A mysterious code name for a console that was supposed to restore the reputation of a company that was losing its way. The intrigue was set, but the rest of the story had to be just as captivating if it was to be successful. To achieve this, Nintendo decided not to follow in the footsteps of Sony and Microsoft. The arms race that had previously failed it would not be its battle. It had to stand out in other ways, through other experiences.

Based on this premise, the brains at Big N began scouring studios in search of games that would challenge the imagination, until they landed on the banks of the Meguro River in Tokyo’s Shinagawa district, home to the Arika studio. Founded in 1995 by former Capcom employees, the studio was behind several episodes of the Street Fighter and Tetris series, two legendary sagas that would fill its order book for six long years. But the developers at Arika had other ambitions: they loved the ocean.

For the PlayStation 2, they imagined Leonardo, an underwater adventurer, exploring the depths and shipwrecks in search of incredible treasures. Despite the promise of the title released in 2002, Everblue failed to captivate its audience, and critics saw it as a clumsy game that was technically outdated and uninteresting to play. And the verdict was more or less the same the following year with the second episode of the franchise. All critics agreed that the potential was undeniable, but that the promise was not fulfilled. Something was missing. Some would say a heartfelt note.

So when Hitoshi Yamagami and Masaki Tawara, producer and director at Nintendo EPD respectively, walked through the studio door to meet the then vice president, Ichiro Mihara, they were looking for something unique. This is what would make the “Revolution” more than just the promise of its name. The men isolated themselves and reviewed the studio’s catalog until one of the titles caught Yamagami’s attention. Once the presentation was over, Yamagami turned to Mihara and asked him what they would like to produce. Mihara replied, “I love the ocean.” Yamagami was not mistaken. The three men agreed to create a new scuba diving game to be developed on the Wii, which had changed its name in the meantime.

AMAZING GRACE

Persisting with the idea they had previously explored, Mihara’s team embarked on a project to mimic Everblue with a similar, linear game. Arika seemed set to repeat the same mistake it had made before. But then a totally unexpected game arrived on Nintendo’s little handheld console, the DS, which would take development into a whole new dimension. This game wasn’t about sea creatures, but cuddly creatures: dogs. Nintendogs transcended the promise of the upcoming game, almost corrupting the title of the license into “Nintendolphin,” which would certainly make for a good pun, but a poor representation of the title’s intentions. The absence of gameplay or narrative challenges opens the waters to a more enjoyable, more accessible game, where the sea creatures are all docile and the limits are non-existent, barely veiled by a storyline added at the end of development. No oxygen gauge, no dangers. Just exploration for company: Endless Ocean is born.

But an ocean is nothing without its wildlife to accompany it. And while in Everblue, this was somewhat not important, Endless Ocean makes it one of its priorities. More than 210 species from around the world will populate the various ecosystems of the Manaurai Sea. This is where Mihara’s words quoted above prove to be more than just empty words. A large part of the Arika team is made up of professional divers, led by Ichiro Mihara, Akira Kurabayashi (director and programmer), and Keisuke Ohkubo (graphic designer). Together, they will train a dozen team members (about a quarter of the studio’s staff) to dive in the Izu Peninsula and Okinawa Prefecture. This dedication will cement the message of Endless Ocean and transform it.

Some things seem impossible to describe; they have to be experienced. My story about Warblers earlier may not have make you emotional as much as I had hoped. And I don’t know if the following remarks will have the same impact on you if you are not observers of nature. What is extraordinarily fascinating about Endless Ocean is the game’s unique ability to evoke reality in an explosive way to create unique moments, like photographs (when the birds want to be caught on camera!). Encountering a dolphin, descending into the abyss, or discovering rare species are all memories that we could find ourselves recounting by the fireside, as if to make them last forever. And that’s why Nydauks, Zeta, and I got together to talk about our greatest moments in the game in a podcast accompanying this article (only in french, I’m sorry). Even though these moments don’t exist. Because that’s where our paradox lies.

To achieve this approach to reality, Endless Ocean makes numerous concessions that perhaps no other game has made as well since. Endless Ocean is not a realistic game, and was never intended to be. It is a fantasy representation of what we might imagine it to be. By prioritizing accessibility over realism, the game ends up pushing the limits of its medium and embellishing all of its discoveries, which are in reality nothing more than predefined scripts. All of this is sublimated, demonized by Hayley Westenra’s extraordinary music, which ends up indelibly engraving these moments of enchantment. Endless Ocean is mystical. And all this work is thanks to the Arika team, who managed to breathe magic into their project. Endless Ocean isn’t just a simple game about diving with animals. It’s the best one.

THE WATER IS WIDE

However, many titles have attempted to steal this crown from it. Starting with the champion itself, which returned in 2010 for a second installment called “Blue World,” offering a most interesting contrast in style. Where the first installment is peaceful and open to the player, the second is more restricted in its unfolding, with several locations to visit, a more developed storyline, and the presence of more belligerent creatures. By refocusing on reality, the title loses its fragile magic. This magic is completely forgotten in the third installment of the series, released in 2024 and called Endless Ocean Luminous, which is unworthy of what the series has offered in the past. While the initial premise of taking us through unpredictable waters where surprises await us is appealing, the execution is marred by an overabundance of creatures of all kinds with questionable designs, and by an uninteresting system for searching for these same animals.

We could also mention Abzu, the “sequel” to Journey, which focuses on storytelling rather than contemplation, or Beyond Blue, created by the developers of Never Alone in partnership with the BBC, following on from the second part of the documentary “Blue Planet 2.” In a more science fiction and suspenseful vein, it would be unthinkable not to mention the famous Subnautica, released in 2014. Back on land, it’s hard not to mention one of the lost gems of the PS3, the magnificent Afrika, which focuses on the wildlife of Africa, or the more recent challenger, Alba: A Wildlife Adventure. And while I would be much more interested in a game focused on ornithology, Alba, perhaps to your surprise, didn’t totally convince me, mainly because I felt it failed to capture the uncertainty I experience in reality. It seemed more like a tour operator where each species, however enchanting, was confined to a specific location.

Is this a bad thing? Not at all. Because each game brings elements that show that Endless Ocean is far from being the perfect experience, as fascinating and visceral as it may be. Abzu, for example, offers an interesting take on the representation of Sharks (Hmm… a future episode of Game of Faune in the making… I wonder…), while Alba: A Wildlife Adventure more easily blends the geographical logic of its animal species, whereas Endless Ocean makes it complex and sometimes inaccurate. All these games, and many more, are examples of what I like to call “naturalist video games.” These are games that represent nature, wildlife, and their interactions to an often uninitiated audience, like a window onto the world around them.

And while one might think that this reflection on representation is outdated, it becomes much less so when one considers the global reach of video games and all the opportunities they can offer. Although for the moment limited to budgetary reasons (see: Can conservation be effectively communicated through video games? A case study on Jack Barau), a few studies have shown us (with reservations) that animal species recognition could be more receptive through video games. And while some naturalist disciplines are on the verge of extinction (such as botany), video games could become their salvation. This second episode, which is now coming to a close, is therefore more of an invitation to philosophize about how video games could enable us to introduce the public to discovering and observing nature. It seems that everyone has their own recipe. Endless Ocean, semms to believe on magic.

Thank you for reading this second episode of Game Of Faune, and see you next month for a new topic. After dinosaurs and the seas, what will we discover together next?

For more informations :

A Lenghty interview with the developers of Endless Ocean, translate from japanese to english

To better understand the concept of choice and adaptation of choices within the fauna of video games:
– An interview conducted by the Journal of Geek Studies on the release of the game “Beyond Blue”
– A study on the presence of birds in video games and their implications