Dave The Diver Interview – The Game’s Success, Future, and Secrets

MINTROCKET: At first, we didn’t plan on creating cutscenes. However, despite our characters being very unique, we felt there was no way to truly showcase their charm. So, we tried creating a simple cutscene for key moments, and it worked really well. We then decided to add more cutscenes, putting our ideas together and taking inspiration from animations and films with similar characters, so that we could make a strong impact in a short amount of time.

MINTROCKET: One of the ideas we had on the drawing board was to have Dave’s weight based on gameplay, maybe even affecting his movement speed. But Dave’s charm comes from having a unique body shape, one that’s not typical for a diver, right? A lot of people liked that, so we decided to keep Dave just the way he is.

MINTROCKET: Sometimes, users suggest that they want to create their own characters. While it’s a good idea, our game primarily focuses on the stories of the main characters, Dave, Cobra, and Bancho, so creating customizable characters might be a bit difficult. However, if we ever plan a spin-off in a different genre, we might be able to try it out.

MINTROCKET: We would love to! More people than we expected have come to love Dave, and we have a lot of affection for him as well, so we definitely want to share more stories about Dave and his friends. However, creating a sequel would require a lot more ideas and exciting elements than we have now, and it would take a lot of time. For now, we are preparing a new story for the ‘In the Jungle’ DLC.

MINTROCKET: Yes, while this isn’t related to the mobile game from that time, many people have expressed interest in playing Dave the Diver on mobile, so we are currently working on it. We are initially targeting the Chinese region, but we aim to make it available in more countries in the future.

MINTROCKET: Our goal is to bring the same experience of Dave the Diver to mobile as a premium game.

MINTROCKET: Currently, we are working on several new projects based on our own ideas and choices, independent from Nexon. These are mainly casual games, and we are putting a lot of effort into delivering unprecedented experiences, so please look forward to them.

MINTROCKET: Honestly, I think achieving greater success than Dave the Diver will be difficult. This is because, in addition to our abilities, factors like luck and timing played a big role as well. However, we will do our best to be a studio that consistently delivers in ‘fun’ and ‘quality.’

MINTROCKET: Haha, honestly, there was a bit of disappointment from not winning, but I don’t feel like we were robbed. The games that won were excellent. I had the opportunity to meet the winners at various events and sincerely congratulated them. While winning would have been great, just being nominated is a huge honor as well, and through this process, I got to discover some amazing games.

MINTROCKET: I saw a debate on the cozygames subreddit about whether Dave is truly cozy. I agree that it is a more challenging game than it appears to be. It requires management, has boss battles, and weapon upgrades… After launch, we took our users’ feedback into account and adjusted the areas they felt were too difficult, but I still wouldn’t call it an easy game. Nevertheless, I believe these elements contribute to the ‘fun’ of playing when properly balanced, so instead of simply making it easier, I want our goal to be focused on achieving a more reasonable balance.

MINTROCKET: We have collaborated with amazing IPs such as Dredge, Godzilla, and Balatro, and we are very happy that many users enjoyed them. Bringing great external IPs into our game is always a cautious but fun process. You might even see familiar characters in the upcoming ‘In the Jungle’ DLC!

MINTROCKET: I don’t think microtransactions are inherently bad. For example, cosmetics allow players to customize the appearance of their favorite characters, and some items help overcome in-game challenges more easily. Additionally, F2P games can reach a broader audience because they are easy to access with no additional costs.

However, the reason many games are criticized for this nowadays is that instead of using microtransactions to enhance the player’s experience, they create intentional deficiencies that can be countered by microtransactions in order to encourage excessive spending. Such exploitative monetization methods, even if they generate high revenue, will stress the players and reduce their affection for the game.

MINTROCKET: Yes. Internally, we are already developing a different type of game, and we believe that we can showcase our strengths even if it’s not a 2D side-scrolling or pixel game. It’s important to choose a genre that can effectively highlight the core fun elements we have in mind. But of course, if it’s a genre we haven’t worked on before, a more cautious approach and extensive testing will be necessary.

MINTROCKET: I used to play a variety of roguelike games. I definitely enjoyed major titles like Dead Cells and Hades, and I also had a lot of fun playing Risk of Rain 2! However, since action control requires a lot of skill, as I got older, I started to feel my limitations. Nowadays, I find myself enjoying lighter roguelike games like Balatro and Vampire Survivors more.