Dave the Diver Case Study | Unity (2024)

Dave the Diver Case Study | Unity (1)

INSIDE DAVE THE DIVER’S CREATIVE DEEP DIVE

With limited resources and a desire to serve up something great, the Dave the Diver team worked with Unity to assemble the optimal ingredients for their genre-bending hit.

Case study: Dave the Diver

How does a small team create a complex, 2D/3D multi-genre hit across multiple platforms? With a tech stack that includes the Universal Render Pipeline, C# Job System, Cinemachine, Input System, and help from the Integrated Success team, the Dave the Diver team launched a stunning, well-optimized, and much-beloved game.

The challenge

Tackling complicated visual elements on multiple platforms

Platforms

PC, Mac, Nintendo Switch™

Team members

27

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Fishing for the right partner

Dave the Diver combines adventure, role playing, and tycoon gaming. Players control Dave, a diver who explores the sea, collects fish, avoids menacing creatures, solves quests, and then makes and sells sushi with freshly caught ingredients.

The small team knew they needed a partner to help balance complex multi-genre gameplay elements across multiple platforms.

"We chose Unity because itsfeatures gave usautonomy and time to develop thegameplay, and for its reputation as a strong multiplatform partner," says director Jaeho Hwang.

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The results

  • Sold 2 million copies worldwide
  • Peaked at over 98,000 concurrent players on Steam
  • Gained 56k+ “overwhelmingly positive” user reviews on Steam
  • Attained #2 global top seller on Steam (as of June 29, 2023)

Nintendo Switch is a registered trademark of Nintendo.

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Netting optimal quality and efficiency

One of the main challenges that the team faced was ensuring top visual quality across multiple platforms. Using the Universal Render Pipeline (URP) helped them create, optimize, and scale their graphics. Lead game designer Chanhee Woo says, “URP gave us a great advantage. We just had to configure a platform-specific Render Pipeline Asset and specify it in the quality settings. We set very high graphic standards, and we met them.”

Another obstacle they had was a quick initial turnaround for features and gameplay ideas. Fast ideation was pertinent for their artists, whose perspectives were instrumental for the game’s shaders. To avoid delays, they selected Shader Graph, a node-based visual authoring tool.

“The fact that non-programmers such as artists can use Shader Graph is a considerable benefit,” explains art director Kiyeop Chung. “We got their direct input. And the results could be seen immediately.”

Angling for the most fun

Dave the Diver blends 2D pixels and 3D art. “It was very appealing to us to have both the arcade-like action of 2D with the spatial impression of 3D,” says Woo. The team had difficulties with camera views and performing interactions when they were implementing ideas, so they chose Cinemachine, a suite of tools for codeless cameras, to help them select the best shots. They could preview and set up the placement and configuration they needed by organizing multiple cameras.

“It was set up just like a shooting location,” Woo continues. “Cinemachine helped us easily create and direct the dynamics with natural blends, shakes, and targeted focus options.”

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Going deep with C# Job System

An integral part of the team’s visual strategy was ensuring that graphics are as realistic as possible without affecting performance. They faced challenges generating fish swarming behavior, so they cast the C# Job System and Burst compiler to solve these issues.

“Normally, calculating each vector linearly to determine the swarming behavior would cause high CPU occupancy, but writing code with C# Job System and compiling and optimizing it with the Burst compiler helped it perform significantly better,” says lead programmer Bosung Seo.

The team also struggled with collisions. In Dave the Diver, the fish push one another gently to create a sense of depth in 2D and 3D, and the team had a hard time landing this effect. “To remedy this,” Seo explains, “we paired C# Job System with Unity Physics, which made this dynamic and easily changeable pushing logic possible.”

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Scaling multiplatform with ease

The Dave the Diver team wanted to deploy and maintain the game on multiple platforms. Given their small size, the potential time and costs associated with this release strategy were overwhelming, and they used the Input System to help ease and accelerate the process.

“The cost of bringing the game to multiple platforms was minimal,” explains Seo. “We migrated the engine, and changed the controls to Input System. We used the same code and assets without any conversion, for both platforms, and it was extremely helpful.”

The team used the same tool to overcome the hurdle of handling different controllers. “With Input System,” Seo continues, “the grouping of actions and the key settings for each action were easy to add and modify with the UX. It was also beneficial because we could add and do the reset with code at runtime. It saved us a ton of time.”

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Ascending with Integrated Success

Hooking a big, performant fish in gaming takes a lot of work and help to iterate, test, and troubleshoot for maximum visual impact.

They used the Timeline view in the Unity Profiler to help identify performance bottlenecks, and they enlisted the Integrated Success team to help them identify, learn about, and rectify profiling issues with both code and design solves.

“We had great experiences getting help from the Unity engineers,” says Seo. “We would send profiling data to them and resolve the problems together, or they would give us suggestions for optimization solutions by checking the internal engine code.”

The engineers also provided them with an easy and accessible way to analyze specific lines of source code. “When we had an abnormal event call stack, one of Unity’s engineers resolved the issue by checking the engine code with us, and attached the source code to check when we had inquiries. It’s very insightful.”

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Finding the right ingredients for success

From the onset, they wanted to create a unique 2D/3D visual experience with separate, multi-genre gameplay elements and storylines that feel realistic and fun. Fusing it all together organically on multiple platforms was a complex task, and it was imperative for the team to select a tech stack that made it easier for them to manage visual quality, efficiency, and storylines.

By coupling that with a strong community feedback loop and thorough internal testing, Dave the Diver was primed to be an instant hit.

Hwang says, “We set out to develop an elaborate and entertaining game that the community loves, on our own terms. Our expectations were high, and we’re thrilled with the final product.”

"Universal Render Pipeline gave us a great advantage. We just had to configure a platform-specific Render Pipeline Asset, and specify it in the quality settings. We set very high graphic standards, and we met them."

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CHANHEE WOO / LEAD GAME DESIGNERLead Game Designer

"We had great experiences getting help from the Integrated Success engineers. We would send profiling data to them and resolve the problems together, or they would give us suggestions for optimization solutions by checking the internal engine code."

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BOSUNG SEO / LEAD PROGRAMMERLead Programmer

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Dave the Diver Case Study | Unity (2024)

FAQs

What is the story of Dave the Diver? ›

In Dave the Diver, you play as the titular Dave, an ordinary guy whose relaxing vacation is cut short when he gets invited out to sushi with a friend—only to learn that he must go and catch the seafood himself from the local deep-sea dive spot, the Blue Hole.

How did Dave the Diver get so popular? ›

Dave The Diver, developed by MINTROCKET, sold a million copies in just ten days after its release, surprising director Jaeho Hwang. The success of Dave The Diver is attributed to its unique blend of genres, innovative elements, the hard work of the team, and the lovable and relatable character of Dave.

What was Dave the Diver coded in? ›

Dave the Diver was built using the Unity engine, and in creating the title MINTROCKET would turn to Unity's engineers to help them overcome obstacles that emerged during game development. "While making the game, we wanted to know more about the engine itself.

What engine was Dave the Diver made on? ›

"We chose Unity because its features gave us autonomy and time to develop the gameplay, and for its reputation as a strong multiplatform partner," says director Jaeho Hwang.

How much of Dave is a true story? ›

If you're new to it, Dave is a semi-autobiographical sitcom about Dave Burd, a gangly, bearded white rapper who performs under the name Lil Dicky. It charts his ascent from bedroom hobbyist to internet sensation to actual celebrity, much in the vein of Burd's real life.

What happened at the end of Dave the Diver? ›

Dave gets a statue of his own in Sea People Village depicting his iconic thumbs-up pose. Niamo designs it, Duwa sculpts it, and Tenzhin approves it. Maki impressed Bancho with her cooking, and Yoshie looks on approvingly. Bancho Sushi seems set up to do well in the future.

What happened to Dave diving? ›

Shaw died on 8 January 2005 while attempting to recover the body of Deon Dreyer. Shaw recorded his dive with an underwater camera, which allowed researchers to determine that he suffered from respiratory issues due to the high pressure. Shaw ran into difficulties when the body unexpectedly began to float.

Where is the pink box in Dave the Diver? ›

The Shipping Ship will usually be pretty close to the starting area but straight down, around the depth of 110 m. Once players of this restaurant sim game find the boat, they will be able to interact with a little pink box on the outside of the boat. This will be Leah-chan's box.

How do you quit Dave the Diver? ›

Open the Smartphone, go to Settings and on the Bottom you can Save or Exit & Save.

How much did Dave the Diver cost to make? ›

In short, DtD's commercial success is definitely one to applaud for an estimated <$10M development budget.

Does Dave the Diver have a time limit? ›

Note that you can stay on the dive for as long as you're able to refill your air; there is no arbitrary time limit. My maximum dive time so far is a little over 51 minutes. Afternoon works just like morning, allowing another dive. Evening will be when you run a shift in the restaurant.

How many people worked on Dave the Diver? ›

Dave the Diver is made by MINTROCKET, a small game development division of Nexon Korea. The company employs fewer than 30 people in South Korea. The game takes place in the mysterious location of Blue Hole. It's your job to dive, catch fish and explore the surrounding areas, all while managing a sushi restaurant.

What is the story behind the movie dive? ›

Logline. Heading into her final Olympic games, synchronized diver Mariel discovers a terrible truth about her partner, forcing her to confront her painful past marked by sexual abuse, manipulation and lies.

Is Dave the Diver based on a real person? ›

However, little do we know, "Dave the Diver" has a real-life prototype. Uncle Dave was a warm-hearted and enthusiastic pilot and diver. In 2004, when Uncle Dave accidentally dived to a depth of 271 meters in the Bushman Cave, he discovered the remains of an old explorer who drowned there ten years ago.

How true is the bank of Dave story? ›

True story

The film gives a disclaimer at the start saying it is "true(ish)". While the basic story and some of the locations are true (scenes were even filmed in David Fishwick's own home), much of the film is fictional.

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