Life of a Shark

The purpose of this project is to help raise awareness of the finning and killing of sharks that are harmful to shark populations, and thus harmful to ocean ecosystems. Due to presentation in media (think Jaws), the food industry, and the development of pseudo-scientific medicines, sharks are too often hunted for their fins because they are wrongly perceived as a very dangerous threat. This game is designed to put the player in the shark’s perspective, as they curiously inspect a diver, and then inevitably get caught, finned, and killed by the diver. It’s not necessarily a happy story, but it helps get the message out.

            There is one variable that this story uses, and it is mainly there so that the player can get a different ending. When the school of fish arrives, the player must be sure to eat at least 2 fish to not be tempted by the bait. Unfortunately, due to Bitsy’s limitations, it is difficult to make it obvious which fish are triggers for the next scene, so there is a bit of guesswork at play. However, this does add to the idea that sharks are not necessarily in control of when they are hunted, or when they are hungry.

            There is also a sequence in the first scene, where if the shark continues to interact with the fish, then they will keep mentioning the “seal” at the surface. This is there to encourage the player to interact with this “seal”.

 

Written and Designed by: Sebastian Pedersen

Room Design Assisted by: RGBitsy (https://janosc.itch.io/rgbitsy)

Project Based on: https://www.thingswedontknow.com/articles/Shark+hunting+and+conservation#.Yh6wg-jMJ3h