A life-changing accident inspired this developer’s first hit game. Dolphins are inspiring his second

When Mark Major created his very first game at the start of this year, it was full of wry and dark humor. It was based on a huge fall he suffered down a nine-meter-deep hole that left him with limited lower-body movement. It was called Plummet. After a great response to that first title, Major is now a full-time game developer. For his next one, the New Zealander still wants gamers to hurtle downwards, but this time there’s a serious message behind it.

The upcoming game, Plunge Free Dive, is designed to highlight the plight of his country’s Maui’s dolphin, a rare subspecies that’s classified as critically endangered. To get people to take notice, the game is being made with William Trubridge (pictured below), the current freediving world champion and world record holding freediver from New Zealand.

Close to extinction

In December 2010, Trubridge became the first human to freedive to 101 meters with no assistance of any kind. His single breath of air lasted 4 minutes and 10 seconds. Now he’s on a quest to raise awareness of the plight of the Maui’s dolphin species – which New Zealand’s native Māori call popoto – and highlight the fact that there are only around 55 remaining due to certain fishing methods. A government-appointed panel in 2012 stated that an average of five are killed each year.

The game will also draw attention to the nation’s Hector’s dolphin species, which is also endangered though not to the critical extent of the Maui’s.

“The key thing for helping out the Hector’s and Maui’s dolphins is raising awareness around how close they are to extinction. Government reform on New Zealand’s fishing laws is key for their survival,” Major tells Tech in Asia.

Collaborating

Major and Trubridge are now crowdfunding Plunge Free Dive on Pledge Me, seeking to raise NZ$10,000 (US$7,430) to kickstart development of the game. Pledge Me is a sort of Kiwi Kickstarter.

It was Major who came up with the idea. “I emailed William directly from a link found on [Trubridge’s] website. His agents got back to me and we worked from there. Having a track record of a successful game helped immensely in showing our credibility,” says Major.