Endless Ocean is a diving-simulation series by Japanese developer Arika exclusively on the Nintendo Wii. The sequel to Arika’s PS2 Everblue series, the Endless Ocean games are notable for having extremely little game, but a whole lot of atmosphere. They are one of the few games I feel that really “gets” the experience of scuba diving, the fun of exploring and looking at animals in the aquatic environment. They are woefully under-appreciated and under-noticed, which is really a shame since they’re probably my favorite games on the Wii.
I am going to be playing through Endless Ocean: Dive, Dream, Explore, exploring it with you while also using it as a spring board to talk about scuba diving, marine sciences and biology, as well as other fun scientific and historical information. Hopefully you will learn some things you never knew, and gain some new interest in the fantastic world of our oceans. With its completion, we are moving onto its sequel, Endless Ocean: Blue World.
Download links are available on each video page near the bottom. Note that they can be a bit long at times so we don't have to cut infotrains in half; do not feel bad if you have to do them in halves on occasion. Updates are also available on YouTube though do note that they are slightly lesser quality.
The segments in one giant playlist!
In order to keep this thread focused and on track, I’m instituting a set of guideline. Please follow them as best you can, thanks!
- 1. Do not talk about animals or science not touched on in-video or
by commentators in thread yet. It really limits options for commentary
if everyone just steals our thunder right out the door. Once I've
touched on a subject (or, as the game may have it, have physically
touched the subject) you may talk about it to your heart’s content. Also
if you're like some kind of expert in fields, just go hog wild if
something interesting happens. This rule is pretty loose, but please try
to keep it in mind!
2. Please do not spoil the destinations ahead, cool animal reveals, or what this game tenuously has for plot. A lot of the greatness of the game is it catching you by surprise with its excellent visuals and settings, so please don’t ruin it for everyone!
3. All Scuba diving talk is permitted. Share your stories, thoughts, experiences, pictures, or whatever! You have full permission to ramble about diving.
- If you want to support Arika producing more chill the fuck out games like this, consider buying a copy and playing along at home! It is definitely worth at least picking up Endless Ocean 2, which is pretty much uniformly acknowledged as a much better game all around, though the first has its moments.
If this game has inspired some interest in ocean conservation in your heart, consider donating money to Conservation International, or any other ocean conversation non-profit (though keep your money as far away as problem from Greenpeace (unless you particularly like being on watch lists for being associated with terrorists), and not a lot of people are keen on the WWF (they like to "lose" donations)).
If you’ve been inspired to finally enter the wild world of scuba diving, consider looking for a PADI shop in your area and look into receiving diving instructions. It’s a great hobby, though admittedly fairly expensive. There's a diving Ask/Tell thread you may want to check out as well, beyond this thread.
While I will be swimming solo for much of this game, there will be occasions when I will be joined by a few dive buddies from An Orbital Grouse. Some of them will also be contributing to my solo updates anyway. To ease the confusion of who the heck is doing/ saying what, here's a handy guide. From left to right...
Zorak, physicist and guy running this shindig, he likes too many sciences and enjoys telling people about them. He as a thing for Japanese animation that we pray is never mentioned in this thread. Has dived quite a lot of hours and has a PADI license to boot! His favorite fish is THE KING OF HERRINGS.
Chorocojo, LP superstar, professional aquatic guy, and he who knows more obscure trivia than anyone else. Also draws the cool images you see and contributes all the binomial name translations! He languishes over the fact that he has a TV Tropes page. Is looking at getting into scuba diving and getting his license. His favorite fish (at the moment) is the Atlantic Tarpon.
HulkaMatt, intercontinental heavy weight LP champion, foremost expert on both combat and non-combat hugs. He currently wishes I’d stop telling him to change his username to MachoMatt. Has a driving license to get in a car, which he thinks is “pretty much the same thing”. He has stated under duress that his favorite fish is the Handfish.
TyrsHTML, A bro and quite possibly The Omega Nerd. He is really broken up that we have nothing else to say about him in this spot. Has no diving license, given that he is in Iowa, which has no bodies of water whatsoever. His favorite fish is the Coelacanth.