The third-person sci-fi shooter Goddess of Victory: Nikke is teaming up with Dave the Diver for a collaborative event. The event launches with the summer update on July 4, and perfect for summertime, it adds a brand-new minigame set underwater that combines the gameplay of Dave the Diver with the characters of Nikke.
If you haven’t had the chance to check out Goddess of Victory: Nikke yet, it’s a free-to-play RPG available on iOS, Android, and PC. You play as a commander leading a squad of soldiers called Nikkes into battle against alien invaders. You can switch between Nikkes to fire their respective guns or use their unique abilities to complete missions in an effort to take back Earth.
Nikke’s latest collab is with Dave the Diver, an action-adventure game that has you spend your days diving into an ever-changing body of water and using a harpoon gun to catch fish of varying types and sizes. You then spend your nights working at a local sushi restaurant, where you determine the menu based on what fish you caught.
To celebrate their new collaboration, Yoo HyungSuk — Director of Goddess of Victory: Nikke — and Jaeho Hwang — Director of Dave the Diver — answered some questions about what brought them together, their plans for the future, and more.
Can you share the story behind Nikke’s collaboration with Dave the Diver? How did this opportunity arise?
Yoo HyungSuk: Nikke and Dave the Diver are both games developed in Korea. We happened to discuss a collaboration because our Nikke team generally loves creative games, and naturally, we also enjoyed playing Dave the Diver. Additionally, Dave the Diver combines casual management gameplay with its diving mechanics, making it an excellent fusion of different gameplay styles. Nikke has also continuously tried to bring new experiences to players through various types of casual minigames in different versions, including a survival minigame for its first anniversary and a tower defense minigame for its 1.5-year anniversary. We hope to bring players different experiences by collaborating with Dave the Diver and learning from their expertise. So we’re honored to have this collaboration project.
Were your team members familiar with Nikke before the collaboration?
Jaeho Hwang: Many of us in the team are players of Nikke, so when we received the collaboration proposal, it’s fair to say we felt both anticipation and concern. This is because the platforms and art styles of the two games are quite different. Previously, Nikke collaborations have mainly focused on storytelling and characters, but we were curious about how this collaboration could integrate Dave’s gameplay into Nikke.
However, after receiving the test build, we saw that the Nikke development team had blended Dave and Nikke very well, creating a wonderful synergy between the two games. We are deeply grateful for this and are even more excited about this collaboration event.
Since the game launched in 2022, Goddess of Victory: Nikke has kept things fresh by regularly having collaboration events with other games and anime, like Nier: Automata, Chainsaw Man, and Re:Zero – Starting Life in Another World.
What is the idea behind each collaboration with Nikke?
Yoo HyungSuk: Our goal is to maximize the enjoyment of the collaborative IP as much as possible. While we are creators of these games and cultural content, we are first and foremost users of games and cultural content. We respect the works we collaborate with and hope that through Nikke, you can once again experience the intentions and fun of the original work. We look forward to more diverse and exciting collaboration opportunities in the future.
Will there be any special events or activities in Dave the Diver to complement this collaboration?
Jaeho Hwang: Of course, we plan to bring Nikke-themed boat skin into Dave the Diver. Please look forward to it!
What gameplay or characteristic elements are expected to be included that can bring players a new experience?
Yoo HyungSuk: Since it is a collaboration between the two games, you’ll be able to see scenes featuring both Dave the Diver and the Nikke characters together. Additionally, diving as a Nikke character instead of Dave will offer a different kind of fun. We incorporated the fishing and sushi restaurant operation gameplay of Dave the Diver into Nikke, designing a brand-new minigame that combines the characteristics of Nikke characters and weapons. We hope this will surprise and delight players.
How would you evaluate the special edition Diver Nikke (Mast, Anchor, Helm) released by Nikke?
Jaeho Hwang: Dave the Diver doesn’t have many female characters, so we’re delighted to see the charming female diver characters in Nikke. In particular, the team responded very well to Mast’s outfit. It turns out that a wetsuit can be both cute and sexy! Who knows, maybe Duff will end up liking Nikke’s characters more than Leahs!
What were some of the biggest challenges you encountered during the game’s development, particularly with the Dave the Diver crossover?
Yoo HyungSuk: We put in a lot of effort to present Dave the Diver in the world of Nikke faithfully. Nikke is available on both PC and mobile platforms, so it was challenging and rewarding at the same time to produce an enjoyable Dave the Diver experience on mobile platforms as well.
Given the distinct styles of Nikke and Dave the Diver, how did you manage to merge them seamlessly?
Yoo HyungSuk: The gameplay of Nikke and Dave the Diver may seem significantly different from each other, but they are in fact similar in some ways. For example, both games feature shooting elements to some extent. This time, we have combined Dave’s underwater weapons with the unique characteristics of Nikke characters’ weapons, allowing players to experience a differentiated diving and fishing experience by operating different Nikkes. In terms of art style, we retained the original style of Dave the Diver, aiming to provide a visual experience that is different from Nikke.
Can you talk about your design ideas for the minigame of this collaboration?
Yoo HyungSuk: Dave’s game content is vast and rich, while Nikke’s minigames lean toward providing a lightweight experience. Therefore, the challenge in the design process was how to simplify the framework while retaining the essence of the original gameplay, and at the same time, incorporate Nikke’s unique elements. We hope the outcome can bring you enjoyment and a different gaming experience from before.
What else can Nikke players expect from this collaboration?
Yoo HyungSuk: In the collaborative minigame, you can catch various kinds of fish. Separately, you can enjoy a fishing minigame in the Nikke event field. We believe many of you may find it fun to compare the types of fish you can catch in each minigame.
What considerations led to incorporating the new minigame into Nikke?
Yoo HyungSuk: Although Goddess of Victory: Nikke is based on arcade shooting gameplay, we’ve always strived to offer various fun elements beyond that, including storylines, character collection and growth, decoration, puzzle games, explorations, and co-op mode. Therefore, we have developed many different types of minigames to provide all Commanders with a richer and more diversified experience.
How does this collaboration and minigame compare to what you’ve done in the past?
Yoo HyungSuk: The minigames we have developed so far have been fast-paced, light-weighted ones (e.g. grilling skewers), while Dave the Diver is actually a larger-scale game with more comprehensive gameplay. In this collaboration, we have integrated the settings of both games so that you can fully enjoy the fun of Dave the Diver in Nikke. Besides, we will strive to cover more diverse and exciting genres in the Nikke minigames.
The Dave the Diver collaboration isn’t the only new content being added in the summer update. It’s accompanied by a summer event called Beauty Full Shot, which involves you and the Nikkes taking a seaside vacation.
What are your thoughts on how this collaboration aligns with the summer event’s theme?
Yoo HyungSuk: While collaborating with Dave the Diver, we will also launch Nikke’s summer event — Beauty Full Shot. The event’s storyline revolves around the player (commander) and several Nikkes spending their vacation at the seaside. We’ve prepared a variety of activities that allow you to fully enjoy your summer vacation both at the seaside and underwater. We hope everyone can have a refreshing summer together with Dave the Diver and Nikke.
The teams behind Nikke and Dave the Diver will continue providing updates to both games, and they teased what fans can look forward to in the future.
What kind of collaborations do you foresee in the future?
Yoo HyungSuk: Nikke has already engaged in various forms of collaborations and will continue to do so in the future. Especially, there is an unannounced collaboration plan for this year. Stay tuned for more updates!
Dave the Diver recently celebrated its anniversary. Could you tell us about the key activities and significant plans you have for the future of Dave the Diver?
Jaeho Hwang: The new story of Dave the Diver will be released in the form of a DLC. We are working hard to develop it and will strive to release relevant information as soon as possible. Additionally, because many players like the characters in Dave, we are internally discussing the possibility of showing more of the stories of each character in the game. Please stay tuned!
The Goddess of Victory: Nikke and Dave the Diver collaboration will run in July and features a new story and new art for your favorite characters. You can download Nikke on the official site, on the App Store, or Google Play. If you need help settling in, join Nikke’s active Discord, check the Twitter account, and get tons of info from the game’s YouTube channel.
