By Joshua Clayton
A Bad Year for Tropical Travel
With travel bans still in effect across most of Asia and travel bubbles failing to emerge or facing continual delays even between countries with few cases of Covid-19, it looks like I won’t be booking any trips soon, and will have stick to looking at whale sharks in video games for now.
For me and many other people the Covid-19 pandemic threw a serious wrench into our travel plans. As an expat living overseas I saw not one, but two trips completely cancelled: A trip back home to see my family and a carefully planned but thankfully not booked three week trip across Indonesia.
The trip was going to include a revisit of Bali, an exploration of Java and the mountains and volcanoes, and, to top it all off, a visit to Nabire and Sorong to see the Whale Sharks of Cenderawasih Bay. Despite some positive travel news for Indonesia, it doesn’t look like that epic trip is going to be booked in 2021. And I still need to visit my family first.
Around the World the Virtual Way
With all that going on, I, like many others have turned to the virtual world. Given how beautifully games are rendered these days, combined with the interactive nature of the medium, it isn’t surprising that over this Covid period we jump on our consoles and PCs and wander around locations that we can’t physically visit. In reality, even before the pandemic gaming could inspire people to travel, as these lists of video games will show. Games like Assassin’s Creed Origins even had the ‘game’ part removed for those who just wanted to explore the world.
But as enjoyable as the games on those lists are, there was a lack of Indonesia, and well…whale sharks. So, since it appears I won’t be writing an article about actual whale sharks this year, here are the best places to swim with whale sharks virtually.
Stranded Deep – Check your vitals
Definitely more a survival game than whale-shark-swimming-simulator, Stranded Deep is a good contender for tropical island relaxation. I can stand in my hand-built over-water villa with a fresh coconut watching a beautifully rendered sunrise before jumping into crystal clear turquoise waters filled with an abundance of coral, fish, shipwrecks and sharks. If you’re playing specifically for a relaxing swim with whale sharks you’ll want to turn off the animal aggressiveness when you start a game, or the tiger and hammerhead sharks will absolutely ruin your day. There’s also a ton of other dangerous animals in the game that definitely make it more ‘game’ than tropical island simulator, but take your raft out to the deep waters and you might just come across the beautiful spotted patterns of a whale shark under the waves. Drop the miracle anchor and jump in to enjoy a peaceful swim with these animals.
Endless Ocean – Scuba Dive in Wii
For those who still own and use a Nintendo Wii (before it dies completely), Endless Ocean offers something of a Scuba Diving simulator for you. Unlike in Stranded Deep, nothing here is going to kill you, so take it at leisurely pace and just enjoy scanning and identifying the different animals that you find. The graphics haven’t aged quite so well, but the virtual whale shark is no less impressive to see.
While they did make a sequel that improved the game in many aspects, sharks also became aggressive and it was less a scuba diving simulator, so it doesn’t quite hit the same spot.
Abzu – Abstract Artistic Beauty Backed by a Powerful Parable
For a game I got for free that took all of 3 hours to finish, this blew me away and it is one of my favourite on the list. You might initially think the artistic style would fail to do the vibrant underwater world justice, but it has been beautifully created, and I’m not the only one to say that. Fish swim out of your way and shoal together, kelp fronds wave in the current and in the deep sea chapter hagfish congregate around whale skeletons. Did I say deep sea? Yes, Abzu takes you through every biome in the ocean, from coastal coral reefs to open oceans to the crushing blackness of the deep sea.
You can find meditation spots in each section which allow you to simply watch the animals go about their underwater lives. There are no combat or survival mechanics here so you can take plenty of time out from the very poignant main story to just enjoy the virtual ocean, especially when you encounter the life-size whale sharks.
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Beyond Blue – A Perfect Portrayal of the Marine World?
This game claims to be inspired by and produced in collaboration with the team from Blue Planet II, a documentary which has been described as the greatest nature series of all time. It also claims input from Marine Biologists in modelling the gorgeous scenery, animal animations and fish behaviour. There are no combat, fighting, or survival mechanics. The story is focused entirely around your role as a Marine Biologist and free diver who is tracking a pod of sperm whales so there is plenty of time to explore.
Like Abzu, Beyond Blue takes you across a variety of biomes and locations including beautifully modelled deep sea vents and bright, vibrant coral reefs. If you want to experience, learn about and enjoy an accurate portrayal of the ocean this is the game to play. I’m not sure it is enough to save the ocean as some claim, but anything that instils the sense of wonder about the ocean that I feel in the real world is worth playing. If a picture speaks a thousand words then this video will explain what I mean.
While most sharks in video games are there as an aggressive enemy to halt your progress, these games allow you the chance to enjoy the beauty of the underwater world just for the sake of it. In the face of seemingly endless lockdowns and shifting reopening dates, enjoying your virtual time with these gentle giants may be enough to give you the marine ‘fix’ you need to get through to the day we can all travel safely again. Certainly, the reminder that whale sharks are waiting for me at the end of the pandemic has helped.
Joshua Clayton loves to travel, firmly believing that sustainable, ethically operated tourism can support a healthy environment and create sustainable livelihoods. Working and living in South East Asia, he sees both the best and worst of what international tourism can do. He loves to write, both professionally and creatively. To visit my webpage, please CHECK HERE!
This piece was prepared online by Panuruji Kenta, Publisher, SEVENSEAS Media