Depth

***Depth*** is an Indie video game developed by Digital Confectioners and released for Microsoft Windows in 2014. It is an asymmetrical multiplayer game that pits treasure hunting divers against sharks trying to protect their underwater havens.

## Gameplay

The game is a first-person shooter taking place in underwater environments. Players can either be divers or sharks. Divers escort and defend an automated submersible to collect sunken treasure, utilizing firearms, harpoons, explosives, and other equipment bought with collected treasure, while sharks, with different species having different abilities, "evolve" new abilities by killing and eating divers. Games are won by either side running out of respawns, by divers successfully escorting the submersible to an extraction point, or by sharks destroying the submersible.

## Characters

### Sharks-

* **Great White Shark-** The Great White is as large as it is dangerous. Being both slow moving and hard-hitting, the Great White will continue its onslaught as bullets and spears sail its way. This species specialises in aggressive tactics, with the highest durability of all sharks. Its active ability is Juggernaut: while active, the Great White takes reduced damage from all sources.

* **Tiger Shark-** The Tiger is a real man eater, and his striped hide makes him hard to spot. With a solid build and powerful muscles, the Tiger is adaptable to a wide variety of strategies ranging from hit-and-run to all out aggression. The Tiger is the all-rounder of the shark species, having balanced speed and toughness. Its active ability is Adaptive Hide: this ability allows it to briefly elude detection by divers' tracking equipment.

* **Mako Shark-** The Mako may be the smallest of the trio, but don't let that trick you; he's fast as hell and twice as mean. With a sleek but fragile frame the Mako is built for speed and agility. Mako's specialise in hit-and-run predation, moving quick enough to surprise divers before they can react. Its active ability is Mark Prey: this allows the mako to double the amount of points it gains per kill if it kills the marked victim.

* **Bull Shark-** The Bull shark is a medium threat with an anger problem, making it an aggressive and unpredictable foe. Though it lacks immediate force, the Bull's true strength lies in its ability to Enrage, temporarily becoming one of the strongest beasts in the sea. Enrage causes the bull shark to gain 160% Health, 200% Stamina, and 166% Damage upon activation.

* **Great Hammerhead-** The Great Hammerhead fights tooth and nail as he thrashes and bashes prey to a crimson pulp. Unique to the Hammerhead is the ability to passively crush enemies, fast and direct hits into any solid object will cause prey in his jaws to take damage proportional to the force. Its active ability is Relentless Force: the Hammerhead regains stamina by impacting any solid object. The stamina received is proportional to the speed and angle of the hit.

* **Thresher Shark-** The Thresher shark doesn't look notably dangerous with its unassuming jaws, however its true weapon is a long, blade-like tail capable of lacerating and disorienting multiple prey at once. Its ability is Tail Lash: the shark deals additional damage and can knock out divers' lights and equipment with an impact.
* **Goblin Shark**- The goblin shark strike terror in divers due to its strange appearance. Despite being slower than other sharks, it makes up for this with sowing fear with hallucinations. Its ability is Terrify: the goblin shark can cause divers to hallucinate that there is more than one goblin shark present. These hallucinations can do damage and distract the divers while the real shark moves in to attack and devour its distracted victim.
* **Oceanic whitetip shark**- The Oceanic Whitetip stalks the open seas and has been involved in a number of major incidents with shipwreck survivors. Often seen living in a mutualistic relationship with pilot fish, the Oceanic Whitetip and its friends live and die together. Its ability is *Attack/Protect,* in which the oceanic whitetip's pilot fish escort switch between assisting in attacking prey and protecting the shark.

**Megalodon-** Only playable in "Megalodon Mode", Megalodon can be attained through killing the shark, after which the player becomes the shark.

### Divers-

* **Carlos-** A shark attack claimed his pinky and ring finger. Though the loss of the fingers was painful, the loss of his wedding ring was the greatest blow. It had been in his wife's family for generations. Carlos is now banished to the couch and the sea until his either finds his wedding ring or has replaced it with something even more precious.

* **Alejandro-** Bearing the scars on his face from a brutal shark attack, Alejandro has a deep hatred of sharks. He signs up for a new trip with each return to shore so lives most of his life at sea. The treasure he salvages is simply a means to an end, fuelling his personal war of shark kind.

* **Marissa-** Known by the crew as 'Doc', Marissa has a PhD in marine biology and a serious gambling problem. Money lenders need to be paid and she has to keep the treasure rolling in so that she can one day pay off her debts. To Marissa, the sharks of the sea pale in comparison to the sharks on land.

* **Finn-** An astute surgeon and well read marine biologist, Finn oversees all medical operations and upgrades within the Specimen Program. With considerable experience handling the beasts, Finn was the first choice to join Shelly in the recovery of Specimen 8 after its escape from the Aquatics Research Lab.

* **Shelley-** Lead scientist for the Specimen Program at the Aquatics Research Lab, Shelly specializes in cybernetic organisms and was responsible for the creation of Specimen 8. After Specimen 8's escape to open water, Shelly was tasked with recovery of the beast due to her intimate knowledge of its systems and capabilities.
* **Wilhelm-** Wilhelm is a famous American diver who assisted in countless open sea search and rescue operations throughout WWII. With international help from the Russians, his team was armed with modified Russian hardware to help stave off sharks and enemy frogmen.

## Development

*Depth* began production in 2009, as a student project built as a mod for *Unreal Tournament 3*, by a small team led by Alex Quick of *Killing Floor* fame. Between 2010 and 2012, the game was ported to UDK and became a standalone game. However, development became stalled, due to concerns over gameplay. In 2013, Digital Confectioners took over and finished development.

## Release

*Depth* was put on the Steam store as a pre-order on October 16, 2014, and released on November 3, 2014. "The Big Catch" update was released on December 16, 2014, adding 2 new shark classes, 1 new map and a new game type called "Megalodon Mode." At present, a new shark is being decided for inclusion in the game. Developers are asking fans and players to help decide whether to include the oceanic whitetip shark or the goblin shark, with votes being cast as to which shark should be included. The goblin shark later won this voted was included in the game.

## Reception

*Depth* received moderately positive reviews from critics. IGN described *Depth* as having "an ocean of tense, unique gameplay moments," praising the game's level and sound design and describing playing as both a diver or a shark is a "fast, fun, and frantic experience." IGN criticized the game's lack of game modes and its "skimpy" customization options, saying that they "doubt the longevity of this otherwise ship-shape game." GameSpot is less favorable, noting low-quality textures, balancing issues and lack of memorable levels, describing the game as shallow. GameSpot did hope that future updates to clean up bugs and add new content could help the game reach its full potential.

Both Multiplayer.it and GameSpot state that the game negatively draws from the gameplay established in the *Left for Dead* series. Independent review site deviantrobot said that *Depth* is very similar to *Evolve*, though that "the game is unique enough that it stands on its own merits and it’s not just to fill the *Evolve*-shaped hole in your gaming library.