How is the Water

A virtual ocean experience with real-world impact

What if the world beneath the waves was yours to explore? If you could become one of the most powerful and intelligent creatures on this planet?

Back the project for as little as €1.00

In How is the Water from Cyan Planet, you become a dolphin or a shark, and explore the ocean as a local, no matter where you are - even from the comfort of your home, on your mobile phone, iPad or VR headset!

BECOME A KICKSTARTER

... and you will be giving ocean youth a chance to connect with the sea and inspire a generation of conservationists.

About "How is the Water"

You get the amazing chance to become a dolphin, and to explore a changing ocean, bringing you face-to-face with animals and wonders in danger of disappearing. Its goal is to evoke empathy for life in the ocean and spark passion for marine conservation.

“For every copy sold, we bring How is the Water to one youth without access to the sea, to help spark passion for marine life in the next generation”, says Ninja Mueller, marine biologist and co-director of How is the Water.

Educating, evoking empathy, and supporting ocean protection are the priorities of this project. In-game actions like coral-gardening come to life thanks to a partnership with Reef Life Foundation, deploying reef structures for coral restoration all around the world.

Fully immersed in the underwater world, the player can embody various marine species, communicate with their family in a species-specific language, hunt and explore, learn new skills like echolocation or electroreception, and even save and protect other marine animals. How is the Water is tailored for virtual reality headsets with a planned cross-play feature for mobile devices and a multiplayer mode, to share the amazing ocean exploration with people from all around the world.

How is the Water was selected for the Biennale College Cinema VR 2019 by La Biennale di Venezia, the New Images Film Festival 2020, and the Cannes Film Festival XR Development Showcase, labeling “How is the Water” as one of the best XR projects in development worldwide. In early 2020, it received prototype funding in the Games section of Bavarian Film Commission, enabling the creation of a first prototype incorporating a unique gaze-based locomotion system.

While democratizing access to the ocean for everybody, “How is the Water” also ensures real-world impact by connecting in-game features with marine conservation partner organizations like Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) and Reef Life Foundation. Furthermore, the project partnered with Digital Life 3D - a non-profit initiative within the University of Massachusetts at Amherst - to create digital clones of marine life and preserve marine species for future generations, education and scientific purposes. The impact network of How is the Water is growing, counting now over 50 partners worldwide.