Something Fishy by mharring

[raw]
made by mharring for Ludum Dare 48 (JAM)

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Something smells a little fishy! Delve into the depths to catch strange fish, but keep your eyes peeled! Please take a screenshot of your score and share your results!

screenshot<em>1.png screenshot</em>2.png screenshot<em>3.png screenshot</em>4.png screenshot_5.png

Ratings

Overall 128th 4.1⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Fun 94th 4.08⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Innovation 436th 3.64⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Theme 45th 4.42⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Graphics 401th 4.12⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Audio 82th 4.2⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Mood 17th 4.54⭐ 27🧑‍⚖️
Given 22🗳️ 28🗨️

Feedback

GroundDoon
27. Apr 2021 · 00:11 UTC
The best game on jam i played so far. Background music is very relaxing and nice to ears, i liked that pixelated effect, gameplay is cool as well too.
the_martijn
27. Apr 2021 · 00:14 UTC
Wow! What a good entry!
While I'm not the biggest fan of all the graphics, I think you absolutely nailed the mood, the gameplay and the underwater physics!

I love the parallax reef, the way the mood changes the deeper you go and the endscreen where you see all the fish you've caught.

Very nice job!
SciDev
27. Apr 2021 · 23:39 UTC
The art and the music create the perfect calm atmosphere for the game, but I wasn't able to figure out what I was supposed to do and the controls were a bit strange. The designs for the fish were perfect, and the music had the right theme for the underwater stuff. Great job!
JadeGems83
27. Apr 2021 · 23:56 UTC
AMAZING GAME!!!
BEST GAME JAM GAME I HAVE EVER PLAYED!!!!!
simonbw
28. Apr 2021 · 00:09 UTC
Wow, this was so well made! Easily my favorite game I've played so far. Art and music were cohesive, gameplay felt polished, nothing felt janky. The pacing was perfect. I was engaged the whole time, something new was always introduce before I was bored of the previous mechanics, and the excitement built right up until the ending. Really well done.
DallOner
28. Apr 2021 · 00:24 UTC
Good one! Really chill and casual experience. The sub´s controls are litle tricky but once you master it, the experience improves considerably.
one-seed-fruit
29. Apr 2021 · 19:22 UTC
Quite relaxing until I reached the deepest. Feels like Subnautica but 2D!


![Screenshot_2021-04-30_03-21-01.png](///raw/05a/z/41a34.png)
NinjaCatz
01. May 2021 · 11:24 UTC
To be honest, I haven't catching the sea creatures (xD), because I was interested in the story of game. Really enjoyed it!
BatJak03
01. May 2021 · 11:30 UTC
I thoroughly enjoyed playing through this game and my curiosity is piqued as to what destroyed jerry and chased me out... I also thought the long snake like creature shadow in the background was a nice touch.
nsadie
02. May 2021 · 06:31 UTC
This was a great entry! Charming art, fun gameplay and very nice mood. You also got the seal of approval from my boys (4 & 6), this was there favourite game yet!

I loved how you effectively managed to tell the story as you go along. Are the fish randomly generated?
dhim
02. May 2021 · 10:54 UTC
I have a very mixed feeling about this game :
- By far the worst control for me! I could not wrap my head around the turning and going straight. It was a pain to maneuver the ship. Once you got something in the claw it made the whole thing worse. It got so dark that I could not see anything shortly after the ship head light went on.

- The story and the very nice graphics / mood kept me going for more. When I got to the end, I was scrambling to get out, wrestling the control in pitch black. It somehow gave sense to the uncontrolable ship and poor vision, it increase my stress and I was fully engaged as if I was panicking during a dive. So good job there, it's a great game in the end! Congrats

Could you lose the game if you stay too long underwater when the thing is after you ? I left my fish tank at the bottom :(

I tried to invert my keyboard control but that did not made it better... I know that this controls are fine for a car game seen from above. But strangely for me they don't work when you see the sub from the side. I am research in human computer interaction, and now I wonder if there are research on that.
🎤 mharring
02. May 2021 · 13:28 UTC
@nsadie Thanks, we're glad your kids liked it! Yes, the fish are randomly generated by piecing together a collection of fins, bodies, heads and tails.

@dhim Thank you for the honest feedback! The controls are more difficult than intended and something we could improve. We had plans to add sonar to the ship to provide more vision in the dark but unfortunately ran out of time. You technically can't "lose" - we hoped the tension would encourage the player to keep moving to the end with a simulated sense of urgency.

Thanks for playing!
picross
03. May 2021 · 05:01 UTC
Awesome game! I loved the proc-gen fish, graphical style, and dynamic background music. I found the controls a bit awkward to grapple with sometimes but I enjoyed nonetheless. Loved it!
Bonsai_
05. May 2021 · 00:17 UTC
quite difficult controls but i quickly got the hang of it. who would have thought there would be such dramatic turn of events in a relaxing fishing game? :D had a high score of 325 in the end.
blinry
09. May 2021 · 19:35 UTC
Really nice storytelling in this entry! :) I loved how the end gets tense, without knowing whether anything bad would happen! Also, nice end screen with all the fish you collected!
joe40001
12. May 2021 · 06:47 UTC
I liked it. Good mood/atmosphere.
Brandon Hare
12. May 2021 · 09:13 UTC
Very solid, it felt polished and I liked the narrative and vibe.
I didn't feel much of an incentive to go out of my way to grab fish while I was playing, but I still got enough to have a nice aquarium at the end anyway!
The ship felt a little clumsy to control, but I wouldn't expect a submarine to be the most nimble vehicle and I loved the weighty feeling of dragging the bigger objects.
Great game start to finish!
Roka Josh
16. May 2021 · 22:25 UTC
Really excellent entry, the mood was fantastic and the game was a lot of fun. Great job!