Invertebrate Sampling Simulator! [WIP]
A small game made for the Gone Fishing Game Jam. My favourite part of fishing in video games is seeing all the different critters and filling out a "dex". With that in mind, I based my game on the closest thing I've done to fishing, aquatic macroinvertebrate sampling! I aim to add more features (deciding whether you fish up from the surface or the benthos) and creatures (a few shown in the book don't show up yet) but at the moment, this is it. :)
Gameplay and controls:
I intend to add an in game tutorial soon but for now here are the controls.
The game is played solely with your mouse. You can drag the invertebrates and other debris/non-invertebrates around the tray and drop them back in the water.
Book button - check what you have and haven't observed in your book
Net button - fish up more invertebrates for the tray
Magnify button - look at tiny bugs closer so you can identify them
Tag/identify button - choose an invertebrate to identify and assign it it's correct name
Credits:
Art and programming by me
Success and fail sound effects made in ChipTone (available here)
Running water loop from Nox_Sound_Design (available here).
Swamp ambience and other sound effects from Film Cow (available here) .
Comments
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Lovely concept. Great execution. Nice seeing a different interpretation of the fishing game.
The only problem I encountered is that you can drag a specimen from the tray to where the buttons are and it doesn't fall in the water and there's no way to move it from there. This means the tray can't be emptied and you're stuck.
Thank you for the lovely comment and giving my game a try :) And thanks for mentioning the problem you encountered too! Sorry about that, I'll make sure to fix that up :)
Hell yeah!!! Simple and fun, cute little animations. Great start, excited to see more!!
Oh wow, this is incredible! I love the detailed pixel art combined with a more muted color palette. I like how you can dredge up debris and small vertebrates as well. This is such a clever interpretation of the prompt and a unique experience.
The sound design also really stands out to me; I think you did a great job selecting immersive ambience and effects that mesh well with the relaxing gameplay.
And of course, I love the Invertebrate Index! Finding all the creatures is definitely my favorite part about fishing games as well. :) I played yours until I stopped finding new creatures. I wasn't able to find any waterboatmen, freshwater amphipods, or planarian worms. Are these the invertebrates you have yet to add?
Really excellent all around, I will definitely keep an eye out for any updates to this project. :)
This is such a lovely comment! Thank you!! I'm really glad you enjoyed the game. This was my first time adding sound to a game so I'm happy to hear that it was effective. And well done for finding all the creatures! Yes, the waterboatmen, freshwater amphipods, and planarian worms haven't been added just yet, and I aim to add even more :)
Thank you for giving my little game a try :)