Fishing for Compliments
Fishing for Compliments
Life is stressful. Why not take a break to fish?
Fishing for Compliments is a fishing mini-game played with an unorthodox controller: a physical fishing rod!
Video games, especially artgames, often feel out of place when exhibited within a gallery.
I wanted to create a game which maintains the playful nature of the medium, but is not constrained by the lame presentation of "software on a laptop with a mouse".
Life is stressful. Why not take a break to fish?
Fishing for Compliments is a fishing mini-game played with an unorthodox controller: a physical fishing rod!
Video games, especially artgames, often feel out of place when exhibited within a gallery.
I wanted to create a game which maintains the playful nature of the medium, but is not constrained by the lame presentation of "software on a laptop with a mouse".
The controller grew from cardboard, to a wand thing, to a real (fake) fishing rod…
The controller was a labour of love from start to finish. It had to be compact, yet responsive, and sturdy, all the while resembling a fishing rod. The current iteration of the controller and game was born from tens of hours of play-testing, tweaks to sensor values, and (so far) 3 huge redesigns based on perceived user psychology.
The controller grew from cardboard, to a wand thing, to a real (fake) fishing rod…
The controller was a labour of love from start to finish. It had to be compact, yet responsive, and sturdy, all the while resembling a fishing rod.
The current iteration of the controller and game was born from tens of hours of play-testing, tweaks to sensor values, and (so far) 3 huge redesigns based on perceived user psychology.
The controller is powered by a Circuit Playground Express, which has a built in accelerometer. It also receives information from a mechanical rotary encoder. This information is sent to Unity with serial via a USB port, and parsed with the Ardity plugin.
Early on, I prioritized the game feel and mechanics of the game, as I wanted to find out whether it was actually fun to use a fishing rod as a controller.
The controller is powered by a Circuit Playground Express, which has a built in accelerometer. It also receives information from a mechanical rotary encoder.
This information is sent to Unity with serial via a USB port, and parsed with the Ardity plugin.
Early on, I prioritized the game feel and mechanics of the game, as I wanted to find out whether it was actually fun to use a fishing rod as a controller.
My god! He switched dimensions!
Otis the bat was originally a 3D model, but I realized quickly that I was not yet good enough at 3D animation to carry out the kind of animation I was envisioning.
Thus, I pivoted to 2D pixel animation, a medium I was very familiar with. This turned out to be a fantastic choice for the expressiveness of the character.
My god! He switched dimensions!
Otis the bat was originally a 3D model, but I realized quickly that I was not yet good enough at 3D animation to carry out the kind of animation I was envisioning.
Thus, I pivoted to 2D pixel animation, a medium I was very familiar with. This turned out to be a fantastic choice for the expressiveness of the character.
Dear visitor, I invite you to take a break with Otis, the adorable fishing bat. Cast a line, wait a few, and fish up a compliment for yourself. You deserve it.
Amazing plugins that made my life so much easier:
Ardity by Daniel Wilches
Mountain backgrounds by Kenney
Optimized Ropes And Cables Tool by Gogo Gaga
Stylized Skybox by Yuki2022
URP Stylized Water by BitGem