Hello, welcome to the Intergalactic Fishing devblog. I’m Ben, a solo independent game developer working on Intergalactic Fishing. I wanted to start by giving some basic information about the game and explain what it is all about.
Intergalactic Fishing is a fishing RPG coming to Steam. You play as an angler tasked with solving the mystery of what is causing the fish to die in your local lake. You can travel all over the universe with your Buoyant Object for Above-Water Travel (or BOAT) equipped with a Universal Lake Teleporter device. The game utilizes randomly generated content and graphics so you can explore numerous varied lakes with many different species of fish. Each lake will be unique and the challenge will be learning about the lake and the fish species in it in order to catch fish and complete objectives. Each fish in the lake is individually simulated. Fish behave differently based on their species, size, habits, lure preferences, time of day, their surroundings, etc. You can gain info about a fish species’ behavior by catching and dissecting fish of that species or sometimes you will meet another angler who can give you some info.
You will start your journey with the ULT License Test, this is essentially a short tutorial that explains the basics of the game as well as a little backstory. After you have completed the license test, you are free to go to any of the 65 lakes in the Universal Lake Teleportation Network (or ULT Network). These lakes are populated and you will likely find other anglers, docks, shops, fish markets, etc. Lake records are maintained for each species in each of these lakes, so if you are able to catch a particularly large fish, you might set a lake record. A little bit later in the game, you will be able to go out and explore Unknown lakes. These lakes have never been visited before and nothing is known about them.
Some of the things you can do in the game include:
Fish Contracts – There is a Fish Contract system where people can request a certain sized fish from one of the ULT Network lakes. As an angler, you can choose to accept one of these contracts and go to that lake and catch the required fish of a certain size and turn it in for a reward.
Tournaments – Fishing tournaments start regularly at certain ULT Network lakes. You can compete against other NPC anglers to try to catch the most fish in a certain lake and/or of a certain species within a certain amount of time. A live leaderboard will keep you updated about how you are doing and at the end of the tournament you will earn credits based on how you place.
Exploration – Early in the main quest, you will gain the ability to travel to Unknown lakes all over the universe. With a special module for your BOAT, you can scan the lake to discover information about it and also try to catch as many fish species as you can to learn about them. You can then sell this lake and fish species data to a group that is collecting and creating a database of this data. The more complete your data is, the more it will be worth. Lakes with rare features such as strange anomalies, unique water properties, or gravitational extremes will be worth more as well.
Quests – The main quest will drive the story as well as introduce you to the different things you can do in the game. After getting introduced to the previously mentioned Exploration Data system early in the main quest, you should have all the tools you need to experience all the game’s content. You are free to strike off on your own and explore what the game has to offer or follow the main quest for a more guided experience. Also, from time to time when you are out fishing, you might come across someone who needs your help and has a side quest for you.
Build Lures – Each fish species has a set of lure preferences across four different axes: Dull – Shiny, Quiet – Loud, Small – Large, Dark – Bright. So, for example, if the species prefers shiny lures, they will be much less likely to bite a lure that is dull. As you learn more info about certain species, you may want to design your own lure to target a specific species. This is done by placing “lure parts” in different configurations and applying “lure mods” to achieve a lure with your desired stats and behavior.
Upgrade Gear – As you complete quests, win tournaments, sell exploration data, turn in fish contracts, sell big fish, etc., you will earn credits that you can use to upgrade your gear. You could get a better BOAT. You could get a more sensitive rod that will help you detect bites more easily or a very strong rod that will help you bring in huge fish. You could also add modules to your BOAT. Modules improve your BOAT in some way (such as making it move faster or adding livewell slots to store more fish) or add some functionality to your BOAT (such as giving it short-range teleport capabilities or adding an auto-dissector that automatically dissects fish that meet certain requirements).
As you do all of these activities and more, the game keeps track of pretty much everything you do so you can see your career stats and achievements. I think it’s fun to know just how many fish you’ve caught in your career or how many different lakes you’ve visited, etc.
This is not everything the game will have to offer, but it is a good overview of the main parts. I will try to post here from time to time with new info, updates, and interesting stories and demonstrations as I continue developing the game, for anyone who is interested.
Thanks for reading!
– Ben
