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Fishing system

Discussion in 'Game Design' started by ClaudiaTheDev, Dec 1, 2018.

  1. ClaudiaTheDev

    ClaudiaTheDev

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    I want to add a fishing system as side activity to my game and have like 100 ideas and can not decide :confused: I am kinda unsure what system/mechanics are fun to play.

    What do you:) think is a good fishing system that works as side activity?

    Some Key points:
    - Games you know with a fishing system - why is it great or bad?
    - Controls - What works good, what sucks?
    - Challenge/Difficulty
    - What is the purpose of the fishing system? (Rewards...)
    - Variety, Secrets...
    - Your opinion as game designer versus your opinion as gamer/player
     
  2. Antypodish

    Antypodish

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    Best judgement you can get, is by playing games, where fishing is involved.
    From 2D games, i.e. Tibia, to 3D like Minecraft, WoW and beyond.
    And of course fishing simulators.

    I find it boring in general.
    In many games pointless, since usually there are other alternatives.
    At least Tibia / Minecraft had purpose to find really food, which was hard to find otherwise.
    So getting fishing rod was quite a priority.

    If you like idle clicker games, you may look that direction.
    So only thing you need implement, is skilling over time.

    Fishing may be ok, if either is fun somehow (yet to see such game), or is like 0.01% of game, where you can do it few times, but you are not forced to do so.
     
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  3. TonyLi

    TonyLi

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    The developer of Village Monsters recently posted a long discussion about the different types of fishing prototypes they experimented with for the game. I found it interesting to read. It's here: TIGForums Village Monsters - Fishing. It might help you decide on your fishing ideas.
     
  4. ClaudiaTheDev

    ClaudiaTheDev

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    "Boring" is actually my biggest fear! Losing time making something which is boring and no one will play at the end. But i liked the fishing in Final Fantasy 15.
    As i read from your lines the system has sense if you can get something really useful out of it. And perhaps getting things you cant get in another way?

    Thank you for the link! I read it and it was very interesting and helpful for me. Especially that part where it is about the system which didnt work well. The final solution has a part where you have to click very fast and often (button hammering) when "battling" the fish. I think it is a good solution but i alway hated button hammering so that is out of question for me :). But i really like the change between the calm waiting for a fish and quick and rapid interaction when a fish bites!
    I also discovered a really cool new game which seems to be kinda Stardew Valley like. I didnt know about Village Monsters before.
     
  5. MasonEntrican

    MasonEntrican

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    If the fishing activity actually requires some skill. I like red dead 2's implementation where you can actually fail/succeed in varying time frames. Pull your rod too hard while the fish is pulling away and you'll break your line. Use the wrong bait and you wont get bites.

    However - this should be an alternative to something like hunting in a survival game, or an alternative to another money making method in a more 'grindy' style game. Having fishing for the sake of fishing wont have much benefit imo, make it rewarding in some fashion.
     
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  6. ClaudiaTheDev

    ClaudiaTheDev

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    Thank you for the post. I will look at Read Dead Redemption 2 (was afraid of playing it because it seem like real time consuming game:p)!
    The aspect with the skill at making little strategic choices by choosing the bait is a good inspiration! Also the rewarding system seems to be very crucial to motivate the player to fish. I rather spended more time on thinking about the controls when battling a fish but now i think i should spend also a lot of time - perhaps even more- in the rewards.
     
  7. Antypodish

    Antypodish

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    I think your afraid is well justified.
    Smart / experience person can recognize, when game is made to be a day job like, or for fun.
    Hence for that reason, there will be magical force, pushing away from the game title. :)
     
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  8. I wouldn't make fishing game, because I don't like fishing. I have that luxury. I find it boring even in real life, so you can imagine how would it be amusing in a game. :D
    But I recognize that different things appeal to different people and there are people out there who are sitting through real time domestic flights and they actually drive combine harvester machinery for fun, so I can imagine they would love fishing on screen as well...

    I have no real receipt for you, just the generic stuff: if your game IS about fishing, make it awesome (I mean for people who like fishing), with details and small things like selection of gear and mini decision points and all. If your game about something else and it is just a supplementary activity, feel free to dumb it down to the level where you 'use your equipment' and get some results in a luck-based system.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 3, 2018
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  9. BIGTIMEMASTER

    BIGTIMEMASTER

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    Don't make a fishing minigame focused on the actual physical "doing" of fishing. That is boring. Fishing, just like hunting, is about 1. observation, 2. critical thinking, 3. prediction, and 4. suspenseful waiting to find out the outcome of your predictions.

    So the question is where are the fish? Then, what unique environmental factors will affect my ability to get the fish? What tools to use? Methods to employ? Then, let player wait just long enough to build some anticipation, but not so much to become bored, and deliver the result.

    The animations don't matter. The controls don't really matter. Keep them simple and obvious. It's about making decisions. Engaging the players mind, and optimizing the game so that most of your target audience gets rewarded for making the most likely decisions.


    IMO, RDR2 has dreadfully awful gameplay, to include the fishing. It's painfully mindless and delivers zero satisfaction.
     
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  10. ClaudiaTheDev

    ClaudiaTheDev

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    Thank your for your post - the advice with the equipment could work well. I always liked systems that included finding better fishing rods to fish better or more rare fishes

    Thank you a lot for your advices! It sounds very legit and actually i really focused like 80% on controls and animations :oops: My game is not so big so i only have like around 5 different fishing spots. Perhaps i can work with the locations. I also have a day-night-cycle. Do you think a system that requires the player to be at a specific location and time and use a specific bait to get like very rare fishes/rewards could work out well?
     
  11. BIGTIMEMASTER

    BIGTIMEMASTER

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    The thing is, just make sure player has to make interesting decisions. Since it has to be integrated into the rest of the game, it's really not worthwhile giving more specific suggestions beyond that. Interesting decisions means any decisions in which player weighs pro's and con's, and gets meaningful reward when they make the best decisions. So maybe player can only carry one type of bait at a time, so he has to decide if he wants to carry a specialized bait good for catching a rare type of fish, or a general purpose bait which may catch lots of small ones. Then, if player is wanting to dig a bit deeper, they can spend the time to learn the lore or whatever about the rare fish type, and take on that challenge. That's just an example. THe specifics don't matter. What player is doing is something like gambling. Devising their own unique strategy, weighing the odds of this versus that -- but you've got to make sure the game is rigged so that most of the time player is gonna win (assuming a casual game experience)

    And you've got to consider how it fits with the rest of your game, so that the time player sinks into the minigame will be worthwhile.

    Otherwise, if the purpose of the mini-game is just like some simple time-waster, angry-birds type of thing, prototype some really simple basic reflex deals until you get something that's just satisfying in it's own right. Something pleasantly meditative.
     
    Last edited: Dec 4, 2018
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  12. Joe-Censored

    Joe-Censored

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    The primary fun of real life fishing is from drinking large amounts of cheap beer while operating a boat in a state in which you probably should not be doing so. "Fishing" is just the excuse you tell your wife on the way out the door. Drunk boating could be a fun mini game, and to be like real life you just include a fishing pole model that never catches anything the whole trip.
     
  13. Antypodish

    Antypodish

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    Specially if coast guard is near by ;)
     
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  14. BrandyStarbrite

    BrandyStarbrite

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    I don't know if you played this game yet:
    But Mario Odyssey has some nice, simple, in game fishing missions
    which can be done, whenever you feel to.

    Maybe you can get some inspiration, from the fishing quests
    in that game.:)
     
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  15. ClaudiaTheDev

    ClaudiaTheDev

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    Thank you al lot for the tip! I definetely will check it out:)
     
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