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(+1)

What an awesome game. Was recommended to me and I wasn't disappointed.

I have to say though that I agree with some commenters that the second half when the fishes started talking in poetry I kinda zoned out because by that time the writing's become a bit preachy. One of the best advice I have heard about writing in games was from Timothy Cain (developer of games like Fallout and The Outer Worlds 1 & 2). He has a YouTube channel and a video specifically about this topic. But the TLDW is a game is an interactive thing, therefore it shouldn't impose the belief of the developers onto the players, simply present it and let them choose what they believe in.

The first half of the game is great though. Really silly, enjoyed finding out what happens in the next catch. You did a great job of subverting expectations and it feels surprising and fun. I really love how the catching mechanics actually reflected the next fish dialogue.

Very close to a perfect experience. Very strong winner contender. Great job!

(1 edit) (+1)

Interesting. I'll check out the video! One of the most important parts for me was that I really wanted the end to sound like me, the writer, talking to you, which is why it's so direct. The fish, to me, are representations of the people around me and what I see in the world. While I do agree that preachy writing can take me out of experiences, I didn't want to risk losing the "me" in it.

To me, I'm imposing my belief onto the players as much as I would be if I was talking to the player in real life, just because it's coming out of a sock-puppet fish doesn't mean that it's not coming from me, and it shouldn't be treated as an absolute truth.

However, I think this genre is the only way I could pull off something like that, and even so, I agree that it could've been done a bit better.