I really like the idea of fishing for spirits and getting little pieces of their stories as u bring them ashore. Theres something, what can i say, bittersweet about the whole concept, especially knowing it's about memory and saying goodbye.
Was the story inspired by someone close to u? The dedication at the end caught my attention too.
Thank you! I’m really glad that part of it came through.
Yes, the story was inspired by someone very close to me. The dedication is for my grandmother, Frankie Sue Pond. She taught me to love videogames when I was young, and she also loved fishing.
What eventually became Angler’s Wake started from thinking about her and about the strange way people stay with us after they’re gone. I didn’t want to make something purely sad, though. I wanted it to be more about gratitude for having had that person in your life, even when you wish you could have one more conversation with them.
That’s where the idea of fishing for spirits really clicked for me, spending one quiet night getting these brief pieces of people’s lives, while hoping that maybe the person you came looking for will be among them.
Thank you for noticing the dedication and asking about it. It means a lot that the story connected with you.
That's genuinely touching. I love how u turned such a personal memory into something that celebrates the time we get to spend with the people we love, rather than focusing only on the sadness of losing them. Thank u for sharing the story behind it, it makes the dedication feel even more meaningful. I'm curious, did making this game change the way u look back on those memories with ur grandmother?
I don’t think it changed the way I look back on those memories, exactly, but it was really nice to revisit them.
In a way, making the game felt like a palette cleanser after her wake and funeral. Those had become some of my most recent memories of her, and I didn’t want the image I kept returning to to be her in a coffin.
Working on Angler’s Wake gave me a reason to spend time thinking about the things we actually shared while she was alive; videogames, fishing, the little things I learned from her, and the time we had together.
I think it helped move those memories back to the front a little. Not replacing the harder ones, but reminding me that those weren’t the memories that defined our relationship.
That honestly makes the story behind the game even more meaningful. I think it's lovely that working on it gave u a chance to revisit the happier memories and remember all the little things u shared with her
btw, u are making me even more interested in the game with every detail u share! I would love to hear more about the creative process and discuss the game a little further, but going back and forth in comments can get a bit difficult. Do u happen to have Discord or somewhere else where we could chat?
