Concept: Fishing

October 16, 2017

Concept: Fishing

Concept: Fishing

With the recent great bit of input from Josh, he told me to seek out to look into fishing mechanics in games, possibly due to how it fits with the lock-picking idea as both are based on real-world activities. Additionally, after a little research, it does seem like quite the commonplace mechanic within a variety of games, also with the newest developments within VR it has also branched into it with the recent release of Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV (Video below)

Although with the great acclaim that Square Enix got with the release of Final Fantasy XV, and the recent advancements with VR I am seriously not surprised that it has branched into its own game.

This is because of the fun and complexity of the games initial fishing mechanic (it even had a quest giver whereby completing his questline you acquire the best rod and reel in the game, along with a few achievements for your online account), so this is why I wasn't surprised for the players to ask for more as the initial idea was already so giving.

A key reason there being the Trophy/Achievement and in-game reward, but I would also consider this user feedback, which is by far a greater achievement for the developer by having the player rewarded fairly for their efforts which I would believe extends the longevity of that passion towards bespoke titles.

A few of requirements for the reward, besides the questline and special equipment, you also get one for your first catch, as well as a Trophy, where you initially find the questline to get the ability to harvest from fishing spots within the world.

Essentially I would consider this technique a genius point in the design, as the player unlocks a new ability, then introduced to the quest-line and is at the exact location to complete it. The only extra here is that the fish required to finish the quest only appears at night, now when I played this I initially had to wait a few hours, possibly to get me to try and test the mechanic in order to learn the vital skills needed to complete the task when the time comes. Where I actually did it after a few schoolboy errors, with the satisfaction of learning and understanding the mechanic and then rewarded with a Trophy, along with being curious I then followed it onto the trophies page to then see there is another at maxing out the skill, which in turn purposefully makes me aware of another award after applying myself in order to do it, just like any game where the player is always approached by feedback or some sort of questionable reward when a task presents itself.

Now you could consider my views on the whole Trophy thing superficial, but when you immerse yourself into a gripping setting which you learn and are rewarded for it, be it from the ability for my upgrades, upgrading stats, unlock new weapon classes, additional skins for personal customisation but what I would consider the most import is the feeling of progression through a tough situation, additionally for me to immerse myself in a new story that unfolds itself at every turn and I am the one that is guiding this journey, and these new trophies are just a bonus for my efforts as I do wish I had such systems in place when I was on consoles prior to the millennium but the only evidence that I still hold is the old memory card cartridges that I own.

I know I digressed a little, but from my experiences having to learn, develop and produce clever ways to progress through games, I would consider that the reward in itself, as you have gained the ability to master another idea, similarly to how you could approach books in order to learn new skills, and when you feel comfortable with your success that elation you get truly is the reward.

Anyway, along with Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV I also started looking into a few games that also follow some similar mechanics but from varying consoles to show its adaptation over time.