Welcome! (First post + state of the game)

Welcome to the dev blog for Blossomfish Bay!

If you know me, you might know I've been working on a video game for a while now. I have many ideas for games, but I wanted to start with something simple and somewhat limited in scope so that I could get my feet wet in all parts of the development process before jumping into something bigger.

Well, that didn't work so well.

I am apparently not capable of making a small project, so I've just accepted that even my "practice" project is going to be much more complex than I originally pictured. Of course, this also means that it's going to take a lot longer than I had hoped my first project would take. But since I've found myself invested in the world I'm creating, maybe it's not such a bad thing.

Here's the basic elevator pitch for the game I'm making:

You are the new fisher in Blossomfish Bay, a cute and cozy coastal town with lush forests, pristine beaches, and a lively boardwalk. Over time, you will integrate yourself into the community by fishing, helping the townspeople, and uncovering secrets and urban legends. The game will feature a wide array of colorful fish, 20+ NPCs to befriend, and an imaginative storyline. 

All artwork, music, writing, and programming will be done by me. So far, it has been an extremely satisfying creative outlet that unites so many of my interests. It's really awesome to be able to use my skills together in this way.

I'm sure a lot of the ideas I have right now will continue to change and evolve, so I'm excited to see where the game goes! I wanted to make a blog not only to word vomit and force all my friends to read it, but also to be able to look back and see the game's evolution over time.

At the moment, I am still very early in development. I've implemented many of the core game mechanics, including fishing, money, player controls, and scene switches, but there is a lot left to do. Right now, I'm working on making more art so I have a more established map. I've done some worldbuilding in my head, but translating that into art, dialog, and gameplay is a slow process. Nonetheless, I'm having a blast!

As an aside, the game is very unpolished so far in every aspect -- art, code, everything. But, I've adopted a philosophy of "good enough is good enough" so that perfectionism doesn't halt my progress. That being said, I'm super proud of everything I've done so far and can't wait to continue polishing it!

Thanks so much for reading! Now, here are a couple of screenshots of the current state of the game: