Today I playtested Fishyphus nearly the entire day, improvising smaller holistic improvements wherever inspiration led. The assortment of random changes in this build work together to make it the most polished version yet.

A primary focus was finding the right balance of difficulty and progression within the first five runs. While I’m becoming quite skilled at the game, most of it feels like numbers in a spreadsheet. The first few deaths come quickly, and there can be a few failed runs before reaching double digits, but after that the sailor and reaper feel quite evenly matched.

Today’s progress included:

• Improving upon the reaper stun cues from yesterday.
• Detuning the reaper as it increases in speed.
• Enhancing the directional cues of fishing spots.
• Improving the screen reader accessibility of many screens.
• Animating the game logo on the splash screen.
• Adding a back button to the tutorial screen.
• Making it easier to turn without braking using analog sticks.
• Continuing to balance the early and mid game bonuses.
• Thinking of late game bonuses logarithmically.
• Synthesizing musical stabs on screen transitions.
• Adding an easter egg to the splash screen.

Unfortunately I’m finding myself rather oversaturated with the project—and the ear fatigue is real. I plan to take some time to relax so I can be fresh for the next polish pass. Perhaps there’s more work, or it’s ready to submit.

It’s too hard to tell!