Are you aware the sensation of shifting to a brand new metropolis for a brand new job all by your self?
In Fishbowl, our primary character Alo is doing simply that. You expertise a slice of Alo’s atypical life, at dwelling. Set in city India on the onset of the pandemic, Fishbowl serves as a vignette of that point by way of our eyes. A brand new PS5 demo accessible as we speak permits you to get a style of Alo’s life.
The sport follows Alo over a month throughout which she spends time indoors, in isolation, her cellphone and pc being the one connection to others. Caring for dwelling chores, doing her finest with self care and staying on high of work-from-home are issues she continues to be getting used to.
Till uncommon dreams and bittersweet childhood memories start to crop up, all because of a bundle despatched from dwelling, containing a mysterious toy fish. Tumble right into a story of nostalgia, melancholy and self-discovery, the place the alternatives you make, decide the trail that Alo takes, resulting in a number of endings, true to the way you play.
Determining life sooner or later at a time
As Alo slowly will get acquainted with her new dwelling, do care duties like watering your crops, snacking from the fridge (samosas or idlis anybody?), make certain to remain hydrated and take moments to calm down between work and chores.
The temper at house is a mirrored image of Alo’s emotional state and typically, atypical objects might provide you with an thought of a bigger which means behind them—that writing desk appears awfully dingy. We hope for everyone to tinker round and uncover little hints and secrets and techniques we now have planted all through the sport.
Fishbowl prioritizes the day-after-day—easy issues and mundane acts, and how residing by way of them mindfully is a method to perceive our feelings and test in with ourselves.
Transferring by way of grief at your individual tempo
Alo just lately misplaced her grandmother and is unsure about tips on how to cope with this loss and grief. Fishbowl represents grief as an ongoing feeling and not as one thing to “recover from” on a time restrict.
Gamers unpack Alo’s late grandma’s belongings and uncover memories from her childhood which assist them join the dots to her previous—whether or not it’s time spent with mates after faculty, your very first sleepover or the sooner or later you have been on their own within the park.
Every object in Fishbowl is a storyteller, celebrating the thought of how the issues in our life will be little time capsules, reminders of days passed by—from an outdated sweater your grandma knitted to a storybook you barely keep in mind. A few of these objects additionally unlock new issues to do at dwelling, just like the beat-up report participant which nonetheless permits you to play a well-known tune from again once you have been little.
A glance into the “participant first” mechanics of Fishbowl
In Fishbowl, we place significance on permitting gamers to expertise the sport as they’d like, with no closing dates and no fail state. Don’t really feel like doing the laundry, let it pile up, take pleasure in a heat bathe, go for it! Very similar to life, we permit for gamers to do as a lot or as little as they’re in a position and have their story unfold accordingly.
It’s our approach of exhibiting what prioritizing folks over the strain of productiveness may appear like. Taking the main target away from giving worth to the participant for his or her actions, however quite merely valuing them as a result of they’re.
Like once you work at home as a video editor, your colleagues encourage you to do your finest for those who fall behind and cheer you on for those who get issues completed in time. And also you help them too, whether or not it’s the intern who’s struggling or an old-timer who doesn’t see their price.
Meet our characters and expertise a slice of city India
As the sport progresses you meet characters, every one with a wealthy, distinctive story of their very own. You get to know them by way of video calls which have branching conversations the place decisions matter. By these, you perceive how others are managing within the lockdown, you get to delve additional into Alo’s life, forge new friendships and keep in contact with these expensive to you.
We give gamers a window into Indian craft and tradition. As followers of pixel artwork, we have been eager to painting on a regular basis Indian objects and various characters on this type. Tiny particulars within the backgrounds will inform you slightly extra about their personalities, like Zuari’s certificates for changing into one of many youngest authorities faculty academics or how Iris’ love for DIY has her stitching and knitting her personal garments.
By Fishbowl we’d wish to take you on a journey to really feel all emotions as there aren’t any proper endings. Fishbowl’s demo is now out on PS5 and we hope you take pleasure in enjoying this sooner or later in our month-long story made by a two-person group from Goa, India.