My Latest New Prototype

Ever since playing Guppy years ago I've wanted to make a fish-swimming game of my own. I've finally  made a prototype of some fish-ish movement mechanics that seems pretty fun to play around with, and I've decided to release it publicly to see if I get any feedback.

The fish controls vaguely like a rowboat—you tap a left or right key to flap a fin and apply forward thrust on one side of your body. Holding the key longer also holds your tail and fin at an angle, reducing your drag on that side and causing you to turn. Flapping and holding both fins back lets you coast through the water with very little drag. A low-powered backwards flap (press down) lets you slow down faster, turn in place, and (in the future) extricate yourself if you swim into a tight corner. Quick consecutive flaps are stronger than isolated ones to enable both fine adjustments and a fun level of speed.

I added "nibbles" that you can collect just to give targets to test the movement with. A quick-and-dirty random starfield in the background lets you see how you are moving. There is no challenge or end-game at the moment, it's just a playground. The full game is planned to be a classic "eat-smaller-to-grow-larger" game, with customizable game modes to be as challenging or relaxing as you like. I'm also thinking about making some training modes to help people get used to the controls.

Thanks to anyone who tests out this prototype, and let me know what you think!