With Nice Day for Fishing, an unusual role-playing game was released this year on Steam, Nintendo Switch, and PS5. However, the composition is much quirkier: a New Zealand YouTuber and a small German studio. At gamescom, MeinMMO editor Nikolas Hernes just had to ask how this came about.
What is Nice Day for Fishing? The pixel RPG from the German developer FusionPlay focuses on fishing as its core mechanic. You not only catch fish or collect loot with it, but the fishing rod is also your weapon in combat. It was precisely this mix that made MeinMMO editor Sophia Weiss enjoy it so much.
The game has a special world. As a fisherman, you are traveling in Honeywood in the world of Azerim. This is based on the videos of the YouTube group Viva La Dirt League, which now has over 7.2 million subscribers on YouTube.
However, the game is not simply based on Azerim; the dialogues, the story, and the characters resemble the videos of the group that makes fun of MMORPG and gaming clichés. At gamescom, new content was presented together with Viva La Dirt League.
At gamescom, we spoke with the CEO of Fusion Play, Konrad Kunze, and asked him how the exciting collaboration came about and how the work processes unfolded.
This is the perfect entry into the gaming industry
How did the work come about? At gamescom, we spoke with Konrad Kunze. He has been the CEO of FusionPlay since 2021; before that, he was the lead game designer at the studio for 7 years. At gamescom, we were able to ask him a few questions, especially regarding the collaboration and how it all came together.
He explained to us that there was an internal developer who pitched the idea of a fishing RPG. The idea was well-received, and they wanted to start a small project. At the same time, Baelin’s Route was supposed to be released on YouTube. This is a short film about Baelin the fisherman, the character you later play in the game, which lasts about 30 minutes.
This fit surprisingly well with the game concept of the fishing RPG. They decided to reach out. An email to the community manager led to artist management, and the contact with the group was established. The idea was well-received, and FusionPlay sent a prototype. It amused Viva La Dirt League, and the collaboration developed.
In the interview, Konrad Kunze explains that the group generally wanted to make a game, but their goals were too ambitious. About Azerim as a large MMORPG, but that’s not so easy:
However, when you calculate the whole thing, you quickly realize that it is very, very risky and involves very, very high costs. And then we came up with our little idea, and they said, “Wow, this is the perfect entry into the gaming industry to have our first small game.” And that’s how we came together.
Konrad Kunze about the origin of the collaboration between FusionPlay and Viva La Dirt League
The time difference was no problem at all
How did the collaboration go? In light of the collaboration’s origin story, we, of course, wanted to know how the work with the YouTubers went. This is what Konrad Kunze revealed to us in the interview.
They wanted to give Viva La Dirt League creative freedom with few restrictions. It should happen dynamically, but indeed as a collaboration. FusionPlay mostly took care of the gameplay, and Viva La Dirt League provided drafts for the story and dialogues. They revised them, rewrote dialogues, or adapted them.
It was important that it was clear that it came from Viva La Dirt League. It was a perfect middle ground.
FusionPlay was able to learn a lot during the collaboration, and it was also Viva La Dirt League’s first collaboration with game developers. At first, they were constantly sending notes to each other, but that proved too much.
They developed a special version of the game in which texts could be edited directly. In this version, they could also leave notes. If Viva La Dirt League did this, they would contact FusionPlay, and the developers would integrate it into the game.
This process was much smoother and indeed uncomplicated. The time difference helped as well, as Konrad explains. The significant time difference (12 hours) was an advantage. When FusionPlay wrote emails, the YouTube group could respond the next morning or evening. This process was thus outside their regular daily business, and it worked well.
Overall a good experience
In the interview, we also talked about the future of Nice Day for Fishing and whether anything is planned in that universe. Konrad Kunze explains that they are happy with how it turned out, including their partners Team17 (publisher) and Viva La Dirt League. There are no plans, but they can imagine doing more.
They can also envision collaborating with content creators again in the future, as a strong IP is something to stand out from the crowd.
However, they do not want to force anything. It should fit the team, just as it did with Nice Day for Fishing.
We are open to what we want to do, but what we would not do is force something. We do not want to just take any IP or any influencer and then forcibly rebrand the game when it does not suit us.
Konrad Kunze about future collaborations
It was also good for Viva La Dirt League that they were involved very early in the development. Ideas were constantly brought in, and from the initially small project grew an ever-expanding game, as it ultimately appeared.
FusionPlay is familiar with quirky concepts
In the interview, Konrad Kunze also mentioned a previous game from FusionPlay, Konrad’s Kittens, a VR cat game. In this game, you take care of a virtual pet, as in other games of this type. However, they implemented a plush toy mode.
In this mode, you can attach the VR controller to a stuffed animal, for example, with rubber bands, and thus have haptic feedback in virtual reality with a matching object. You can then lift the object, and sounds and vibrations that you physically feel are emitted through the controller.
In creative meetings
with developers, artists, and also shareholders, according to Konrad, everyone can bring and pitch ideas. These are then evaluated, analyzed (for example, whether there is a target audience), and if it fits, they are further developed. This creates interesting concepts like Konrad’s Kittens or Nice Day for Fishing.
Large studios are not known for big experiments, but sometimes they also try to implement new concepts, mechanics, or ideas in established genres. This includes Capcom, which brings an intriguing mechanic with Pragmata: A new sci-fi shooter for the PS5 could turn out really well, even if one mechanic will divide players
