Fiiish it!

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Inspiration

I've always loved the meditative loop of fishing games - the anticipation, the satisfaction of a rare catch, the gradual completion of a collection. Games like Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, and even Pokémon nail this "relaxed completionist" feeling.

But Reddit's developer platform offered something these games don't: built-in community at scale. What if I could weave that social fabric directly into the core loop?

The idea emerged: What if catching fish was only half the game? What if players became creators, designing their own fishing spots with unique aesthetics and vibes? And what if these spots were ephemeral discoveries - you find one, fish it once for three catches, then it's gone forever for you? Each encounter would feel urgent, special, like finding a secret unique only to you, but with the help of a wider community.

What it does

Fiiish It is a social fishing collection game where you catch 70 unique fish, design fishing spots, and participate in the live Reddit community feed.

🎣 Catch & Collect

Hunt down all 70 fish across different water emperatures, times of day, and weather conditions. Each fish has specific habitat requirements - some only appear in foggy rivers at dawn, others in clear ocean waters at night. Progress from common bluegill to legendary deep-sea titans, with each catch earning coins.

🌊 Design Custom Spots

Create your own fishing locations by combining parameters (Temperate/Tropical/Cool + Day/Dawn/Night + Clear/Rainy/Foggy) and customizing the visuals. Choose color palettes, add decorations, adjust particle effects—all while the game ensures your spot stays balanced. Your parameters determine which fish appear; your creativity determines how it looks.

📱 Discover & Share

Every spot you create becomes a one-time discovery for other players. They fish it once (3 catches), then it's gone - making each encounter feel special and urgent. Browse thousands of community-created spots through feeds, follow your favorite creators, and watch your own designs rack up catches.

💰 Progression System

Start with 4 free spots and earn coins by catching fish. Spend those coins to unlock new parameters and gradually open up new fish pools.

The loop: Fish → Earn coins → Unlock parameters → Access new fish → Design spots → Share with community → Repeat.

How we built it

• React - Core UI framework for user interactions
• React Three Fiber - Declarative 3D rendering wrapper for Three.js for our smooth 3d gameplay
• React Three Drei - Helper library providing optimized 3D components, cameras, and controls
• Tailwind CSS - Utility-first styling for clean, responsive UI components
• Vite - Lightning-fast build tool and dev server for instant hot module replacement
• Devvit Starter Template - (React) Scaffolding that accelerated initial setup and Reddit API integration

Challenges we ran into

🎯 Balancing a Disposable Content Economy

The biggest design challenge: How do you make one-time-use fishing spots feel valuable to create when they cost 5-30 coins and disappear after 3 catches? Players need to profit from discovering spots (otherwise why fish them?), but spots can't be too profitable (or the economy breaks). I had to carefully tune fish rarity distributions and spawn rates to ensure fun.

The math became a spreadsheet nightmare - 70 fish × 27 spots × 4 rarity tiers × varying spawn rates. One wrong number and players either run out of money at hour 3 or swim in coins by hour 1.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

🎮 Creating a Truly Social Single-Player Game

We managed to blend the cozy, personal experience of a collection game with the viral energy of social media. Every catch feels like your achievement, but sharing it with the community adds a layer of validation that keeps you coming back.

You can leave hidden messages in your fishing spots for future discoverers, like finding notes in a game of Journey or Dark Souls.

It's not currently implemented, but imagine watching your fishing spot get discovered by hundreds of players - and seeing their catches roll in through notifications. It creates a sense of impact that traditional fishing games lack.

🎨 Balancing Creativity with Game Balance

Solving the "customization vs. exploitation" problem felt like a breakthrough. By locking gameplay parameters but freeing visual design, we let players express themselves without breaking the economy. A "Temperate Night Foggy" spot will always spawn the same fish pool regardless of whether you make it neon cyberpunk or pastel dreamy - but those aesthetic choices make each spot memorable and uniquely yours.

🌊 Smooth fps 3D in a Browser

Building a performant Three.js fishing game that runs on mobile browsers was no joke. We're proud that:

• Water animations flow smoothly with procedural water shaders
• Particle systems (rain, fog, sparkles) don't tank frame rates
• The low-poly aesthetic looks gorgeous and renders fast

React Three Fiber made this possible, but optimization was key - virtual scrolling for the feed, cached calculations, and smart use of React state to avoid unnecessary re-renders.

🏆 Built on Reddit's DNA

Leveraging Devvit's persistent storage and community features wasn't just convenient - it shaped the game's identity. The feed feels like a game subreddit come to life. Reactions, comments with stat flairs, and creator followings all tap into Reddit's existing social mechanics. We didn't just build on Reddit; we built something that feels native to Reddit culture.

What's next for Fiiish it!

There's quite a lot of ideas we have planned for Fiiish it! Mostly expanding the social and creative depth:

🔔 Creator Notifications

Get real-time alerts when players catch fish at your spots: "🎣 Player_Alex caught a Legendary Moonfish at your Midnight Ocean!" Watch your designs go viral with live feedback.

🎁 Streak Bonuses

Fish multiple spots from the same creator to earn coin bonuses, unlock exclusive decorations, and build "Super Fan" badges. Encourages following favorite creators.

🏛️ Community Town Building

Collectively fund permanent structures (like a lighthouse, islands, etc) in fishing spots using donated coins.

Everyone who donates gets their names put in commemoration. The community progresses together.

🎨 Advanced Creator Unlocks

Earn premium decorations (animated fish, auroras, custom music) by getting your spots fished. Level up your creative toolkit through engagement.

🌍 Seasonal Events

Monthly limited-time fish (Cherry Blossom Koi, Halloween Phantom Bass) that rotate out, giving completionists reasons to return.

🏆 Creator Spotlights

Weekly leaderboards celebrating Most Fished Spot, Most Tipped Creator, and Rising Stars - with cosmetic rewards, not gameplay advantages

Built With

• devvit
• react
• react-three-fiber
• tailwind