Yes, this is totally a
work in progress
This site is a living design doc, dev blog, and pitch doc for a videogame that is being lovingly crafted by an out-of-work video game artist fending off the boredom of unemployment by creating something fun, pretty,
…and a little bit weird.
***Hey! If you’re here it’s because I personally gave you this link and password.
Or perhaps Mary turned off the password access for me, even though I would never want anyone to see it yet - at least not people I don’t know.
But it’s ok for you to take a quick look. Anyway maybe this should be the first entry of my official dev blog yeah?
Should I lose the Post-It notes? 08/01/2025
That's it. That's the pitch.
NEW VIDEO!
08/28/2025
Lots of new art, gameplay, and FX in the latest build we showed at Indie SLICE!
An aquatic 3D action-adventure with Kirby-style puffy stuff but also the dreamy and exhilarating Ecco the Dolphin - a Sega game from the 90’s.
You become the adorable yet badass PAPAFISHU! while rescuing your helpless babies, known as BEBIFISHU, from all kinds of danger.
Explore a series of detailed aquatic tide pools packed with allies, enemies, power-ups, and pitfalls—and one very big out-of-this-world secret!!
Action-Adventure + Platformer
Papafishu has a hybrid gameplay style that stars the fish from the viral meme “so beautiful, so powerful,” the lumpsucker fish- the embodiment of chibi and kawaii.
As Papafishu you casually explore every corner of the lush sandbox playspace while you search for as many babies as you can while unraveling the secret of some of the weirdest fish, and other creatures in the ocean.
It’s a cozy game that’s a bit quirky, a little psychedelic, and filled with a whole lot of love. Top all that off with a dash of extra-terrestrial mystery.
While not a traditional platformer, the game involves navigating through levels with precise movements, especially when dealing with currents, limited visibility, sharp and sticky things, other fish, and you get the idea.
Details…
Players control Papafishu, the greatest of the lumpsucker fish. You swoosh your way through the most beautiful, exotic, and mysterious tide pools and coral reefs in the ocean. You explore nooks and crannies to find and rescue the babies, progressing through a truly bizarre story.
You’ll use Papafishu’s wacky abilities, like inhaling and spitting, body-blasting, , camouflaging, echolocating, and other skills to get the job done for as long as you want to take. Progress is measured by the number of babies saved without dying. Just kidding you don’t die. It’s the babies, the babies die. Just kidding again. You’re silly.
After each delightful round, you jump into a faster-paced side-scrolling waterslidey transition leading to the neighboring tide pool, and another search for the babies can begin. Tide pools get progressively more challenging as the enemies and hazards become more dangerous. Chill but dangerous. Did I mention the pollution and the rising temperatures? The oily stuff, microplastics… yeah it’s not really that kind of game though, it’s a fantasy. Not reality. Probably.
Gameplay Mechanics
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Help Lifeline
By ramping up and jumping up out of the water, stretching back and performing a body blast you will summon help from nearby ocean friends. Well, you’ll make a lot of noise and your friends will hear. But everyone else will too. Should you make that much noise?
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Inhale & Spit Attack
Similar to Kirby’s inhale and spit, sucking up various found objects (jellyfish, anemones) and launching them back at enemies. Some objects are more effective than others depending on the color, target, and tide pool.
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Sonic Boom & Body Blast
Activate the heart-shaped suction cup to charge up and emit a series of powerful blasts, repelling and dispatching most enemies.
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Eat all the things
Lumpsuckers will eat anything, so you might as well eat stuff that makes you better at what you do. Sea anemones, Jellyfish, Starfish, Sea slugs, even sand and rock will work! Sometimes stuff will land in the tidepool from above, and sometimes- just sometimes that stuff is edible.
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Pinging the Orb
It’s alien tech and we can’t explain it but you use it to help you protect the babies. Also, it can fly.
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Super-Swim Torpedo
You can swim really fast with this one. It hurts when you run into stuff though.
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Ninja mode
You know what this is. Should I call it the Predator Armor Mode? Active camo? Dude disappears in a field because he’s got a suit made of grass. Ghillie Mode. That’s a thing right? No one’s used that before right?
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Hitchhiker
Lets Papafishu use his tiny arm fins to hold on to surfaces along with the suction cup when things get too choppy. He can also pick up and carry the tiny groups of Bebifishu to safety.
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Go talk to the guy
Guy is the God of the Drys. He’s watched over us forever. He often makes disastrous mistakes, but he truly means well. Besides, help is help, right?
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Controller Mapping
This is a WIP configuration for now, and it seems to be ok but as I watch more people play it will be adjusted.
Sciency Facts…
Lumpsucker fish are aptly named; their roly-poly bodies are nearly spherical and sport some mesmerizing colors and patterns.
The ‘sucker’ part refers to the fish's modified pelvic fins, which have evolved into a heart-shaped adhesive disc. The other fins are more like little arms. Many species have bony, wart-like tubercles adorning the body and their skin can vary from opaque to translucent, changing colors and patterns on a whim.
So yeah, no two look exactly alike!
What even is this thing? They’re so bizarre and cute at the same time right?
Tech details incoming!
Specs
Technical Information
We’re using Unreal 5.5 to achieve AAA-level graphics with all the cool Epic tech like this thing called Nanite for high-poly geo, Lumen for GI, Niagara for FX, etc. And a bit of this ray tracing stuff.
PC Minimum System Requirements
Windows 10/11 with updates (64-bit)
Intel Core i7-6800K or
AMD Ryzen 5 2600X
Memory 16 GB RAM
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 or
AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT
DirectX: Version 12
Target Platforms
PC & Switch 2, additional platforms pending publisher support
Target Audience
We’re looking at an all-ages, mostly cozy, semi-educational experience with no war, no blood, and no loot drops. No other people, just fish. And aliens. It’s perfect for families to experience together.
Anticipated ESRB: E. Yes, E. That’s how silly this game is. But really it’s for tired adults who want to leave the world behind and stare at a fish’s butt wiggling on a screen while he’s rescuing missing babies before the ocean dies and takes everything else with it.
See, it’s silly. Even the drys would die.
That’s what we’re uh… dealing with? Coping> I don’t know how to explain it..
Thanks for reading this far. Now stop looking at your screens and go back to sleep. Shhhh! The robots will fix everrryyy thing.
figuring out new Unreal materials
More on the art…
Style stuff
The visuals make up a unique blend of stylized and photoreal elements paired with ultra-real-looking physically-based lighting. That’s a thing fancy games have.
Characters and creatures are imbued with a mix of unique kawaii and chibi characteristics, crazy color palettes, and a small dose of trippy psychedelia. (the big secret: they’re really aliens! Didn’t you already know?
Realistic underwater environments are crafted to be visually stimulating and colorful but relaxing and soothing to explore. As chaotic as nature yet artfully composed. …and silliness, lots of clever silliness woven into the overall aesthetic. kind of like that Douglas Adams guy. Look him up. Read the first 2 books, skip the movie and the show from the 1970’s..
UI, icons, and text will present an iconic retro-70’s Japan vibe.
Delightful chiptune music paired with hyper-cute singsongy voiceovers highlight the action along with hilarious Japanese gameshow-styled commentary for major achievements.
Bruh
I know, I know
you are what you eat
probably
baddies?
buddies?
???
I'm currently working on the camera system and the caustics -which are wayyyy too intense. They show off the material’s light transmission though.
Character ExplorationS
HEY! it’s still in progress.
Delirium Factory
founded by Vic DeLeon
Let’s make the games crazy,
and keep the game devs sane.
Vic "delirium" DeLeon is a classically trained artist and maker from Seattle. He’s produced and directed art teams on some beloved video games like Halo and Ark, a few VR games some people played, and even a hit TV show or two.
Share this with a friend and then tell me about it so I can know who’s seen my stuff.