Hey everyone! I’m a solo developer working on **Idle Anglers**, a cozy yet deceptively deep idle/incremental game built in Unity. I wanted to share a quick overview of the project, our design philosophy, and where we currently stand with the V0 prototype.

You can check out the current playable V0 demo here:[Idle Anglers on Itch.io](https://juba13.itch.io/idle-anglers)🎮

# 🎮 About the Game

* **Genre:** Idle / Incremental (passive production + upgrade progression)
* **Platforms:** Steam and [itch.io](http://itch.io/) (PC only)
* **Engine:** Unity
* **Monetization:** Premium, one-time purchase. **Zero ads, zero microtransactions (IAPs), zero subscriptions—ever.**

# 🎣 Core Concept & Features

* **The Hook:** On the surface, it’s a relaxing family-run fishing business. Underneath, a dark and mysterious backstory unfolds gradually across prestige loops and permanent story archives.
* **No Missable Story:** Unlike other idle games where story bits flash by and disappear, *Idle Anglers* features a permanent in-game archive screen so players never miss a piece of lore.
* **Optional Prestige:** Prestige mechanics give permanent multipliers and reputation choices, but they are entirely optional—no mandatory or punishing early-game resets.
* **Generous Offline Progress:** Fixed 12-hour offline caps with automated progression tracking.

# 🚀 Current Status: The V0 Funding Demo

Before tackling the full V1 release (which features 7 distinct tiers, an achievement system, and advanced UI architecture), I am building a small **V0 prototype/demo** released on [**itch.io**](http://itch.io/) as a "Pay What You Want" model.

**V0 Core Systems Completed:**

* Unity 6 2D setup with a fully functional `GameManager` script handling gold, passive income, and cost scaling ($\\text{Cost} = \\text{Base} \\times \\text{Multiplier}\^n$).
* Two initial fishing lines (Lake & Coast) with associated upgrades and a region unlock threshold.
* Automated JSON save/load system with offline progress calculation (up to 12 hours) and auto-saving.
* Dynamic story hint system that updates based on player progression.

# 🛠️ What's Next?

The core systems for V0 are officially locked in! Next up is integrating the visual/art layer (moving away from text-only UI placeholders) and refining the build. Feel free to try out the early build at[juba13.itch.io/idle-anglers](https://juba13.itch.io/idle-anglers).

I’d love to hear your thoughts, feedback, or any advice from fellow indie devs on launching small incremental prototypes on itch.io!

Idle Anglers — Solo Dev Project Summary & V0 Devlog