Beaver's Pond: Bass Country

Beaver's Pond is a cozy fishing adventure sim for people who just want to fish.

No crops to water. No mines to crawl. No monsters to fight. No town to manage. No energy meter telling you when to stop. Just you, your boat, a tackle box full of lures, and a beautiful lake full of fish that changes with the time of day and the weather rolling in off the mountains.

Pick your angler. Plan your trip. Cast your line.

Beaver's Pond rewards patience and curiosity. Fish behave differently at dawn than they do at dusk. A crankbait that tears through mid-morning might be the wrong call when the clouds roll in. Largemouth bass love the lily pads and shallow grass. Smallmouth want the rocks. Channel cats come alive at night in the rain. The more time you spend on the water the more the lake starts to make sense - and the bigger the fish you bring to the boat.

When a fish hits your line the fight is yours to win or lose. Read the rod tension. Time your clicks. Hold your nerve when a heavyweight starts pulling hard. Every catch feels earned.

Spend your Bassy-Bank earnings to unlock new weather conditions, time-of-day settings, and bigger and tougher lures. Build mastery in your lures so you can land bigger and bigger fish. Chase your personal best. Or just drift out to your favorite spot and cast until the sun goes down.

Beaver's Pond doesn't ask anything of you except to enjoy the water.

Special Note from the Developer

I grew up visiting my grandfather's 250 acre ranch in Texas, fishing six private ponds, watching two uncles dabble in professional bass fishing. Lake Fork - the most storied largemouth bass lake in the world - is three hours from my front door. I have fished it more than 15 times. My uncle has fished it more than 50 days a year for the last 15 years.

When I was 17 years old, fishing Lake Ray Roberts East of Dallas, TX, I pulled a 12.7 pound largemouth bass out of the water with my own hands.

Now..., I am 48 years old. I have been waiting for the right bass fishing game my entire life. I played every single one I ever found. Nothing ever scratched the itch.

Fourteen years ago I stopped waiting. I designed a fishing game, raised 4.5 million dollars, moved to California, and spent two and a half years watching it fall apart from the inside. The studio burned through the budget. We shut the doors. No game ever launched. Not a single player ever cast a lure.

...

Defeated, I came home to Texas. Twelve years passed. I played games. Lots of games...

Then... I turned on "No Rest for the Wicked", and discovered a secret room, and it hit me - THIS is how you make a great game. This is how it's supposed to FEEL. I beat the game.

Resurrected...

The next day I discovered Godot. I pronounced it Go-DAWT for 2 days... I had never written a line of code in my life. Not ONE.

Fifteen days later, Beaver's Pond existed. (Shoutout to ManaSeed for the amazing world art)

We now have a better game than I ever dreamed possible and I had to build it alone,

60 days and $425 later here we are. May you catch many bigger bass than I ever did. See you on the lakes friends.

I'm just getting started.

Beaver's Pond Lead... Everything I guess. ;P
Austin, Texas Two hours South of Lake Fork

Current Features:

• A huge, hand designed lake, that shifts mood and color across six times of day

• Weather system - fish in clear skies, overcast, light rain, and gentle showers

• Three lure classes - spinnerbait, crankbait, and skirted jig - each with 5 unique mastery skills and progression

• Real fish behavior - species, habitat, depth, weather, lure choice, aggressiveness, and time of day all affect your bite chances

• A satisfying fish fight system with hook integrity, smash attacks, and rod tension management

• Multiple save slots

• 3 difficulty settings for a satisfying experience for all skill levels

• No energy meters. No timers. No pressure. Just fishing.

Planned Features:

• 9 additional lure types - expanding your tackle box with new classes, new mechanics, and new mastery trees

• 2 additional lakes at 1.0 release - each with their own habitats, structure, and personality

• Expanded lure color variants and colors - more options to match the hatch and find what the fish want on any given day

• More fish species - new targets with their own behaviors, preferred habitats, and fight styles