So the whole reason I’m creating an RPG fishing game is because I spent most of my life doing the fishing part of whatever game I was playing, be that; Zelda Twilight Princess, Terraria, Animal Crossing, Wii Play, Minecraft, Stardew Valley etc.
I spent hours, literally hours fishing in Twilight Princess. Why? Because it was relaxing, I felt like I was achieving something when I caught a cool fish, I liked exploring in the boat, finding new fishing spots hidden on the map, and I liked being able to swim in the water and see the fish because they were pretty and interesting. I also loved the expression on Links little face when he caught a big fish and was like *UWU* smiles, it was so cute and wholesome.

More recently I had these same feelings while fishing in stardew valley. Although the whole game is relaxing, the fishing element pleased me the most and I got really excited when I caught something cool.

Across all these games I’ve enjoyed seeing different mechanics for fishing, especially finding something cool just by chance from fishing in some random spot at a random time of day. Its just the idea of having no clue what you’re gonna fish up that day.
I never really cared about what the fish were used for (with the exception of terraria because their ‘fish based’ weapons are cool) and I think this is what really made the fishing relaxing for me. There was no reason to fish, I just wanted to.
Thinking more about this, the whole experience I get while fishing in games is a sense of unfound mystery and wonder. I also often get this feeling while out on photography walks when I find weird coloured mushrooms or strange plants.
Essential experience: The feeling of wonder through chance of finding something interesting.
