| Alaskan Fisherman | |
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 Featured Level | |
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Creator |
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Date created |
July 20, 2014 |
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Play count |
3,000,000+ |
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3.88 (3,000+ votes) | |
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Playable character |
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Alaskan Fisherman is a featured level by Wings and Strings. It currently has over three million plays, and a rating of 3.88 stars from over 3,000 votes. Wheelchair Guy is the forced character.
Gameplay
The player controls a rustic steam-driven crab fishing vessel moored in a generic Alaskan port. The arrow keys offer the player directional movement as well as limited control of the boat's pitch, and the space key can be held to lower the boat's net into the water. Pressing space also locks the vessel's joints in place which prevents the player from lowering the net and moving across the water at the same time. (This fishing maneuver is called "trolling" and would override the difficulty of having to drop the net manually each time.) The level states that the player must search for crab in the Bering sea by lowering their net in the hopes of filling it. Each time the net is filled, the player must return to the docks and the crab must be unloaded before the player can return to sea and start fishing again. There are four specific regions where crab can be found in the level. None of the areas which contain crab are marked, and each area can only be fished from once, so the level--in a way that replicates the frustrating charm of fishing--can require a great deal of time, patience, and guesswork if the player is to be successful.
The level is divided into three main sections: a tranquil harbor with calm waters, the American side of the Bering Sea, with moderately choppy waves, and the Soviet side of the Bering Sea, with noticeably rougher seas. Two of the four sets of crab can be found in the American waters, while the other two sets of crab reside in the Soviet waters. At the boundary between the American and the Soviet waters, Sean Connery, aboard a surfaced submarine, says that he will allow the player to fish in his waters once the player brings in two catches of crab from the American side. Once the player completes this task and returns to him, he will rescind his offer and launch a nuclear missile from his sub in an attempt to stop the player. However, due to his poor aim, he misses the player's ship by 200 miles, leaving a mushroom cloud in the distance and "a bad day" for whomever he accidentally fired upon. At this point, the player can now access and fish in the Soviet side of the Bering Sea. On the Soviet side, the level environment is considerably more ramshackle, with everything from flag-flying whales with Soviet hats to a seagull flying off with the Sputnik satellite. Once the player can retrieve and unload the last two catches of crab from the Soviet waters, they will complete the level.
Beyond the last region where the player can find crab, the seas worsen to the point that they are capable of tossing the ship around as if it were on a trampoline. Furthermore, the player will encounter two warning buoys; the first has a sign that reads "Danger, go back," and the second, as if it were irritated that the player did not acknowledge the first, has another sign that reads "I said go back, dumbass." If you continue forward past the buoys, the player will encounter an invisible wall at the edge of the playable area.
Trivia
- The fishing steamboat in the level is named Jim Bonacci, after the Happy Wheels creator.
- The five flags on the ship are international maritime code flags. From top to bottom, they are Bravo, Uniform, Tango, Tango, and Sierra, spelling the word "butts."
- IAmVeryBored contributed to this level by providing sample level data of a potential wave generator. Wings and Strings then modified and improved the design both functionally and visually to provide a dynamic and unpredictable simulation of ocean waves in a way that appeared to be one fluid, continuous surface.
- Sean Connery's dialogue from the player's first encounter with him references The Hunt for Red October, a movie in which he starred as the Soviet submariner seen in the level.
- Under normal playing conditions, the minimum amount of time required to complete the level is longer than the 200-second maximum allowed for saved replays. The level can take anywhere between three to fifteen minutes to complete. Technically, the first and last two loads of crab can be recovered and unloaded in one trip, which is the only way that a successful replay can be saved under the time limit.
Gallery
