Hey everyone! 👋

Back in May, I released the first demo of Drawquarium. Since then, I have been working on the game pretty much nonstop, and a lot has changed.

From the beginning, my goal with Drawquarium has been to create something that helps you slow down and relax. Something you can interact with whenever you feel like it, while your aquarium continues living peacefully in the background. That is also why the Wallpaper Mode is such an important part of the game.

But there is another side to this. I still want Drawquarium to feel like a game. One of the most common pieces of feedback from the demo was that people loved the idea, enjoyed drawing their fish and watching the aquarium, but wanted more things to actually do.

Which is exactly what I have been working on.

So... what has changed? 🐠

Here are some of the biggest additions and improvements since May:

• Breed your fish and create baby fish. Your fish can now reproduce, and they grow as you feed them.

• Fish are much more alive. They react to food, bubbles, new fish and their surroundings, and can get excited or scared.

• Aquariums now need a little care. Leftover food and debris stay inside the aquarium until you clean them up with your aquarium vacuum.

• Golden Scales introduce progression. Collect them and use them to unlock new brushes, templates and customization options.

• Aquariums are much more customizable. Change rocks, driftwood, water level, sand, colors and much more.

• Lighting can now be customized. Adjust the atmosphere of your aquarium and experiment with different lighting effects, and caustics.

• You can create bioluminescent fish and plants. Yes, your creations can glow now. ✨

• There is even a Disco Mode. Lasers, spotlights and techno music included. Because obviously every aquarium needs a nightclub.

• The drawing editor has been massively improved. The interface has been redesigned and drawing is smoother, faster and more intuitive.

• More drawing tools have been added. This includes zooming, improved Fill Bucket tools, stamps for textures, shapes, eyes and fins, custom templates and saved color palettes.

• You can edit your fish again later. Your creations are no longer permanently locked once you finish drawing them.

• Fish can have different animations, sizes and behaviors. There are now more ways to make each fish feel unique.

• You can grab your fish and drag them through the aquarium. Extremely important scientific feature.

• Fish can be moved between aquariums. There is also a global fish list where you can search for your creations by name.

• There is now an Idea Generator. If you have no idea what to draw next, Drawquarium can give you some inspiration.

• More music and ambient sounds have been added. You can mix different underwater and ambient sounds to create the atmosphere you want.

• Productivity tools are becoming part of Drawquarium. There is now a checklist, a journal, a timer and a clock with the current date and weekday.

• A new task list of gameplay goals gives you more direction. It provides a clearer path through the game while still letting you play at your own pace.

• Wallpaper Mode has received a lot of work. It is more reliable, audio continues properly when switching modes, and the aquarium is getting closer to the relaxing desktop companion I originally imagined.

• Performance, saving and stability have been improved. This includes automatic graphics detection, better performance, drawing autosaves and additional backup saves to protect your aquariums. Specifically, I created a much more robust save system so you won’t lose your creations for some technical reason.

And there are many smaller improvements on top of all of this.

Steam Next Fest

🐟 Drawquarium will be part of the Steam Next Fest next month! I will share more details about when you can play it very soon.

What would YOU like to see?

Drawquarium is still evolving, and the feedback from the first demo has already influenced the game a lot.

So please keep it coming. What would make you spend more time with your aquarium?

What kind of activities would you like to have? What would make Wallpaper Mode more useful for you? Or is there something completely ridiculous you desperately want to put into your aquarium?

Let me know in the comments. I read all of it. ❤️

And if you want to follow development more closely:

💬 Join our Discord: https://discord.com/invite/rokaplay

🐦 Follow us on X / Twitter: https://x.com/DrawquariumGame

📷 Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drawquarium_game/

🎵 Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@drawquarium_game

Thank you so much for playing the demo, sharing your fish and sending feedback.

We’re nearing Drawquarium’s completion, so stay tuned!

Kaleb ❤️