Planned Release Date: June 2026

About This Game

A relaxing fishing trip from the comfort of your desktop! Up Pole! is a desktop companion idler and pomodoro timer designed to add a little life to your computer time from the corner of your screen. Join Mr. Skip on a relaxing trip to scenic fishing spots, and drop a line in the water while you work or unwind!

• Cast a line while you work to spice up your time on the computer, and unwind with a real-time fishing slow-burn experience

• Add some life to your desktop  - keep your best catches in your own virtual living aquarium

• Real-time, real fishin' - a dynamic day-to-night system is tied to your real system clock, affecting not just visuals but fish behaviors and activity levels!

• No-stress lite progression - sell the fish you reel in for better tackle to aim for more exotic species! Are you a sharp enough angler to collect all the species in the game? 

• Built-in pomodoro timer easily accessible to keep you sharp off while you're off the water!

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Director's Note

When I was kid, about 6 or so, my grandpa started taking me on fishing trips with him in and around town. We'd wake up way before the crack of dawn and dig for night-crawlers in his yard, then drive for hours out to the middle of nowhere to find a spot all to ourselves. As the sun would peek over the treeline he'd show me how setup my line, bait my hook (I hated that part), and finally cast out as far as we could in the hopes of pulling in a big ol' bass - usually for lil E, it was more likely a "sunny", but every now and then I'd get lucky, reel my heart out, and pull a reel keeper out of the water. He was a mean cook, and we'd fry up whatever we caught that very day. He was a real outdoors-man, and although I didn't get to learn everything he wanted to teach me in the time we had together I'll always cherish what I did learn: what it means to respect and love nature, to stick with things even when they're hard (and even when the stupid hook keeps sticking in your stupid thumb), and that anything worth doing takes a little bit of time and whole lotta patience.

My brother/concept artist Seth and I kicked this idea around for a while, and now while we're releasing smaller projects to keep the lights on and gear-up for our bigger works it felt like a natural game to make. I built this one "jam"-style, and while I was working on the design I realized that I wouldn't be able to make this game the way that I have without what Papa taught me; I decided to make it a tribute, and to dedicate it to his memory. 

It's a simple game, just like memories it's loosely based upon. I hope it can bring you some small moments of joy and silliness and break up some of the monotony of long hours at work - at the end of the day, that's what fishin's all about.

-E