Train Simulator devs tackling fishing next with Dovetail Games Fishing

For every chortle-worthy rock or goat or shrub or pig or despair or ennui simulator, there are a dozen more based on a thing people might actually want simulating - activities such as operating a train, or driving a big truck through Europe. Dovetail Games - formerly RailSimulator.com - are responsible for the DLC-heavy Train Simulator series, that latest of which will set you back a staggering £2,404.24 if you decided to purchase the game and all of its downloadable content. Leaving locomotives and their old name behind, the team's latest simulation venture is the aptly named Dovetail Games Fishing .

My, that was a cleverly looped trailer. It told us nothing, but it did give me a brief existential crisis over whether Dovetail Games Fishing is a fishing game that takes place within itself.

Here is some more concrete information from the Dovetail website:

"In Dovetail Games Fishing, players will tackle every step in the fishing experience, starting with the selection of equipment and rigs based on the type of fishing and objective. Players will then survey their preferred location then take to the waters edge to prepare their gear. Using an intuitive new casting and reeling mechanism termed 'Total Cast Control', players can then test their skills by finding, attracting, catching and landing the fish.

"Initially specialising in fishing for carp, Dovetail Games Fishing will quickly expand to include a multitude of popular fishing types, including bass and fly-fishing, across a variety of locations around the world."

It's being made using Unreal Engine 4, which according to the site will be applied to future Train Simulator games as well. Perhaps the most interesting titbit, however, is this mention of possible virtual reality support:

"We're also exploring ways of combining this with the latest VR technology to give players the perfect way to experience the thrill of stalking, casting and landing fish.” The 'perfect way' outside of fishing in real-life, I assume.

Dovetail Games Fishing will be out late 2014.

Tom loves exploring in games, whether it’s going the wrong way in a platformer or burgling an apartment in Deus Ex. His favourite game worlds—Stalker, Dark Souls, Thief—have an atmosphere you could wallop with a blackjack. He enjoys horror, adventure, puzzle games and RPGs, and played the Japanese version of Final Fantasy VIII with a translated script he printed off from the internet. Tom has been writing about free games for PC Gamer since 2012. If he were packing for a desert island, he’d take his giant Columbo boxset and a laptop stuffed with PuzzleScript games.