El-Fish
Encyclopedia
El-Fish is a fish
and fish-tank simulator
developed by Russia
n game developer
AnimaTek, with Maxis
providing development advice. The game was published by Mindscape (v1.1) and later by Maxis (v1.1 + v1.2) in 1993
on 5 diskettes.
Each fish in El-Fish has a unique Roe, similar to the genome
. This allows the user to catch fish and use selective breeding
and mutation
to create fish to their own tastes for placing them in virtual aquariums. Around 800 possible genetic attributes (fin shape, body color, size, etc) are available, which can be selectively shaped into virtually infinite numbers of unique fish. Once fish are created, El-Fish will algorithmically generate up to 256 animation frames so that the fish will appear to swim smoothly around the tank.
The tank simulator is very customizable for this game's era. The player can select from a large number of backdrops and tank ornaments for the fish to swim between. The user can also import their own images to use as tank ornaments. El-Fish includes a fractal
based plant generator for creating unique aquarium plants. There are several "moving objects" that can be added to the tanks which the fish will react to, such as a cat paw, fibcrab, and a small plastic scuba diver. The user can also procedurally generate background music for their tank using an in-game composer, or choose a separate MIDI
music file to be played for each virtual aquarium, and feed the fish.
The tank simulator can run as a memory-resident program in MS-DOS
, making it a screensaver
. Multiple tanks can be displayed via El-Fish' s slideshow feature.
, computer science
, and psychology
. They were attempting to create software for INTEC (a company that they started) that would be made for "people's souls". They developed this idea, calling it "Human Software", with three rules:
El-Fish was developed by many bright minds, most with Ph.D.s, and some had worked on high profile projects such as the Russian space program.
Although El-Fishs demanding (for its time) system requirements prevented it from selling many units, it was an early version of what would become a very widespread genre.
† Has a math co-processor (sometimes called the "387" chip)
The animating time of a fish depends heavily on its size, where a very small fish can be animated on a 386DX40 with 4MB of RAM in 2-4 hours, a very large fish can take easily up to 24+ hours.
The performance of the game itself in the play mode varies depending how fast/slow the CPU is. The game in the Maxis version measures the speed of the CPU, so on a slow 386 it will only display 1-3 fish at once, but on a 486 it will show 10+ fish. This speed measurement will not work on modern PCs where the CPU speed went over the programs maximum and miscalculates the actual speed. For example the CPU is 3600MHz, but the program thinks your CPU is too slow and only will display 1-3 fish. This can be solved with several speed limitation software. It does not have to be slowed down to a 486's speed, but it has to fit the programs measurement calculation for displaying the maximum amount of fishes. This varies on the CPU speed. The first Mindscape version of the game does not have this mistake calculation.
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
and fish-tank simulator
Life simulation game
Life simulation games is a sub-genre of simulation video games in which the player lives or controls one or more virtual lifeforms...
developed by Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n game developer
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
AnimaTek, with Maxis
Maxis
Maxis is an American company founded as an independent video game developer in 1987. It is currently a subsidiary of Electronic Arts . Maxis is the creator of one of the best-selling computer games of all time, The Sims and its first sequel, The Sims 2...
providing development advice. The game was published by Mindscape (v1.1) and later by Maxis (v1.1 + v1.2) in 1993
1993 in video gaming
-Events:*March — In Sweden, the Swedish video game magazine Super PLAY starts. The original name is Super Power.*Midway Games embroiled in controversy for its game Mortal Kombat from 1992 when the game is launched for video game consoles in 1993....
on 5 diskettes.
Each fish in El-Fish has a unique Roe, similar to the genome
Genome
In modern molecular biology and genetics, the genome is the entirety of an organism's hereditary information. It is encoded either in DNA or, for many types of virus, in RNA. The genome includes both the genes and the non-coding sequences of the DNA/RNA....
. This allows the user to catch fish and use selective breeding
Selective breeding
Selective breeding is the process of breeding plants and animals for particular genetic traits. Typically, strains that are selectively bred are domesticated, and the breeding is sometimes done by a professional breeder. Bred animals are known as breeds, while bred plants are known as varieties,...
and mutation
Mutation
In molecular biology and genetics, mutations are changes in a genomic sequence: the DNA sequence of a cell's genome or the DNA or RNA sequence of a virus. They can be defined as sudden and spontaneous changes in the cell. Mutations are caused by radiation, viruses, transposons and mutagenic...
to create fish to their own tastes for placing them in virtual aquariums. Around 800 possible genetic attributes (fin shape, body color, size, etc) are available, which can be selectively shaped into virtually infinite numbers of unique fish. Once fish are created, El-Fish will algorithmically generate up to 256 animation frames so that the fish will appear to swim smoothly around the tank.
The tank simulator is very customizable for this game's era. The player can select from a large number of backdrops and tank ornaments for the fish to swim between. The user can also import their own images to use as tank ornaments. El-Fish includes a fractal
Fractal
A fractal has been defined as "a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be split into parts, each of which is a reduced-size copy of the whole," a property called self-similarity...
based plant generator for creating unique aquarium plants. There are several "moving objects" that can be added to the tanks which the fish will react to, such as a cat paw, fibcrab, and a small plastic scuba diver. The user can also procedurally generate background music for their tank using an in-game composer, or choose a separate MIDI
Musical Instrument Digital Interface
MIDI is an industry-standard protocol, first defined in 1982 by Gordon Hall, that enables electronic musical instruments , computers and other electronic equipment to communicate and synchronize with each other...
music file to be played for each virtual aquarium, and feed the fish.
The tank simulator can run as a memory-resident program in MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
, making it a screensaver
Screensaver
A screensaver is a type of computer program initially designed to prevent phosphor burn-in on CRT and plasma computer monitors by blanking the screen or filling it with moving images or patterns when the computer is not in use...
. Multiple tanks can be displayed via El-Fish
Development
El-Fish was created by Vladimir Pokhilko, Ph.D. and Alexey Pajitnov, who had backgrounds in mathematicsMathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, computer science
Computer science
Computer science or computing science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems...
, and psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
. They were attempting to create software for INTEC (a company that they started) that would be made for "people's souls". They developed this idea, calling it "Human Software", with three rules:
- The software needs to be "aesthetically beautiful"
- The software needs to be constructive
- The software needs to bring feeling to people that they would not otherwise enjoy
El-Fish was developed by many bright minds, most with Ph.D.s, and some had worked on high profile projects such as the Russian space program.
Although El-Fishs demanding (for its time) system requirements prevented it from selling many units, it was an early version of what would become a very widespread genre.
Performance
| Computer | Catch/Breed/Evolve | Animate |
|---|---|---|
| 386SX16 | 5-7 minutes | 6-7 hours |
| 386DX25 | 3.5-4 minutes | 3.5-4hours |
| 386DX25† | 25-35 seconds | 25-35 minutes |
| 486DX33 | 7-10 seconds | 7-10 minutes |
| 486DX2-66 | 5 seconds | 4-6 minutes |
† Has a math co-processor (sometimes called the "387" chip)
The animating time of a fish depends heavily on its size, where a very small fish can be animated on a 386DX40 with 4MB of RAM in 2-4 hours, a very large fish can take easily up to 24+ hours.
The performance of the game itself in the play mode varies depending how fast/slow the CPU is. The game in the Maxis version measures the speed of the CPU, so on a slow 386 it will only display 1-3 fish at once, but on a 486 it will show 10+ fish. This speed measurement will not work on modern PCs where the CPU speed went over the programs maximum and miscalculates the actual speed. For example the CPU is 3600MHz, but the program thinks your CPU is too slow and only will display 1-3 fish. This can be solved with several speed limitation software. It does not have to be slowed down to a 486's speed, but it has to fit the programs measurement calculation for displaying the maximum amount of fishes. This varies on the CPU speed. The first Mindscape version of the game does not have this mistake calculation.
Quotes
The manual contains several interesting phrases, shameless plugs and offbeat humor:- "SimLifeSimLifeSimLife: The Genetic Playground is a computer game produced by Maxis in 1992. The concept of the game is to simulate an ecosystem; players may modify the genetics of the plants and animals that inhabit the virtual world. The point of this game is to experiment and create a self sustaining...
and El-Fish tax the powers of today's computers to their limits... it will be a few years before this marriage of simulation and animation will make it into our homes. But eventually, we'll wonder how we ever put up with two-dimensional computer creatures." - "You're probably getting antsy (oops -- wrong game)" (Reference to the game SimAntSimAntSimAnt: The Electronic Ant Colony is a 1991 life simulation computer game by Maxis and Maxis' Third Product, focusing on ants. It was designed by Will Wright, maker of other 'Sim' games such as SimCity and The Sims...
) - "Fish tried to evolve into many shapes and sizes, and all failed. Dinosaurs were a real fiasco. Fishkind tried for millions of years to get dinosaurs to build computers, but they wouldn't. So the fish wiped them out and started over with mammals."
- "There's a suckerfish born every minute."
- "When you make fish that are so beautiful that all your friends tell you that you are wonderful, is that considered fishing for compliments?"
- "All that glitters is not goldfish."
- "You ain't nothing but a dogfish." -El-Fish PresleyElvis PresleyElvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
- "I'm a union fish -- a Pisces working for scale."
- "Any friend of yours is an anemone of mine."
- "Don't smell fish -- Play El-Fish!"
External links
- El-Fish Review at The Good Old Days
- From Russia With Glub - An El-Fish fansite