Initial release date 1986 Publisher MECC | Developer MECC Genre Simulation game | |
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Similar MECC games, Educational games | ||
Odell Lake was an early educational life simulation game, produced by MECC for the Apple II and Commodore 64 computers. In the game, the player is a fish living in Odell Lake, a real-world lake in Oregon. It was followed up by the game Odell Down Under.
Contents
Gameplay
As a fish, the player could "go exploring" or "play for points". The object was to decide which fish to eat, while trying to survive and avoid other enemies; such as otters, ospreys, and bait from fishermen. When simply exploring, the player could select from six different species of fish, such as Mackinaw Trout, Whitefish, or Rainbow Trout; however, when playing for points, the computer randomly assigned the type of fish that the player will play as. In addition, the titles for each of the types of fish and other creatures are removed when playing for points, forcing the player to rely on memory; also the game was timed. After every five moves, the player played as a different type of fish.
When playing for points, the best decision netted the player the most points, with less intelligent decisions earning the player fewer or no points, or in the case of the fish eating something disagreeable, actually taking them away. If no decision was made when time ran out, it counted as "Ignore". If at any time the player's fish was attacked by an enemy, or the player got caught by an angler, the game ended immediately.
Main fish
The species of fish found in Odell Lake included the following:
Other species
In addition to the other species of fish, the player's fish could come across the following in or above the lake:
Actions
The actions a fish could take when he approached (or was approached by) another fish, animal, or object included: