El-Fish
El-Fish is a fish and fish-tank simulator and software toy developed by Russian 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.
El-Fish
- Date
- 1993
- Publisher
- Maxis
- Genre
- life simulation game · biological simulation video game
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Documentary summary
El-Fish is a fish and fish-tank simulator and software toy developed by Russian 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.
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wikidata · Q3049661
In this article
The object
The object
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.
Key facts
Key facts
• Title — El-Fish • Developer — AnimaTek • Publisher — Mindscape Maxis (re-release) • Designer — Alexey Pajitnov • Released — March 1993 • Genre — Life simulation • Modes — Single-player • Platforms — MS-DOS, Mac, FM Towns
Development
Development
El-Fish was created by Vladimir Pokhilko, Ph.D. and Alexey Pajitnov (the creator of Tetris), who had backgrounds in mathematics, 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: • 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.
Places
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Places
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- Russia
Named but not plotted · 1
El-Fish is associated with Russia.
Country
Reception
Computer Gaming World called the graphics as state-of-the-art, but questioned whether there was enough substance to warrant its purchase. The reviewer, an aquarium owner, criticized the "software toy" on its "inability to sustain the player's interest. Once the aquarium has been created and viewed, there just isn't much else happening", with no simulation of an ecosystem needing ongoing maintenance as he had hoped. In 1996, Computer Gaming World declared El-Fish the 13th-worst computer game ever released.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Dennis Publishing. Bulletin - El-Fish. PC Zone. 1. 12. April 1993.
- 2.Fish helping eliminate stress. The Tennessean. 58. October 10, 1993.
- 3.Mindscape. Mindscape International Catalogue. 6. 1993.
- 4.Power Unlimited Game Database. powerweb.nl. 1993.
- 5.Goble, Gordon. A Review of El-Fish from Maxis. Computer Gaming World. 118. July 1993.
- 6.Staff. 150 Best (and 50 Worst) Games of All Time. Computer Gaming World. 148. 63–65, 68, 72, 74, 76, 78, 80, 84, 88, 90, 94, 98. November 1996.
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General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 18 August 2026.
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