Inside: SereneScreen Fan Forum - View Single Post - Wishlist for Marine Aquarium 3 and Future

08-20-2001, 11:58 AM

Jim,

I know this message is going to be a long winded one, so I will save the praise

I see great potential for you to make mega bucks out of this venture, and I truly believe you deserved it more than Bill Gates.

So my message is not actually about adding new fish, or turtle, but about how you can built an even larger and loyal (read: addicted) customer base.

I believe your priority should not be adding more fish. No matter how pretty a new fish is, it will always be regarded as just another fish. The impact will never be anyway close to the first sight of this screensaver.

Nor should the priority be impoving the background corels etc. Sure these are nice features to add, there is no argument about it at all. But I am talking about priority.

Your priority should be to make the program ever more addictive. And there is nothing more addictive than to make the program somewhat interactive and fun.

There is a good Japanese virtual pet called Tamagochi which was extremely popular a few years ago. You can certainly borrow some idea from it.

As mentioned by others previously, to let the pet grow old or die can be difficult and not desirable. No problem. You can ignore that feature, but just borrow the idea of keeping virtual pet. That is one hell of a strong addiction.

The other related addiction, is interaction. This idea stem from my Malaysian rural background. During my primary school years, if someone failed an exam, the one that gets the blame is always the Malaysian fighting fish.

There is a site here about this fish for those who are interested: www.aquariumfish.com.my/f...betta.html

BTW, these are not salt water fish.

OK, I remember you mentioned previously, that you will not have any fish attacking another fish in your tank. Well, I can understand and I support that. But how about having an agressive fish that attack the mouse? Meaning the mouse click represent knock knock on the tank, and this particular fish very much dislike to be disturbed.

Another quick reference here:
www.techtronics.com/uk/sh...0-mp3.html
I made this simple animated GIF using MS GIF Animator, all done in an hour. So don't expect to see anything spectacular. And it is not about fish!

The reference is about how to show nervousness. Big pirate obviously should be less nervous, hence sticking up and down more casually, and little pirates are more nervous and appear so.

What I would suggest to implement in your tank, is:
1. Allow the mouse to appear in hand shape (instead of the regular arrow), on top of the screenserver, and use click or double click to simulate knocking on the tank.
2. Right after a knock, the Star fish should drop to the bottom of the tank, and all other fish quickly dissapear and hide behind the corel.
3. Except one. This one should be ugly and aggressive. And instead of running away, it would begin the chase and bite the hand around the screen. Limit that chase to say 5 seconds.
4. The attack should be over, and all other fish come out of hiding, unless another knock is initiated.
5. The more often the knocks, the more bites from the agressive fish in a row.

Hands up those who don't find it addictive.

08-20-2001, 11:58 AM	#400
Guest Posts: n/a	The key should be Interactive and Addictive Jim, I know this message is going to be a long winded one, so I will save the praise I see great potential for you to make mega bucks out of this venture, and I truly believe you deserved it more than Bill Gates. So my message is not actually about adding new fish, or turtle, but about how you can built an even larger and loyal (read: addicted) customer base. I believe your priority should not be adding more fish. No matter how pretty a new fish is, it will always be regarded as just another fish. The impact will never be anyway close to the first sight of this screensaver. Nor should the priority be impoving the background corels etc. Sure these are nice features to add, there is no argument about it at all. But I am talking about priority. Your priority should be to make the program ever more addictive. And there is nothing more addictive than to make the program somewhat interactive and fun. There is a good Japanese virtual pet called Tamagochi which was extremely popular a few years ago. You can certainly borrow some idea from it. As mentioned by others previously, to let the pet grow old or die can be difficult and not desirable. No problem. You can ignore that feature, but just borrow the idea of keeping virtual pet. That is one hell of a strong addiction. The other related addiction, is interaction. This idea stem from my Malaysian rural background. During my primary school years, if someone failed an exam, the one that gets the blame is always the Malaysian fighting fish. There is a site here about this fish for those who are interested: www.aquariumfish.com.my/f...betta.html BTW, these are not salt water fish. OK, I remember you mentioned previously, that you will not have any fish attacking another fish in your tank. Well, I can understand and I support that. But how about having an agressive fish that attack the mouse? Meaning the mouse click represent knock knock on the tank, and this particular fish very much dislike to be disturbed. Another quick reference here: www.techtronics.com/uk/sh...0-mp3.html I made this simple animated GIF using MS GIF Animator, all done in an hour. So don't expect to see anything spectacular. And it is not about fish! The reference is about how to show nervousness. Big pirate obviously should be less nervous, hence sticking up and down more casually, and little pirates are more nervous and appear so. What I would suggest to implement in your tank, is: 1. Allow the mouse to appear in hand shape (instead of the regular arrow), on top of the screenserver, and use click or double click to simulate knocking on the tank. 2. Right after a knock, the Star fish should drop to the bottom of the tank, and all other fish quickly dissapear and hide behind the corel. 3. Except one. This one should be ugly and aggressive. And instead of running away, it would begin the chase and bite the hand around the screen. Limit that chase to say 5 seconds. 4. The attack should be over, and all other fish come out of hiding, unless another knock is initiated. 5. The more often the knocks, the more bites from the agressive fish in a row. Hands up those who don't find it addictive.