Acorn User
1st February 1985
A simuation on the same lines as the Welcome Tape's Kingdom, the player's aim in Osprey is to safeguard and increase the population of that bird in Scotland. It is a rare bird of prey which lives by fishing, and a very interesting bookley is supplied with the package describing the osprey's habits and history.
The resources available to the player are wardens, who must be allocated to minimise disturbance to the nesting and summer, and their consequences carried over into the following season.
The program displays its reslts with sound and graphics; there is an attractive (but unvarying) landscape, the birds fly, sing and splash into the lake, egg stealers climb the tree or are chased away by wardens.
The game ends either when the osprey population has dwindled to zero or when year 1980 is reached (it is possible to begin at any time from 1965 onwards) Both endings are somewhat abrupt, and it is not possible to recall and analyse a series of decisions.
At the heart of a game like this is a 'model' - a set of rules which dictate the overall pattern of events generated by the program. Here the model is quite logical and simple, and it does not take too long to adchieve reasonable results. The range of choices is obviously very limited, and the strategy need not vry greatly from one year to another. Used in the classroom the program would not require as much time and preparation as, say, the Ginn simuations.
In summary, this is a well-presented package based on an interesting theme, which points the way towards further work and investigation away from the computer.
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