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|        Alphabet Fishin'      |
|        By Andrew Barron      |
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Thanks for downloading my game! 

I suggest you read most of this readme, since the gameplay isn't very "intuitive" (meaning most people are confused the first time they play).

This was my first "action" (real time, not turn/menu based) game that I actually fully completed. I made it a couple years ago, but never posted it until now. I think it's pretty good, as far as BASIC games are concerned... but I guess I'm kinda biased.


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|  GAME PLAY  |
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The lower case "u" at the top of the screen is your boat. Using the left and right arrows, you can drive your boat in those directions. The squigly stuff beneath your boat is the water. The number on the left side of the water is how much time you have remaining. The number on the right is your score. The "J" in the water below is your fishing hook. You use this to catch the letters as they swim by.

You will notice that your hook doesn't always move perfectly with your boat. It will drift along behind it. The further away your boat is (left and right) from the hook, the more likely the hook is to drift towards the boat. You will also notice that the hook falls towards the bottom of the screen on its own, albeit slowly. You can make the hook drop faster by holding the down arrow. You can reel the hook in using the up arrow.

Hooking letters is easy: just drag your "J" hook over them. When you catch a letter, your hook turns into a "!". In order to get the points for the letter, you need to reel the letter in so that it is directly under your boat, at the top of the water. When you get your points, your hook turns back into a "J". NOTE: It is possible to catch letters, even when your hook is a "!". If you do this, the letter that was originally on your hook is replaced by the new letter.

When your time runs out, the game is over.

The game difficulty changes the size of the area where the letters appear; nothing more. (This means that letters will be more scattered on hard then on easy)


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|  SCORING  |
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Consonants (c, f, k): 1 point
Vowels (a, u): 2 points
Y (is it a vowel, or is it a consonant?): 3 points
T: 1 point and +25 time


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|  TIPS  |
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The best advice I can give you is to ALWAYS get the "T"s. Even though they are only worth 1 point, they give you more time, which makes them the most valuable letter. They are the key to getting a very high score.

Well, first of all, the highscore doesn't care what difficulty you're on, so if you're a panzy, just play on easy, and no one will be able to beat your score.

Next, it helps to know how the letters move. They only move right and down (this made the game run faster). They will disappear randomly, or when they reach the edge of the screen. Therefore, if your hook is too far away from a letter, often it is best to let the letter go and wait for the next one. Letters spawn in the upper-left part of the screen (the size of this area is determined by the difficulty- in hard it is most of the screen). Hang around the middle of the spawn area for best results.

Keep in mind that you can still catch letters when you already have one on your hook. If you see a better letter than the one you have, go for it! If you have a good letter on your hook, don't accidentally catch a worse one!

Another thing to keep in mind is how the hook moves. Remember that it falls on its own, which makes it easier to drop the hook than to reel it in. Stay above the letters until the hook is lined up with them, then drop the hook. Keep in mind that the further the boat is from the hook, the more likely it is to move back towards the boat. But don't drive to far away from the hook: if you suddenly want the hook ot go the other direction, you need to drive all the way back to it. And, in case you didn't notice: the hook will never float directly under your boat, nor will it float away from the boat.

I'm sure you will develop strategies of your own if you play the game enough.


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|  LASTLY  |
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I hope you enjoy my game! There are no bugs, as far as I know (the source is pretty small, anyway). Well, except one, sorta. The game gets slower as you play (especially if you play for a while because you catch lots of "T"s). This isn't a problem with the code, it's just a limitation of BASIC, as far as I know.

Feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, etc:

Andrew Barron
aw_barron@hotmail.com

5/30/02