Thrill Of The Catch
- Brand
- Discovery Education
- Year
- 2010
- Objective
- Engagement
- Industry
- Other
- Mechanic
- Simulation & Strategy
- Platform
- Web
- Agency
- RED Interactive Agency
Objective
Discovery Education wanted classroom audiences to learn about aquatic ecosystems by doing rather than reading, so it built a game instead of a lesson plan. Partnering with TakeMeFishing.org, the recreational-fishing program run by RBFF, gave the project a second job: turning curious kids into future anglers.
Solution
Players land on Discovery Lake and start by raising their own fish — picking a species, coloring it, naming it, and feeding it to help it grow. Once the fish is ready, the player picks up a rod and casts into the lake, matching bait to species and conditions to get a bite. Every catch is released back into the water, so the payoff for landing a fish is watching it swim off rather than banking a trophy. Between casts, players can also clear litter off the lake to raise an eco-score, folding conservation into the same loop as the fishing itself.
- 1
The player enters Discovery Lake, a browser-based virtual lake that branches into two activities: raising a fish and going fishing.
- 2
In fish-raising mode, the player picks a species, colors it, and names it.
- 3
The player feeds the fish its species-specific favorite food to grow it, a mechanic that models the food chain.
- 4
In fishing mode, the player casts by matching a fish species, a bait, and environmental conditions, a combination that teaches habitats and food chains.
- 5
Every catch is released back into the lake, embedding a catch-and-release ethic into the core action.
- 6
The player can also collect litter and pollution from the lake, raising an eco-rating as a side activity.
