myers@bogart.stanford.edu OR Dr Fig@aol.com OR lefig@leland.stanford.edu
Thanks!
VERSION 2.0 AND HIGHER AVAILABLE AS OF Feb 94
-3D RENDERED GRAPHICS
-FASTER STARTUP AND LEVEL CHANGES
-MORE FRIENDLY INTERFACE
-MUCH MUCH MORE
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What is the Hungry Frog Series?
The Hungry Frog series is a series of related educational games. Other Hungry Frog games include two math Hungry Frog games teaching elementary counting skills, and Equation Eaters teaching math ranging from simple addition and subtraction to absolute value and more advanced topics.
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What is Hungry Frog Ion Eaters?
Hungry Frog Ion Eaters is a color (or B&W) real-time animated multimedia chemistry game for the learning of ionic charges in chemistry, and like the other Hungry Frog games the game uses feedback loops to focus instruction on areas of difficulty.
You control a Hungry Frog colony which has to eat flies (ions) to stay alive and make new frogs and tadpoles. The game speed and difficulty is fully adjustable, and there is a help-mode so you can play from the time you just start to learn your ions to when you know them all well. You can also study game statistics to see which ions you are having trouble learning.
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How do you play?
To play, just double click on the application icon. Once the game starts, clicking on a frog gives you control of the frog's tongue. You must hold the mouse button down and drag the tongue to a fly, then release the mouse button. If the frog has the same charge as the ion (fly) he will eat it, if not you'll see what happens. (Note: You can start with only +1 ions and a single +1 frog, so you can practice your mouse skills and start to recognize the +1 ions right away.) If you are bored going up the beginning levels, then choose advanced game start by using more frogs.
In case you need help, you can run in Demo mode where each fly indicates if the currently selected frog is the correct frog - or you can simply click on a fly you are not familiar with and the correct frog will be indicated.
You remain in the game as long as you have tadpoles (the little swimmers swimming around with the frogs). The tadpoles die, as well as grow into new frogs (when this happens you go up a level) so you have to be sure to keep eating (the more you eat, the more tadpoles you get), or you may run out of tadpoles and the game will end.
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What's the current version?
The current version is v2.1 (as of 2/5/94)
Versions 1.3.1 and above support ion formulas as well as ion names, e.g. Bromide & Br are both flies in the game. v1.3.1 and above also have multiple fly types and other audio-visual changes, and you can start at more advanced levels of play.
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What computer setup do I need to play?
The game has been tested to work with System 7.0.1* or higher, and really truly shouldn't care what Mac it runs on - but color Macs are much nicer. You can run in B&W, 4, 16, 256 or 1000's of colors at any window size up to a two page display (1152x870 pixels). However, millions of colors are not supported, and the game slows down significantly when 1000's of colors are used. Feel free to zoom and resize you windows, that's why those little boxes are there! Smaller windows and fewer colors make the game go faster.
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Last but not least, I NEED YOUR INPUT!
IF THE GAME WORKS FINE, BUT YOU DON'T WANT TO SEND ANY MONEY SEND ME SOME EMAIL!
Finally, be aware that due to the nature of shareware other users could have made changes to the program before you receive it, and it is your responsibility to verify that the instructuctional nature of the program has not been compromised, e.g. ion charges or names changed by a third party.
