MARINE SCIENCE

Throughout the design of this game, we have made every effort to be true to the science of marine biology. We carefully selected fish to represent the broad diversity that exists in the oceans, and we consulted with marine biologists. However, we did take some artistic license on some aspects for the sake of gameplay. Here are a few caveats and explanations for some of those aspects:

ZONES: The designation of Sunlight (0 to 200 meters), Twilight (200 to 1,000 meters), and Midnight (1,000+ meters) are actual classifications, but the habitable zones of many fish are often not entirely known.

CONSUMING OTHER FISH: While size is a major contributor, it isn’t the only factor involved in determining which fish may eat another. Some fish even prey on others that are many times their own size. (And some don’t eat other fish at all.) For ease of gameplay, we simply went with length to designate a fish’s size, even though many fish are larger than others that are longer than they are.

EGGS: Many fish give birth to live young or lay eggs in special egg cases (colloquially called a “mermaid’s purse”). We have used eggs to represent all these processes.

SCHOOLS: Many species of fish, especially deep-sea fishes, live a more solitary life and do not form schools. The young in the game are not necessarily the offspring of the fish card on which they reside.

Thank you to the wonderful and insightful marine experts who reviewed every fish for scientific accuracy, including a special thank you to Alex Marks and Brynn Devine! We are also grateful for RM, who created the initial list of fish and some core concepts for Finspan.