MOPy fish next to a rock and plant

The MOPy fish is a freeware cyberpet, released in October 1997 for Microsoft Windows by The Global Beach Group on behalf of Hewlett-Packard.[1] It had been downloaded more than 10 million times as of the year 2000. Based on the Blood parrot cichlid fish, the MOPy fish has a complex behavior pattern.

History and Behavior

First released in 1997, the MOPy fish program holds the Guinness world record for the most downloaded cyberpet.[2] The MOPy fish can remember how it has been treated over the last week, therefore altering its behavior to correspond with its care. The MOPy fish will become aggressive if not fed in five days and becomes depressed in 10 days. If the MOPy fish is neglected and not fed, it will fall sick and die after three weeks. If the fish dies, all the MOPy points accumulated are lost and the fish can only be brought back to life via a menu.[3] Though since MOPy fish is controlled by the digital calendar, the fish can be brought back to life by manipulating the computer's date entry. MOPy fish is still available for download at several websites.[4][5][6]

MOPy Points

For each original document you send to print, you earn MOPy (Multiple Original Printouts) points. The more MOPy points you have, the more accessories for your fish can be earned, making your fish happier, and enhancing the appearance of the on screen environment. The accessories are as follows:

You must download the Aphrodisiac Fish Food with a key you get after 3200 points; however, it is no longer available from HP, with only an archived version available.[7]

The original program, Aphrodisiac Fish Food, a hack to accumulate points (created by Bill Greganti), as well as some additional add-ons are still available from his website[8]

Problem with Newer Versions of Windows

Problems have been seen when running MOPy Fish on Windows XP and above. It currently will not install at all on Windows 8. Most notably that the screen saver does not appear in the Windows screen saver list, or does not start after the specified timeout. One known fix is to rename the mopyfish.scr file located in the Windows directory to SSmopyfish.scr[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ "Global Beach appoints Hewlett-Packard vice president Alex Sozonoff as non-executive director". March 7, 2001. Retrieved March 14, 2015.
  2. ^ Guinness World Records 2001. Bantam Books. 2001. p. 201. ISBN 9780553583755. Retrieved March 14, 2015.
  3. ^ "MopyFish.net". Archived from the original on March 14, 2015. Retrieved March 14, 2015. ((cite web)): |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; December 14, 2002 suggested (help)
  4. ^ Bill Greganti's MOPy Download
  5. ^ 5star-Shareware MOPy Download
  6. ^ UltimateSavers MOPy Download
  7. ^ http://www.hp.com/go/fish
  8. ^ "Bill Greganti's Mopyfish Hacks Website". Retrieved March 14, 2015.
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