Didactic game “Who lives where. Where to look for pike? Determination of pike habitats “ecological tower “forest”

Surely many of you are familiar with the hero of the popular cartoon - Nemo the fish. If we compare this small brightly colored fish with the main character of our article - Esox, then some similarities can be established between them. For example, they are very difficult to find. Nemo, as you remember, was elusive, and Pike in reality is also not so easy to find. Yes, there are days when the pike bites on everything indiscriminately, like crazy. But sometimes it seems to disappear from the pond, and no matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, it’s all in vain. That's when identifying a pike's location may be your only chance of catching it.

The ability to correctly determine a parking spot comes with experience. Pike is one of those fish that adapts perfectly to its environment. She lives where it’s hard to even imagine - in bodies of water where, in fact, she shouldn’t be. If you know for sure that Esox lives in a particular body of water, then in order to find it, you need to learn to put yourself in its place and think like it.

This toothy predator takes root everywhere. It can be found in small artificial canals and natural rivers, in large reservoirs and muddy ponds, in fresh and salt water, in ponds with standing water and in rapid currents. If you realize this, you will already be a quarter of the way to finding this predator, although it will take some work. Throughout my fishing career I have often encountered difficulty catching Esox. Sometimes I had to solve puzzles for several days, wondering where the pike was and what to do. to catch her. And to this day I am faced with completely new circumstances, so I will be right if I say that in my entire life I will never be able to find out everything about this predator.

As I already said, Esox lives literally everywhere. I caught it in small canals, natural lakes and rivers, and found it under water lilies and seaweed. She was caught in schools of bream, among garfish and cod. I've caught pike on tiny spinnerbaits and huge plastic lures weighing over half a kilogram. Where the conditions were right, I have successfully caught pike with fly fishing. Sometimes it happened that I knew for sure that a predator was in the chosen fishing spot, but I could not catch it with any artificial bait until I set up a rig with a dead fish. What should you do to achieve maximum efficiency in catching this predatory fish?

I believe the key to success is locating the fish. Choosing the right bait and the right presentation is, as they say, a matter of technique. Go to a fishing store or online; You will be amazed at the incredible number of baits currently available for sale. If you are a beginner and do not have enough experience in fishing with artificial bait, then you need to be very careful in your choice. Among them there are often low-quality and non-working baits; fishing with them is an unaffordable luxury.

The bait must be perfect. You can count on your fingers the number of companies that produce really high-quality wobblers that meet all the requirements of a modern spinning angler. The guys from the company create excellent baits, and here's why. Piotr Piskorski and Radoslaw Zavorski spend a lot of time on the water, testing their lures in a wide variety of conditions. They don't operate on the "look, we make baits too" mentality that other companies follow. This sets them apart from other wobbler production companies.

When it comes to choosing a bait, the first thing you need to start with is choosing the right size. The principle is simple: than larger area reservoir, the larger the bait should be. This principle works if you fish using the trolling method on big lake. If you are fishing small areas of a lake, river or canal, then you should cast and use smaller bait. For trolling at a depth of four to five meters, a Fatso wobbler or large silicone baits such as Bull Dawg, Twinler and Mega grub are ideal. You can also try large spinnerbaits. Pike loves them!

On greater depth you will need deep diving crankbaits like the Perch 14. If you cast the Perch 14 behind a boat motor, it can reach depths of 10 meters. Don't be afraid to use this bait if the fishing spot is not so deep! The shorter the line and the closer the wobbler is to the boat, the shallower the depth of its immersion. If you run it immediately behind the engine. Perch will descend to a depth of no more than three to four meters. To increase the working depth of silicone baits, it is necessary to use a heavier jig head.

Trolling is a fairly effective way to catch pike, but not always. To achieve maximum results, in my opinion, it is better to use the spinning method. It's quite simple to explain. When trolling, the bait moves in the water along one line at a depth of four to five meters or more, you are fishing a vast area of ​​water, but quantity does not always translate into quality. Correct, clear casting can ensure that the bait is carried 30-40 meters at drift of the boat. The spinning method allows you to be flexible with the bait you use: you can reduce or increase the speed of the bait on one retrieve, you can use twitching or jerking, you can let the bait rise to the surface or sink down. All in your hands. But what to do if the pike is not there. The only way out is to find her.

Let's now look at the most likely situations you may encounter

On big lakes

Let's say you find yourself on a large lake. For one, a large lake is a reservoir of several hectares; for another, it is a reservoir in which the other shore is not visible. I belong to the latter category of fishermen. Regardless of which category you fall into, you need to make it easier for yourself to find pike in a large reservoir. To do this, it is necessary to conditionally break it into several parts. A completely unfamiliar lake must first be studied on a map, selected a promising area, and made notes. The selected area of ​​a large lake is best explored by boat, although even using a map you can determine the most promising parts of the island. For example, lakes formed during the Ice Age in Scandinavia, Canada, North America and parts of Ireland have the same shape and are located from north to south. Numerous islands in these lakes also have a similar structure. Glaciers usually move from north to south. In nine out of ten cases, there is depth on the northern side of these islands, and shallow water on the southern side, which gradually turns into depth. These small areas, characterized by distinct structural elements and the presence of benthic aquatic vegetation, are where I concentrate my attention.

In nine out of ten cases, fishing on the north side is a waste of time, but there may be pike on the south side of the island. The same thing happens with underwater structural elements or, in other words, underwater islands. As a rule, the northern side of such an island will be shallow, and the southern side will be deep. The fish feel safe if the shallow water smoothly turns into depth, otherwise you should move to the north side. In most cases, finding fish will not be difficult. On detailed map, you can find elongated islands, followed by a smooth drop to depth. In such places you will certainly find fish!

Look for structural features near the shore: humps, piles of rocks, ledges, etc. You can find a large number of these areas in one lake. Concentrate on those that are surrounded by a dense carpet of bottom vegetation. Stones and rocks also attract a predator, and if stones or rocks border an area with underwater vegetation, then you have found a promising place. Having caught one pike in one place, you should not immediately change it, because there can often be several predators there at once.

I prefer to catch pike with jerk baits, such as Slider, for example, or I use a Twinler silicone bait. These are universal baits that work effectively at depths of up to four to five meters. In small areas covered with vegetation, I use surface wobblers. Try these wonderful lures, enjoy their game and unforgettable sensations while fishing for pike.

In the harbors

If you find yourself on a large lake, why should a harbor be considered a promising location? The answer is simple: harbors, like a magnet, attract small fish. Here small forage fish can find both shelter and food, this, in turn, attracts predators, including pike. No owner of an expensive boat or boat will be happy to see your bait hitting the sides after casting. expensive yachts, therefore it is much more effective and safer to use trolling. You are required to carefully maneuver the boat, trying to get the bait as close as possible to the sides of other boats and yachts. The little fish likes to hide there, and the predator likes to lie in wait for its prey. Since in such places there are mainly small forage fish, it is preferable to use medium-sized baits.

As I already said, fishing conditions in the harbor require the angler to have a certain skill in controlling the boat. For greater efficiency, I would recommend launching the bait behind the motor and making as many turns and maneuvers as possible, trying to get the bait as close as possible to the boats and yachts in the harbor. For these purposes, the brightly colored Perch wobbler is ideal, and the most picky pike will have difficulty resisting it. At what time of year does this method work most effectively? Many anglers believe that pike usually come into the harbors in the fall or winter. Trust me, she visits such places throughout the year.

On the river

I must admit, the river is a very complex body of water. Some eccentrics believe that river conditions are not very suitable for pike. However, in big rivers pike reaches impressive sizes. I'm simply amazed how she manages to survive in rivers with strong currents. I was reminded of a time when my wife Monique and I were fishing on the Tri-sile River in Norway a few years ago. He accompanied us local guide, which showed catchable places, mainly areas with reverse flows, exits from whirlpools, etc. When asked why you never cast to the middle of the river, “for example, he said that nothing good can be expected from such places. You will either tear off the oscillating spoon or spinner, or get caught by the tee of the wobbler on a rock or a submerged tree. Monique finally decided to take a chance and cast a Turbo Jack into the middle of the river, which, much to our colleague’s surprise, did not get caught on a tree, stones or other debris, but brought a hefty pike. Coincidence? Don't think. After some time, I managed to catch two more good pike in a strong current.

Pike loves currents, it loves whirlpools and constantly spins there. Don't ignore these places. If after two or three casts there is no bite, move to another place. In the summer, I like to fish with surface baits; jerkbaits work well at this time, especially Slider 10. Firing spinnerbaits near or directly above vegetation is unlikely to leave a toothy predator indifferent.

Karin E. Skoog, formerly worked as an associate AI designer at Avalanche Studios on the hunting simulator theHunter: Call of the Wild.

Before working on theHunter: CotW, my closest hunting experience was shooting skeet with my relatives (I mean, orange discs launched into the air by a special machine).

I joined theHunter: CotW team because it offered an incredible opportunity to focus entirely on AI design. Now that the game is on the shelves, I can sit down and write down my thoughts on the game's development (from the perspective of someone who worked on the AI). Perhaps what I learned will be useful for someone else.

Gain knowledge

Despite the fact that before working on the project I rarely encountered hunting, I very quickly became expert in the behavior of more than 10 species of animals.

Gaining knowledge about hunting and animal behavior was extremely important since theHunter is a franchise that aims to create the most realistic hunting simulator.

At all, many fans of theHunter games are real hunters. And this means that...

• The players are great know when an animal's behavior is realized anyhow
• Unlike FPS (and arcade hunting simulators), these players do not open fire mindlessly on anything that moves. On the contrary, they sometimes watch an animal (or a group of animals) for several minutes, waiting for the right moment. Moreover, there is a category of players who simply enjoy the local beauty, taking photographs instead of shots.

In general, players spend a lot of time observing animals and their behavior, so the way virtual animals behave is one of the main components that adds believability to the game.

Brief introduction: What do AI designers even do?

I started working on theHunter: CotW when several animals had already been added to the game, but without behavior models yet. In the process, we had to collaborate with a variety of specialists (sound designers, animators, programmers, environment artists, etc.), because it was required that the AI, on the one hand, meet the expectations of real hunters, and on the other hand, integrate well into the gameplay .

My job was as follows:

• Animal behavior and needs research
• Population of reserves, including locations where animals eat, sleep, drink and walk, as well as work on herd sizes, gender ratios in herds, “daily routines”, etc.
• Definition of additional elements (like habitat zones)
• Development and implementation of animal behavior AI, taking into account that each species (including different types of deer) should behave differently

The advantage of working at Avalanche Studios was their own Apex Engine (by the way, its early versions were used in Mad Max and Just Cause 3). It is equipped with a so-called “behavior tree” - technology for implementing AI behavior.

(The image above is from Robert Mayer's presentation on AI design in Just Cause 3, which he showed at GDC.)

How does AI design improve the believability of animal behavior?

Since the main goal of theHunter franchise is to create the most believable hunting simulator of all time, before developing AI, you need to delve deeply into the topic, studying the smallest details of animal life. For example…

Population – herd size, gender composition, etc.

What does this mean for the game? Isn't it enough to just make a few herds of different sizes and then put them in the game? No. There is a lot in animal behavior nuances and complexities that influence how animals organize into groups. Here are some examples:

Large herd of females (with one random male)

Many deer most year (not counting the mating season, which is also called the “rut”) they live in large and very visible herds, consisting only of individuals of the same sex. I also created such herds, but added one or two males to them.

Why is it important? Since females are smaller than males, and hunters, as a rule, want to shoot something larger, this encourages players to stop and watch such a herd in search of a “secret” male. My personal goal was make males sufficiently variable, so that the player will be pleasantly surprised when he finally finds a high-ranking male.

(I'll be writing mostly about deer, but the final game also includes bison, red fox, wild boar, and black bear. There's a lot of research and detail behind each species, including the different types of deer.)

Small herd of males (usually in dense bush)

When creating the herds and their habitats, I made sure that the herds of males were, as a rule, in the dense forest. Thanks to this, firstly, males harder to find, and secondly, dense foliage plus sensitive deer hearing- This is a serious test for the hunter who wants to sneak closer to get a good shot.

“Top” animals are old males (very sensitive, live in dense thickets)

Herds and habitats were created with the utmost care to balance the complexity, sensitivity and “level” of animals. As a result, in theHunter you can find large herds of low-ranking animals walking along the open plains, and “top” single males living in the most difficult areas of the reserve. I will return to this topic a little lower - in the “Habitat” section.

At this point I would like to thank Björn Öjlert, the lead designer on the original theHunter, and also a fantastic teacher who mentored me throughout my time at Avalanche Studios. His experience working on the first theHunter and his knowledge of what players wanted greatly influenced the design of theHunter: Call of the Wild. He understands perfectly well What game design decisions (like animal ranks) matter most to players, and what was needed improve, to make CotW stand out.

We also met every week with the creators of the original theHunter - to talk about professional topics and to always be aware of new game design solutions.

Habitat

When designing a habitat, you need to consider its size, as well as how it is affected by differences in the sex/age of animals, etc.

Rarity and complexity of locations with high-ranking males

I touched on this topic a little above, but now I want to talk about it in more detail. My job was, again, to set the size of the habitat for each species in the reserve, and this was done very simply - using a coloring tool.

By studying the distribution of animals across a territory (and how criteria like sex or age affect the size of individual and shared habitats), I decided that it was easier to implement this by creating a new layer (like in Photoshop). In particular, I made a special layer for high-ranking males and overlaid it on top of the general population map. At the same time, I strived...

• ...give high-ranking males a small individual habitat. For a player who has climbed onto some hill, will be a real reward find a pasture or rest area, because this means that a high-ranking male is wandering somewhere nearby! (Players, by the way, immediately crouch down or even lie down when they see a high-ranking male nearby, starting to move more carefully so as not to scare away the prey.)
• …arrange individual zones in areas with dense thickets, to reduce the player's chances of gaining an advantage

When moving through a dense forest, the player willy-nilly make noise, and if he is also moving downwind, the animal will take off before the player even realizes that there is potential prey somewhere ahead. This makes hunting high-ranking males very difficult (but also rewarding!) because High-ranking animals have a much sharper sense of smell than other animals of the same species (take, for example, the red deer, which grazes in one of the most remote and mountainous corners of a European nature reserve).

Working with the environment and ambush points

Another thing I really enjoyed while developing AI was creating places where animals walk, eat, drink and sleep. I collaborated closely with environmental artists, to provide reserves with enough water sources, pastures and recreation areas (considering the habitat area), as well as enough hills and flat areas around the hills to create ambush points. This was a very important gameplay decision:

• The concept of ambush points (i.e. points for ambush) is interesting not only for hunters, but also from a game design point of view. Essentially, this is a place in an FPS or tower-defense game that is a bottleneck for the enemy. I advise you, in particular, to read from Bowhunting Magazine - there are wonderful pictures that perfectly illustrate the concept of ambush points, as well as detailed description how the hunter can use them.

• As a rule, hunters come to an ambush point in the morning, build a storehouse or hunting booth, and then wait for the animals, which at dawn go through this bottleneck to the pasture. They build their cover in such a way that between it and the pasture there is line of sight, and also to the wind did not blow from them towards the animals. Ambush points typically form naturally in the plains between hills or along water sources, providing an excellent vantage point for shooting at a deer heading toward a pasture or resting area.
• While working on areas where animals walk around and satisfy their needs (eating, resting and drinking), I had a lot of fun finding places where the player could set up a hunting booth to wait for a passing deer. It was great to see players using these spaces for their intended purpose!
• This video shows, as the player finds an ambush point, and then simply watches animals go about their normal business.

"Schedule"

It was important to me to research how a real animal's day goes - exactly when it eats, drinks and rests - and then implement this "schedule" in the game. After all, it would be very strange if a nocturnal animal had the same “rhythm of life” as a diurnal animal (that is, one that is awake most of the day).

Some time has been added to the daily routine variability, because I tried to do so in the reserve there was always some movement! Can you imagine a forest that seems to be breathing life, but is actually quiet and calm, because all the animals have decided that from one to two is their quiet hour!?

• Animal's "daily routine" as a gameplay mechanic. The gameplay provides study of animal “graphs”, and then use this knowledge for your hunting purposes. This rewarding gameplay element, because Having learned how the deer spends its day, the player can predict where it can be found. Just like in real life.

It's all the result of research into adding new species to the game... not to mention countless hours spent researching how animals look and move!

Realistic animal behavior - what is it?

To create believable AI, we need...

Basic needs

Including eating, drinking, sleeping and walking between the areas where all this happens.

To make the animal's behavior less robotic, it is not created according to the principle “Deer! Stand here and eat grass until your eating algorithm is completed!” (I think anyone who has worked with the behavior tree can rightfully be called a “Deer Trainer.”)

To make eating more believable, I added several additional branches to the behavior tree, including:

• Finding a new position located at a random distance (but still within the pasture)
• Moving forward while eating grass (like a lawnmower!)
• Simply lowering your head to browse the grass for a random number of seconds and then picking it up

In between these behaviors, the animal may engage in an idle animation (such as shaking its head, looking left/right, scratching/biting itself, etc.). As a result, it all looks very cool, even in large groups, because... the animal's actions involve sufficient randomness, making the behavior appear more natural.

I also added a few more branches to vary the times when the animals leave one “zone of need” (eating, drinking, sleeping) and move towards another. It would be strange if all the members of the herd suddenly stopped eating and then went somewhere at the same time. I made it so that the “leader” of the group “decides” that it is time to move forward, after which the other members of the group, gradually finishing with their business, follow. This is just one of those behaviors that players simply don’t notice, because... it looks very natural... But if the deer, like a bunch of robots, did the same thing at the same time, Every second reviewer would probably write about this!

Lure

Hunters often use so-called "decoys" to get an animal to come closer... and each virtual animal responds to the call differently.

As in shooters where enemies have "take cover" behavior(roll, run to position X, etc.), theHunter has behavior like "approximation". Since players see this element of AI so often, it was extremely important to make the response to the decoy as believable as possible.

• This Video demonstrates how a European fallow deer reacts to a decoy in theHunter: Call of the Wild. (The player sees exactly when the doe’s “alarm system” was triggered, switching the animal’s behavior from “approaching” to “alarming,” as well as which particular sense organ sent the alarm signal - vision, smell or hearing). Here the same, but in real life. (The doe runs a little faster because it is the height of the mating season - the male thinks that someone has invaded his territory!).
• It’s a pleasure to do such things in the behavior tree, because... The AI ​​developer can set different approach angles and movement speeds. The result is great variability in how different species respond to luring, so the player is never 100% sure which method the animal will choose. (“Will he trot? Just walk? From what angle? Will he stop? Will he come straight at me? Will he call back and reveal his position?”)
• Because the the animal can approach the hunter from any direction, the player may simply need sit, watch and wait for a good shot. (I'll go into more detail about this in the chapter on the "pain" behavior, but players tend to target the animal's back, heart, or lungs, so angle is important.)

Anxiety

The gameplay should be structured so that the player immediately understands that he scared the animal, as well as how exactly he scared it. Bjorn repeated this throughout the development of CotW: “There has to be some reason for the animal to react.” If the animal reacts just like that (from the player's point of view), the player may think that the problem is bad AI and quit the game.

In real life, many species of deer (and other species, including the red fox) make sounds to warn about the danger of another deer. We used this to show the player that the animal has been disturbed(Similarly, in stealth and shooter games, the enemy, sensing something is wrong, can say “Who’s there?”). At this point players tend to slow down and change their stance (squat or lie down), so that the animal does not discover them.

After studying how the senses work in different animals, I realized that anxious behavior can be used to show unique characteristics of the species. For example, only some species of deer can detect stationary and moving objects - most have a signal system that is “cut down” to detect only those objects that are moving. Additionally, some deer species have excellent senses (in addition to good eyesight). This makes them difficult to hunt., especially if they live at home, i.e. in mountainous forested areas (like red deer).

The levels of the “signal system” of fallow deer and roe deer are different, so the player needs to select different tactics to hunt them. The doe was made a more “simple” animal, i.e. if she notices you, then you can continue to move in her direction, and she will most likely not show any signs of alarm. But the roe deer in such a situation will begin to “bark” (make a warning sound). This means that the player, having been spotted by a roe deer, must change the method of approach - retreat, make a circle and approach the animal from the other side. By retreating, the player leaves the hearing zone, and then “clears” the scent trail.

Of course decoy gives the hunter an advantage. However, this mechanic was balanced by adding difficulty for older (and higher ranked) animals. Players/hunters usually want to shoot bigger game... but in our game you have to try hard to achieve this! Below I will talk about this in a little more detail, but old animals react to decoys less often than ordinary ones. In addition, as I already said, they live in more complex locations and have more sensitive senses.

When a player alerts an animal, an animation is activated for the triggered sense organ - it begins to sniff, look closely or listen. In this way, the player is given a hint as to what action disturbed the animal.

Pain and penetration into different parts of the body

Since the player does not know which organ he hit (and therefore how long he needs to monitor the animal), the “pain” behavior must be very detailed, because it contains important information for the player. By the way, here is an example pain behavior. The animation team at CotW did a fantastic job making every animation read like an open book.

The main element of theHunter franchise is ethical hunting, the essence of which is that players are encouraged to kill animals as humanely as possible. To those who don't hunt, the concept of "ethical hunting" seems strange (I also had to really look into what it was), but there are many rules - which different hunters understand differently - aimed at minimizing the suffering of the animal. It was very interesting to read about this. While studying hunting, I developed a huge respect for hunting and how different hunters approach ethics (in particular, these differences are clearly visible between hunters from countries and regions).

In games where the enemies are people, as a rule, they are at a premium headshots, but in hunting everything is not so simple. In hunting, headshots are a source of controversy, and the hunter may not shoot the animal in the head. just for reasons of humanity(factors like wind and skull size/thickness play an important role here).

Hunters/players are typically looking to hit the back, heart, or lung, so it is important that the animal model has a the corresponding animation was turned on, not to mention changing other aspects of AI like a running distance.

Advanced AI

Now that we've covered the basics of AI design for new animal species, let's look at how this AI can be improved.

As I already said, players (especially real hunters) immediately understand when the AI ​​of an animal is done poorly. It’s like with a good localization, interface or program - players simply don’t notice when the product is made well. But what is done poorly catches your eye right away.

Study

I also mentioned that during the development process I had to dig through a whole bunch of materials about hunting. Jokes aside. I watched a lot of videos about animal behavior. Our morning meetings in Stockholm began with the sound of a real decoy, and soon after that some of us were glued to the monitor broadcasting a picture from somewhere in the USA, where deer were slowly beginning to gather in the pasture.

(Eventually it got to the point where I started having dreams about deer frolicking happily in green fields. I don’t miss those dreams at all! It was the same thing when I studied Chinese in college - I dreamed of strange Chinese people funny hanging out in space .)

Watching so many videos about animal behavior was, of course, not necessary... but it was worth it! I I found a lot of things that were not even mentioned in the manuals on hunting and animal behavior. I spent hours watching videos, studying the behavior of different species, and then trying to find the best way to implement your findings into the game. I found behavior patterns in the video that I couldn’t find anywhere else.

Details that make it look unique

For example, if you type into the search “how a roe deer approaches the source of the sound from a decoy,” you are unlikely to find detailed information about her behavior patterns such as S-shaped movement (in the fallow deer the movement pattern resembles a zigzag), approach speed and other strange details that the hunter remembers over time, luring real roe deer.

Human influence on nature

While working on AI for theHunter: Call of the Wild, I suddenly realized that people also influence the behavior of animals. As a result, I decided to add appropriate amendments to the AI.

For example, the more people encroach on an animal's territory, the more the animals become accustomed to people, eventually moving more and more often into the outskirts of cities. There were no recorded fatal coyote attacks in the United States until 1981, and no recorded fatal coyote attacks on adults in the world until 2009. If interesting, here is the link to a documentary about a (sadly, fatal) coyote attack on young Canadian folk singer Taylor Mitchell.

Although many animals are naturally afraid of humans, experts believe that predators gradually forget this fear, so it needs to be reintroduced to stop attacks on humans. (By the way, Native Americans are said to have frightened wild animals, thereby maintaining their dominant position).

And this is one of the many details implemented in the game, however I instead of removing prey and predators from human territories(points of interest), on the contrary, combined the habitats of humans and animals so that show that animals are accustomed to human presence.

(If you're working on the AI ​​of an alien animal, this approach can be used to add narrative elements. The habitat of one species can be combined with the habitat of another, but make sure that the animals go a mile away from places where they once lost in conflicts.)

The AI ​​I created has a lot more aspects that could be talked about, but it's better if you try them out for yourself by playing theHunter: Call of the Wild.

Although the average player who does not understand animal behavior may miss a lot of nuances, they the combination creates a believable AI that can constantly present the player with pleasant surprises. Of course, a player needs to play many hours of theHunter: CotW before he understands the difference, for example, in attracting different types of deer, but All these little details, I repeat, make a tangible contribution to the gaming experience.

Finally

From an AI designer's perspective, theHunter: Call of the Wild was a truly fantastic project! stood in front of me the task of realizing believable animal behavior, but at the same time there was room for creative freedom(for example, when working on bringing an animal closer to the hunter).

As I played other games and studied how AI was created in other genres of games, I realized that my knowledge of how to implement realistic animal behavior applicable in other types of AI design.

First, my methods can be applied to the implementation behavior of primitive people, and aliens and other types of science fiction and fantasy creatures. (If you followed the development of Horizon Zero Dawn, you probably saw that they also used animal videos as references for their “animal cars”.)

While working on CotW, I also learned other techniques, good helping in the implementation of AI. Take, for example, the same working with the gaming environment(meaning ambush points and how to implement them on the game map), which is 100% applicable in games of other genres.

Frankly, it was very difficult (and I'm understating) to create truly realistic animal behavior in a game that should be for the player both challenging and interesting. However, seeing my findings and AI design come together was incredibly rewarding. It was also a very beneficial factor that many developers worked on the original theHunter and enriched the creation of the game with many things they learned from creating the first part.

CotW's game and AI designers worked together on many different aspects of the game to give fans theHunter detailed and realistic hunting experience. Some players noticed differences between the behaviors of different animal species, and they even liked it!

Thanks to the teams at Avalanche Studios, Expansive Worlds and theHunter! theHunter: Call of the Wild was amazing to work on. Also special thanks to Patrick Enz and Dan Peake who worked on additional types and the behavior of predators.

The world is full of different animals. Each of them has its own habits, food and habitat. We can find living beings in the sea, in the forest, in the jungle and even in the desert. If you want to know a little more about the place of residence of a panda or goldfish, then the game Animal Habitats: Find Items will come in handy. Try to go through all four levels at once, which will give you the opportunity to get acquainted with several species of animals and find out where they live. But you won't just look at the pictures. You need to find some parts of the picture in the image in order to move on to the next animal. Play Animal Habitats: You can find objects for as long as you like, but the number of stars you will receive after the level depends on the speed of your actions. To find seven pieces of a picture, you are given three rights to make mistakes. After each one you will see a red cross at the top. These are your conditions for playing Animal Habitats: Find Objects. And your task is to quickly find everything. Just as animals adapt to environmental conditions, you need to adapt to these game conditions in order to complete your task. Fish, bears and other animals will be happy to meet your resourcefulness and attentiveness.

Ecological games can be used in working with children of middle and senior preschool age. Ecological games contribute to the acquisition of knowledge about natural objects and phenomena, and develop skills in careful handling of the environment.

Proposed ecology games contain Interesting Facts about the life of plants, including medicinal plants, and animals, questions about nature that promote the development of curiosity. Most environmental games are aimed at consolidating children's knowledge about various types of animals and plants, conditions, their habitat, feeding habits, as well as developing auditory and visual attention, thinking and memory.

Through environmental games, children become familiar with the concept of “food chain” and gain an understanding of food chains in the forest.

Ecology games for preschoolers

Ecological game "GREEN CARDS"

Goal: to train children in matching the simplest food chains of animals in nature.

Material: a set of playing cards of 36 pieces, each painted green on the back, and illustrations of various plants and animals on the front, which are arranged in such a way that a total of 18 pairs are formed (the animal is food for it).

Progress of the game: from two to six children take part in the game. Each child is given 6 cards. It is checked in advance whether there are any among them that can be paired. If the child moves correctly, the cards are put aside. The number of cards is constantly replenished up to six until they run out. The winner is the one who leaves the game first or who has the fewest cards left.

Ecological game "Zoological Stadium"

Purpose of the game: to consolidate children's knowledge about various types of animals, their nutrition, and their habitats in nature.

Material: tablet on which two running tracks, start, finish and nine moves are depicted in a circle; in the center of the stadium there are six sectors with illustrations of animals: one - a squirrel, two - a bee, 3 - swallows, 4 - a bear, 5 - an ant, 6 - a starling.

Separate cards show illustrations of food for these animals and their shelters (hollow, beehive, den, anthill, birdhouse, etc.). The set also includes a die to determine the move.

Progress of the game: two children participate in the game. Using a die, they alternately determine the sector with the task and make three moves: the first is to name the animal, the second is to determine the food for this animal, the third is to name its shelter in nature. The one who reaches the finish line first wins.

Ecological basket

Aibolit Pharmacy"

Purpose of the game: to continue to form children’s ideas about medicinal plants and their use by humans, to practice recognizing them in illustrations.

Material: flat basket with a red-green cross on one side, a set of illustrations of medicinal plants (St. John's wort, plantain, nettle, rose hips, chamomile, etc.).

Progress of the game: the teacher asks the children riddles about medicinal plants. The child finds an illustration in the basket, names the plant and explains why it is called the “Green Doctor”.

Similar games can be played on such topics as: “Mushrooms”, Edible and inedible mushrooms”, “Berry”, “Meadow flowers”, etc.

Ecological game "Forester"

Goal: to consolidate children’s knowledge about the rules of human behavior in the forest; practice recognizing environmental warning signs.

Material: a set of triangular-shaped warning environmental signs depicting forest objects (anthill, berries, lily of the valley, edible and inedible mushrooms, cobwebs, butterflies, birdhouses, bird's nests, fires, hedgehogs, etc.).

Progress of the game: children take turns playing the role of a forester who selects one of the environmental signs lying upside down on the table and introduces the game participants to the forest objects that this sign represents; tells how to behave in the forest when near these objects.

Ecological game “WALK IN THE FOREST”

Goal: to form the right attitude towards forest inhabitants, expand children’s knowledge about the rules of behavior in the forest, and practice recognizing warning and prohibiting environmental signs.

Material: tablet with a picture of a forest clearing with several paths on which warning signs are placed; a set of prohibitory environmental signs in an envelope (for example, do not pick lilies of the valley; do not trample mushrooms, berries; do not break tree branches; do not destroy anthills; do not make fires; do not catch butterflies; do not shout; do not play loud music; do not destroy bird nests, etc. .; silhouettes of children that can be moved along the paths).

Progress of the game: The game can involve a group of children who go for a walk in the forest. At the first stage, you should lead the children along the path, tell them what is on it, and put up the appropriate environmental signs to help them follow the rules of behavior in the forest.

At the second stage, children independently travel along forest paths where various environmental signs are placed. Players must use them to explain the rules of behavior in the forest. For the correct answer - a chip. The one who collects the maximum number of chips wins.

Ecological game “BIRDS PYRAMID”

Goal: to continue to develop in children knowledge about the simplest food chains of birds in nature, to consolidate knowledge about the conditions necessary for the growth of plants and the life of animals.

Material:

The first option is planar: a set of cards of different colors (blue, yellow, black, red), simulating the conditions necessary for plant growth and animal life; sets of three cards with different illustrations of plants and birds (for example, pine - pine cone - woodpecker).

The second option is three-dimensional: a set of seven cubes, where the first to fourth cubes are of different colors, indicating the conditions necessary for the life of plants and animals; fifth - plants; sixth - bird food; seventh - birds (for example: spruce - fir cone - crossbill; rowan - rowan berries - bullfinch; algae - snail - duck; oak - acorns - jay; grass - grasshopper - stork).

Progress of the game: by analogy with the “Ecological Tower “Forest”. However, when making a pyramid, you need to pay attention to the following rules: multi-colored cubes are placed horizontally, and three cubes with illustrations of plants and animals are placed vertically on this horizontal line, one on one, in order to show food chains in nature.

"ECOLOGICAL TOWER "FOREST"

Goal: to introduce children to the concept of “food chain” and give an idea of ​​food chains in the forest.

The first option is planar: a set of cards with illustrations of four each (for example, forest - plant - herbivore - predator);

The second option is three-dimensional: four cubes of different sizes, on each side of which there are illustrations of a forest (forest - mushroom - squirrel - marten; forest - berries - hedgehog - fox; forest - flower - bee - bear; forest - acorns - wild boar - wolf; forest - birch - cockchafer - hedgehog; forest - pine cone - woodpecker - eagle owl, etc.)

Progress of the game: at the first stage, children play together with the teacher, starting the game with any cube.

Educator: “This is a mushroom, where does it grow?” (In the forest.) “Which animal eats mushrooms in the forest?” (Squirrel.) “Does she have enemies?” (Marten.) Next, the child is asked to create a food chain from the named objects and explain his choice. Show that if you remove one of the components of the food chain (for example, a mushroom), then the entire chain falls apart.

At the second stage, children play independently. They are invited to create their own ecological tower.

At the third stage, competition games are organized: who can quickly build a tower containing, for example, a hedgehog or a wolf.

Game "Sun"

Target: continue to strengthen children's knowledge about animals and their habitats.

Material: a set of task cards and wooden clothespins of different colors.

The task card is a circle divided into 6–8 sectors. In each sector there is a picture (for example: a mole, an octopus, a fish, a whale, a cow, a dog). In the center of the circle is the main symbol that defines the theme of the game (for example: a drop symbolizing water). The symbol helps children understand the task without the help of an adult.

Progress of the game. A drop is depicted in the center of the circle; the child must find animals for which water is a “home”, a habitat (lesson block “Water Sorceress”).

Didactic game "Find what I'll show you"

Topic: Fruits.

Equipment: Place identical sets of vegetables and fruits on two trays. Cover one (for the teacher) with a napkin.

Progress of the game: The teacher briefly shows one of the objects hidden under the napkin and removes it again, then asks the children: “Find the same one on another tray and remember what it’s called.” Children take turns completing the task until all the fruits and vegetables hidden under the napkin are named.

Note. In the future, the game can be complicated by adding vegetables and fruits that are similar in shape but different in color. For example: beets, turnips; lemon, potatoes; tomato, apple, etc.

Didactic game "Find what I'll name"

Subject: Fruits.

First option.

Equipment: Place vegetables and fruits on the table so that their size and shape are clearly visible. For the game, it is better to take fruits and vegetables of the same size, but of different colors (several apples), of different sizes with a constant color.

Progress of the game. The teacher asks one of the children: “Find a little carrot and show it to everyone.” Or: “Find a yellow apple, show it to the children”; “Roll the apple and tell me what shape it is.” The child finds an object, shows it to the other children, and tries to determine the shape. If the child finds it difficult, the teacher can name a bright distinctive feature of this fruit or vegetable. For example: “Show me the yellow turnip.

Second option.
Vegetables and fruits are placed in vases of various shapes: spherical, oval, elongated. In this case, the shape of the vase must correspond to the shape of the object hidden in it. Children are looking for the named object. You cannot look into all the vases.

Third option.
The game is equipped and played in the same way as in the first two options. Here the problem is solved - to fix the coloring of objects in the memory of preschoolers.
Fruits and vegetables are laid out (hidden) in vases of different colors in accordance with the color of the item.

Didactic game "Guess what you ate"

Subject: Fruits.

Didactic task. Find out the object using one of the analyzers.

Equipment. Choose fruits and vegetables of different tastes. Wash them, peel them, then cut them into small pieces. The same objects are laid out on the table in the room where the children are sitting for comparison and control.

Rules of the game. You can't look at what you put in your mouth. You have to chew with your eyes closed, and then say what it is.

Progress of the game. Having prepared vegetables and fruits (cut into pieces), the teacher brings them into the group room and treats one of the children, after asking him to close his eyes. Then he says: “Chew well, now tell me you ate it.” Find the same one on the table.”

After all the children have completed the task, the teacher treats all children to fruits and vegetables.

Note. In the future, you can ask children to name taste sensations. The question should be asked in such a way that, in cases of difficulty, children can choose the appropriate name to determine the taste: “How did it feel in your mouth?” (Sweet, sour, bitter).

Didactic game "What has changed?"

Topic: Houseplants

Didactic task. Find objects by similarity.

Equipment. Identical plants (3 - 4 each) are placed on two tables.

Rules of the game. You can show a recognized plant only upon a signal from the teacher, after listening to its description.

Progress of the game. The teacher shows a plant on one of the tables, describes its characteristic features, and then invites the child to find the same one on another table. (You can ask the children to find similar plants in the group room.)

The game is repeated with each of the plants on the tables.

Didactic game "Find a plant by name"

Topic: Houseplants.

First option.

Didactic task. Find a plant by name word.

Rule. You cannot look where the plant is hidden.

Progress of the game. The teacher names a houseplant in the group room, and the children must find it. First, the teacher gives a task to all the children: “Who can quickly find the plant in our group room that I name?” Then asks some children to complete the task. If it is difficult for children to find the named plant in a large area of ​​the room among many others, the game can be played by analogy with the previous ones, that is, the selected plants can be placed on the table. Then finding a plant in the room will become a more complicated version of the game.

Second option.
You can play a game using a toy that the teacher or one of the children will hide (see the game “Where is the nesting doll hidden?”), but instead of describing the houseplant near which the toy is hidden, you can only give its name.

Didactic game "Find the same"

Topic: Houseplants.

Didactic task. Find objects by similarity.

Rule. It is impossible to watch how the teacher changes places of plants.

Equipment. 3-4 identical plants are placed on two tables in a certain sequence, for example, flowering geranium, ficus, fragrant geranium, asparagus.

Progress of the game. The teacher asks the children to take a good look at how the plants stand and close their eyes. At this time, he swaps the plants on one table. And then he asks the children to rearrange the pots as they stood before, comparing their arrangement with the order of the plants on another table.

After some repetitions, you can play the game with one set of plants (without visual control).

Didactic game "Find the piece of paper that I'll show you"

Topic: Trees.

Didactic task. Find objects by similarity.

Rule. Only those who have in their hands the same stock as the one shown by the teacher can run (“fly”) on command.

Progress of the game. During the walk, the teacher shows the children a sheet and asks them to find the same one. The selected leaves are compared by shape, and how they are similar and how they differ is noted. The teacher leaves each person a leaf from different trees (maple, oak, ash, etc.). Then the teacher picks up, for example, a maple leaf and says: “The wind blew. These leaves flew off. Show me how they flew." The children, holding maple leaves in their hands, spin around and stop at the teacher’s command.

The game is repeated with different leaves.

Didactic game "Find the same leaf in the bouquet"

Topic: Trees.

Didactic task. Find an item by similarity.

Rule. Raise the sheet after the teacher names and shows it.

Equipment. Select identical bouquets of 3 - 4 different leaves. The game is played while walking.

Progress of the game. The teacher distributes bouquets to the children and keeps the same for himself. Then he shows them some leaf, for example a maple one, and suggests: “One, two, three - show me this leaf!” Children raise their hand with a glue sheet.

The game is repeated several times with the remaining leaves of the bouquet.

Didactic game "Such a leaf, fly to me"

Topic: Trees.

Didactic task. Find objects by similarity.

Rule. You can run to the teacher only at a signal and only with the same piece of paper as the teacher’s in your hand.

Equipment. Select leaves of oak, maple, rowan (or other trees common in the area) that differ sharply in shape.

Progress of the game. The teacher picks up, for example, a maple leaf and says: “Whoever has the same leaf - come to me!”
Children look at the leaves received from the teacher; those who have the same ones in their hands run to the teacher. If the child makes a mistake, the teacher gives him his sheet for comparison.

Didactic game "Find the leaf"

Topic: Trees.

Didactic task. Find a part from the whole.

Rule. You can look for a leaf on the ground after the teacher’s words.

Progress of the game. The teacher asks the children to carefully examine the leaves on a low tree. “Now try to find the same ones on earth,” says the teacher. -One, two, three - look! Whoever found it, come to me quickly.” Children with leaves run to the teacher.

Didactic game "Who can find birch, spruce, oak faster"

Topic: Trees.

Didactic task. Find a tree by name.

Rule. You can run to the named tree only with the command “Run!”

Progress of the game. The teacher names a tree that is well known to the children and has bright distinctive features and asks them to find it, for example: “Who can find the birch faster? One, two, three - run to the birch!” Children must find a tree and run up to any birch tree growing in the area where the game is being played.

Didactic game "Find a leaf like on a tree"

Topic: Trees.

Didactic task. Find a part from the whole.

Rule. You only need to look on the ground for the same leaves as on the tree indicated by the teacher.

Progress of the game. The game is played in the fall on the site. The teacher divides the group of children into several subgroups. Everyone is invited to take a good look at the leaves on one of the trees, and then find the same ones on the ground.

The teacher says: “Let's see which team finds the right leaves faster.” The children begin their search. Then the members of each team, having completed the task, gather near the tree whose leaves they were looking for. The team that gathers near the tree first wins.

Didactic game "Everyone go home!"

Topic: Trees.

Didactic game. Find the whole from its part.

Rule. You can run to your “house” only upon a signal from the teacher.

Equipment. Leaves of 3 - 5 trees (according to the number of children).

Progress of the game. The teacher hands out leaves to the children and says: “Let’s imagine that we went on a hike. Each squad pitched a tent under a tree. You are holding leaves from the tree under which your tents are located. We are walking. But suddenly it started to rain. “Everyone go home!” At this signal, the children run to their tents and stand next to the tree from which the leaf comes.

To check whether the task was completed correctly, the child is asked to compare his leaf with the leaves on the tree to which he ran up.

Note. The game can be played with leaves, fruits and seeds or only with seeds and fruits.

Didactic game "Find a tree by description"

Topic: Trees.

Didactic task. Find an item by description.

Rule. You can look for the tree only after the teacher tells you.

Progress of the game. The teacher describes trees familiar to the children, choosing from them those that have subtle distinctive features (for example, spruce and pine, rowan and acacia).
Children must find what the teacher is talking about.

To make it interesting for the children to search by description, you can hide something near the tree (or on the tree) they are talking about.

Didactic game "Run to the house I'll name"

Topic: Trees.

Didactic task. Find an item by name.

Rule. You cannot stand near the same tree for a long time.

Progress of the game. The game is played according to the “Trap” type. One of the children is appointed as a trap, all the rest run away from him and save themselves near a tree named by the teacher, for example, near a birch tree. Children can run from one birch tree to another. The one who is caught by the trap becomes the driver.

When the game is repeated, the name of the tree (“house”) is changed each time.

Didactic game "Who lives where?"

Topic: Dwellings

Goal: to consolidate children’s knowledge about the habitats in nature of various animal species (insects, amphibians, birds, animals).

Material: a tablet on which, on one side, various animals are depicted, and on the other, their homes, for example: a den, a hole, a beehive, a birdhouse, a nest. In the envelope on the back of the tablet there are arrows indicating the number of animals. Instead of arrows, you can draw labyrinths of multi-colored lines.

How to play: Two or more children take part in the game. They take turns finding the animal on offer and using an arrow or using a labyrinth to determine its home. If the game actions are performed correctly, the child receives a chip. If the answer is incorrect, the turn goes to the next player. The one who has the most chips at the end of the game wins.

Didactic game "Who eats what?"

Topic: Nutrition.

Goal: to consolidate children’s knowledge about different types of animal nutrition (insects, amphibians, birds, animals) in nature.

Material: a tablet on which different types of food for different animals are placed in a circle. A moving arrow is fixed in its center, and cards with illustrations of the necessary animals are placed in the envelope on the reverse side.

How to play: Two or more children participate in the game. One by one, according to the teacher’s riddle, the children find the corresponding picture of the animal and use the arrow to indicate the type of food it eats. For the correct answer - a chip. The one who has the most chips at the end of the game wins.

Didactic game "Find your house"

Topic: Nutrition.

Progress of the game:

Option 1. Children play alone. The child groups cards with animals into colored fields depending on what they eat. After completing the task, the teacher checks the correctness of the solution and gives the player a penalty chip for each mistake. The one who collects them less wins.

Option 2. Children take turns taking one card with a picture of an animal and find a house for it, relying on their own knowledge about the feeding habits of different types of animals. The one who gets the most chips for completing the task correctly wins.

Didactic game "What first, what then?"

Topic: Growth.

Goal: to consolidate children’s knowledge about the main stages of growth and development of living organisms (plants, animals, humans).

Material: a set of cards on which the stages of growth and development of plants or animals (peas, dandelions, strawberries,
frogs, butterflies, etc.), as well as humans (infancy, childhood, adolescence, youth, maturity, old age).

Progress of the game:

Option 1. The child is asked to arrange the cards in order of growth and development of a living creature (for example, cabbage butterfly: egg - caterpillar - pupa - butterfly) and tell what happened first and what came next.

Option 2. The teacher lays out the cards, deliberately making a mistake in their order. Children must correct her and explain the correctness of their decision.

Didactic game "Let's help the plant"

Topic: Growth.

Goal: to consolidate children’s knowledge about the conditions necessary for plant growth (water, light, heat, nutritious soil); exercise in determining the deficiency of certain conditions by the appearance of the plant.

Material: a set of cards depicting one of the indoor plants (for example, balsam) in good and bad condition (withered, yellowed leaves, light soil in a flowerpot, frozen plant, etc.); four color model cards depicting the conditions necessary for plants (yellow - light, red - warmth, blue - water, black - nutritious soil); four cards depicting a healthy plant and modeling the four conditions it needs.

Progress of the game:

Option 1. At the beginning of the game, children are introduced to model cards of the conditions necessary for the growth and development of a plant. Then four cards are examined showing the same plant in good condition, indicating the same models. Children need to explain the reason for the normal state of the plant.

Option 2. Model cards are laid out on the table in front of the child, and on the typesetting canvas the teacher writes a story about the plant, for example: “I grew balsam in a pot on the window and rejoiced at the first spring sun. The sun's rays were heating up more and more, and the water reserves in the soil were becoming less and less. On Monday morning, the children noticed that the balsam leaves had turned yellow and drooped. What to do?" Invite the children to help the plant: select model cards depicting the conditions necessary for the plant. For the correct answer - a chip. The one who collects the most of them wins.

Didactic game "The forest is a home for animals"

Topic: Natural community.

Goal: to consolidate children's knowledge about the forest as a natural community; to form ideas about the ecological tiers (floors) of a mixed forest and the place of animals in them.

Material: planar model depicting four tiers of mixed forest: 1 - herbaceous cover, 2 - shrubs, 3 - deciduous trees, 4 - coniferous trees. On each of the tiers there are special slots for attaching animal figures. The envelope on the back of the tablet contains silhouette figures of various animals: insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals.

Progress of the game:

Option 1. Children play one at a time, and the rest check the correctness of the task - to place all the animals on “floors” depending on their habitat. The one who makes the fewest mistakes wins.

Option 2. Silhouettes of animals are laid out on the table with the reverse side up. Children take one silhouette at a time, name the animal and determine its place in the forest. In this case, the child must explain the correctness of his own choice. For the correct answer - a chip. If the task is completed incorrectly, then the animal silhouette figurine is placed on the table and the action is repeated by another child.

Didactic game "Ecological pyramid "Birds"

Topic: Birds.

Goal: to develop knowledge about the simplest food chains of birds in nature; consolidate knowledge about the conditions necessary for plant growth and animal life.

Material:

Option 1, planar: a set of cards of different colors (yellow, blue, red, black), displaying the conditions necessary for plant growth and animal life; sets of three cards with different illustrations of plants and birds, for example: pine - pine cone - woodpecker.

Option 2, volumetric: sets of seven cubes, where four cubes are of different colors, based on the conditions necessary for the life of plants and animals; the fifth shows plants; on the sixth - bird food; seventh - birds. For example: rowan - rowan berries - bullfinch; spruce - fir cone - crossbill; oak - acorns - jay; algae - snail - duck; grass - grasshopper - stork.

Game flow: Same as previous games. However, when making a pyramid, you need to pay attention to the following rules: multi-colored cubes are placed horizontally, and three cubes with illustrations of plants and animals are placed vertically on this horizontal line, one on one, to show food chains in nature.

Didactic game "Walk in the forest"

Topic: Behavior in the forest.

Goal: to form the right attitude towards forest inhabitants; expand children's knowledge about the rules of behavior in the forest; practice recognizing warning and prohibiting environmental signs.

Material: tablet with a picture of a forest clearing with several paths on which warning signs are placed; silhouettes of children that can be moved along paths; a set of prohibitory environmental signs in an envelope (“Do not pick lilies of the valley”; “Do not trample mushrooms, berries”; “Do not break tree branches”; “Do not destroy anthills”; “Do not make fires”; “Do not catch butterflies”; “Do not shout” ; “Do not play loud music”; “Do not destroy birds’ nests”, etc.).

Progress of the game:

The game can involve a group of children who go into the “forest” for a walk. At the first stage, you should lead the children along the “path”, tell them what is on it, and put up the appropriate environmental signs to help them follow the rules of behavior in the forest.

At the second stage, children independently travel along “forest paths” where various environmental signs are placed. The guys must use them to explain the rules of behavior in the forest. For the correct answer - a chip. The one who collects the maximum number of chips wins.

Didactic game " Food chains in nature "

Goal: to form children’s ideas about food chains and the place of different animal species in them.

Material:

Option 1: pictures cut into two parts, when compiled, a food chain is formed: the animal and the food it eats, both plant and animal.

Option 2: pictures cut into three parts, the food chain includes a plant, a herbivore or omnivore, a predator.

Progress of the game:

At the first stage The cut pictures are presented in such a way that each has its own specific cut, different from the others. Using it, children find parts of the corresponding picture, put them together correctly, become familiar with the food chain, and determine the place of the animal in it, for example: mushroom - squirrel - marten.

At the second stage cut pictures can have the same cuts. When drawing up such pictures, children show greater independence in determining the place of the animal in the food chain.

Didactic game "Seasons"

Topic: Natural community.

Goal: to form ideas about the patterns of the seasons in accordance with the length of daylight hours; show the relationship between daylight hours and phenomena occurring in nature in different seasons.

Material: four tablets of different colors corresponding to the seasons (white, red, green, yellow), which show models of daylight hours for each season; pockets for illustrations of natural phenomena characteristic of a given season.

Progress of the game:

Children look at the tablets, determine each season in accordance with the color and trajectory of the sun in the sky: in summer - the largest trajectory, in winter - small; autumn and spring - equinox. Having determined the time of year, children should put illustrations of natural phenomena of this season in pockets and talk about them.

Didactic game "Ecological chamomile"

Topic: Natural community.

Goal: to consolidate children’s ideas about characteristic phenomena in living and inanimate nature in different seasons, their relationships and interdependence.

Material: four circles (centers of a daisy) of different colors (white, green, yellow, red) in accordance with the patterns of the seasons and a set of petals depicting various phenomena in living and inanimate nature at each time of the year, for example: in the spring, boats float in a stream, the lily of the valley has blossomed, birds are making nests, etc.

Progress of the game:

Four children play, each needs to collect chamomile petals of the corresponding season and talk about characteristic phenomena in both inanimate and living nature.

Didactic game "Enchanted Letter"

Topic: Fruits and vegetables.

Goal: to consolidate children’s ideas about the characteristic features of vegetables and fruits, their role in maintaining human health; introduce modeling as a way to form a generalized idea of ​​vegetables and fruits.

Material: five tablets with models of characteristic features of vegetables and fruits (color, shape, size, method of eating, place of growth); a set of subject-schematic drawings for nasty vegetables and fruits.

Progress of the game:

Children examine subject-schematic models that reveal the characteristic features of vegetables and fruits.

Option 1. Using sample models of the characteristic features of vegetables and fruits, children solve riddles and drawings by Dr. Aibolit to help him determine which vegetables and fruits are good for human health.

Option 2. Based on the model samples, one child makes up a riddle describing a particular vegetable or fruit, the rest of the children guess and tell what role they play in maintaining human health.

Didactic game "FLOWER-SEMIFLOWER"

Topic: Natural community

Goal: develop thinking; cultivate positive moral qualities of the individual; develop communication skills between children and their relatives; update joint needs; develop a sense of mutual empathy.

Progress of the game:

Each family team receives a seven-flowered flower. The participants in the game conceive seven wishes (parents help write down the wishes of preschoolers): three wishes are conceived by the child for the parents, three by the adult for the child, one wish will be joint.

Parents and children exchange petals and select wish petals that are truly pleasant to them. The team that has the most desired petals, where the expected desires coincide with the real ones, wins.

Didactic game "CONVERSATION WITH THE FOREST"

Goal: to develop children’s creative imagination, enrich speech with definitions; learn to relax.

Progress of the game:

An unusual journey awaits you. We will be transported mentally to the forest. (Children close their eyes, leaning on the backs of chairs, relaxed hands resting on their knees.) Around you in the forest are a variety of flowers, shrubs, trees, and herbs.

Stretch your right hand forward and “touch” the tree trunk: what is it like? Now raise your hand and touch the foliage: what is it like? Put your hands down and run along the blades of grass: what are they? Smell the flowers, take a deep breath and hold this freshness within yourself!

Submit your face to the fresh breeze. Listen to the sounds of the forest - what did you hear?

The children listen silently. Each child tells the teacher in his ear the sound or rustle he presents.

Didactic game "WHAT FRUITS GROW ON WHAT TREE"

Goal: to activate the names of plants and their fruits in children’s speech; practice the practical mastery of prepositional case constructions and agreement of nouns with verbs and adjectives in gender, number, and case.

Task 1. Identify a plant by its fruits and complete the sentence.

Acorns grow on... (oak tree).
Apples grow on... (apple tree).
Cones grow on... (spruce and pine).
Bunches of rowan grow on... (rowan).
Nuts grow on... (hazel tree).

Task 2. Remember the name of plant fruits and complete the sentence.

There are a lot of... (acorns) ripe on the oak tree.
The children picked ripe... (apples) from the apple tree.
The tops of the fir trees bent under the weight of many... (cones).
On the fallen rowan tree there were bright lights burning... (bunches of berries).

Task 3. Draw a line from the plant to its fruits and make a sentence (done with subject pictures).

• acorn cone bunches of berries
• hazel apple oak
• nut apple tree

Task 4. The same with pictures of plants and their leaves.

Didactic game "GNOMES IN THE FOREST"

Goal: using pantomime to depict characteristic movements in a certain situation, focusing only on the words of the teacher and one’s own ideas.

Progress of the game:

The teacher invites the children to put on gnome caps: “Today we will meet little magical people - gnomes, and we will play with them!”

Dwarves live in the forest. The trees grow thickly all around, all with thorny branches. The gnomes struggle through the thicket, lifting the branches and pushing them apart with great effort. He appeared in the forest about the light: the trees are growing thinner and further from each other (the gnomes look around, choose their path).

Now the gnomes easily slip between the trees (they are flexible, dexterous): sometimes they will pass sideways, sometimes with their backs... But you have to bend over and crawl under the log. Somewhere you have to tiptoe along a narrow path.

The gnomes came out into the clearing, and there a mouse was sleeping. The gnomes quietly step over it, careful not to step on it. Then they saw a bunny - and let's jump with it! Suddenly a gray wolf jumped out from behind the bushes and howled!

The gnomes rushed to hide under the bushes (under the tables) and sit there quietly!

The wolf went his way, and the gnomes went home: tiptoe along a narrow path; Now you have to bend down and crawl under the deck; where they will pass sideways, where they will stand back. The house is already close: the gnomes are struggling through the thicket, lifting the branches and pushing them apart with great effort.

Oh, tired! We need to rest on our chairs! (Children take their seats.)

Didactic game "FLOWERS - DOESN'T FLOWERS"

Goal: to develop auditory attention and endurance in children.

Rule: raise your hands only if a blooming object (plant, flower) is named.

How to play: Children sit in a semicircle and put their hands on their knees.

Educator: I will name the objects and ask: is it blooming? For example: “Is the apple tree blooming?”, “Is the poppy blooming?” etc.

If this is actually the case, then the children should raise their hands up.

If I name a non-blooming object (Christmas tree, pine tree, house, etc.), then you should not raise your hands.

You need to pay attention, because I will raise my hands both correctly and incorrectly. Whoever makes a mistake will pay a chip.

The teacher starts the game:
“Is the rose blooming?” - and raises his hands.

The children answer: “It’s blooming!” - and they also raise their hands.
“Is the pine tree blooming?” - and raises his hands, and the children should be silent.

Natalia Poluyanova
Didactic game “Who Lives Where”

Game description: 5 pictures on each of which depicts (forest, pond, courtyard, shroud, north pole). Pictures depicting different animals.

Target: To develop children’s ability to correlate the image of an animal with its place a habitat, correctly name the animal. Develop verbal and logical thinking, monologue and dialogic speech. Cultivate mindfulness.

Progress of the game:

Guys, let's arrange all the animals according to their place habitat teacher, reports that all animals have their own environment a habitat, the place where he feels most cozy and comfortable. In another environment he will feel bad and uncomfortable.

The teacher draws the children's attention to the pictures. Invites children to look and tell what they see (forest, pond, savanna, etc.). After listening to the children’s answers, he offers to look at the animals and place them in their places. a habitat. At the same time, it asks the question, For example: Why did you put the hare in the forest? Answer: this is a wild animal, it lives in the forest, etc.