Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (1996)

Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?

Developer(s) Brøderbund Software
Publisher(s) Brøderbund Software
The Learning Company
Series Carmen Sandiego
Platform(s) PC (Windows, Macintosh)
Release date(s) 1996
Genre(s) Educational/strategy/side-scrolling
Mode(s) Single-player

The third version of Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (sometimes referred to as Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? v3.0) was released on the heels of the end of the hit PBS Kids game show in 1996. This game included hundreds of QuickTime videos of Lynne Thigpen playing "The Chief". This was the last version of the game to follow the "classic" formula of the series (until the Facebook version), but much of the game, especially the "warrant" portion, was heavily redesigned. The Deluxe Edition released in 1998 (also sometimes subtitled as "version 3.5") added speech welcoming the player to each country and an "ACME Global Language Link-Up" satellite which quizzed the user on the local language.[1] Players also received a spy watch and "an introduction to 12 foreign languages".[2]

This "upgrade of the classic [1985] detective program", in which players "take on the role of gumshoe and explore the globe tracking down crafty criminals" remains the same as the original version. Upgraded features include: "guided tours of various locales and beautifully painted 360-degree panoramas".[3] The game uses "geopolitical maps from National Geographic for more than 50 countries".[4] The searchable database within the game contains: "video clips; essays on each area's economics, politics and culture; maps; and photographs.[5]

According to the BOX: TOP SOFTWARE CALENDAR YEAR, Where In The World is Carmen Sandiego was the second best-selling title of 1996 after Disney's Toy Story Animated Storybook.[6]

Production

On the upgrades made to this reboot, Broderbund Executive Publisher Ken Goldstein commented: "For years, children, families and schools have embraced Carmen Sandiego as an educational geography product filled with lively animation, high quality sound, and superb graphics...New technology has given us the opportunity to create a new generation of Carmen Sandiego software in which the quality of animation is as sophisticated as what children are used to seeing in movies and television. We feel the enhancements we've introduced to game play may set a new standard for educational software." [7]

One of these improvements was that the game, along with the rebooted version of Where in the USA is Carmen Sandiego, "use film clips of actress Lynne Thigpen to assign cases to gumshoes and tell them if they're on a hot or cold trail". In addition to this, "A variety of zany animated characters give information about the description and whereabouts of the fugitive, and other clues tell something about the country or city where the bad guy has fled."[8]

The Carmen Sandiego site explained:[9]

It takes anywhere from 12 to 18 months to make a computer game these days. Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Version 3.0 took about 13 months of production time to complete. But brainstorming about the design started as far back as February of 1994, which just goes to show you how much time and thought goes into making a great game! A large team of over 30 people worked to create the game. This group includes artists, photographers, writers, musicians, sound designers, programmers, product managers, product testers, and the list goes on!

Animation and design

The animation in the game closely imitated the look of traditional animated cartoons. The animations that alert the user that the correct destination has been reached featured either Carmine from Carmen Sandiego: Junior Detective Edition or a pair of bumbling janitors named Rick and Nick ICK according to the game manual. These animations, as well as the animations that depicted the arrest of the crooks, featured much use of cartoon physics. Ivan Idea will arrive with his floating orb that brings out a mallet to hammer the crooks; Herman Nootix would close his book onto the crooks and shrink them; Dee Plomassy would call her bodyguards to tie up the crooks, Renee Santz would paint her ropes onto the crooks to capture them; Rock Solid would roll on a log and flatten the crook, Ann Tickwittee will shove the crooks into her vase; and Kim Yoonity will lasso up the crooks with her telephone wire.

The Carmen Sandiego website explained regarding the 3D landscapes:[10]

A lot of work went into making the 360 degree illustrated backgrounds in Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Version 3.0 as true-to-life as possible. All of these backgrounds are based on actual photographic references, taken at real locations by a photographer spinning in a circle. As all this spinning occasionally made the photographers dizzy, some inaccuracies or omissions may exist. In particular, our artists sometimes removed natural obstacles from a scene--like clumps of bushes or trees--in order to allow a better view of more significant objects.

Gameplay

The chase

Unlike in the previous games, the image of the locations took up most the screen, with the game options only taking up the bottom third of the screen. Each location had an elaborately painted backdrop that could be scrolled around a full three hundred and sixty degrees. Each location provided clues in the form of several bystanders and scraps of paper lying on the ground. The scraps of paper exclusively provided clues about the suspect's appearance.

The bystanders, on the other hand, could either be asked where the suspect went, in which case they would provide a geography clue, or what the suspect looks like, in which case they would make a casual comment about one of the suspect's physical attributes. Although speech balloons were still used on them, bystanders spoke their dialogue aloud as well. The text of notes and of bystanders' dialogue could be dragged into an "electronic notepad" in the bottom right corner of the screen for reference.

This game used a few aspects from the previous Junior Detective Edition game. For instance, this game identified locations by the name of the country, used the "fuel limit" convention instead of the "time limit" and eliminated the questions that needed to be answered before being promoted. However, the game did feature an elaborate time system that calculated the time of arrival in each country given the flight time and the number of time zones crossed. Once in a location, time passed much more quickly than in real life, so that if one were to leave the game idle for an hour, several days would be seen passing by within the game. This passage of time had no bearing on gameplay.

Traveling to the correct locations is represented by comedic acts of Carmen's pet cat, Carmine, or two bumbling janitors that were assigned to clean up after the crooks.

The player was not guaranteed success in their missions: "Since the game is either played on a time or fuel limit, the wrong location clues can cause huge setbacks and ultimately the loss of the game. If successful, however, the game allows the player to warrant and arrest.[11]

Another added feature were the ACME Good Guides, a group of seven colorful characters who, if called upon, provide information about the current country and the direct surroundings. If the user calls an ACME Good Guide during a case, that guide will call back later to inform the user whether or not their warrant has any errors. If the user wishes to take tours with the Good Guides and travel to countries without the inconvenience of having to track a crook, "explorer mode" is available.

The warrant and the arrest

Another change is that the user is not given dossiers describing the members of V.I.L.E. and that all the clues given about the suspect are physical traits, enabling the user to identify the crook on sight. This means that the user will have to compile a full warrant rather than one of just enough traits to distinguish which crook is responsible. In the final destination, the crook is seen walking around the location with several innocent bystanders, meaning the user will have to use the warrant to identify which person is the criminal. The crook's name is only given after the arrest, in which a newspaper (The Worldly Blab) appears with a headline declaring the criminal has been captured. If the person arrested does not match the warrant, they will be found innocent and released just as they would if the warrant were inaccurate or not issued. Eight of the thirty-nine crooks captured over the course of the game each provided a single line of verse. These eight verses, once pieced together, created a poem that read as follows:

I'll steal the planet's treasures till there's nothing precious left.
I never wear a watch because it's always time for theft.
Loot is on my mind, though something else is on my head.
Why should I take a picture, I'll just steal the scene instead.
I always hide the things I steal regardless of their size.
And I don't wear any sunglasses to protect my eager eyes.
A special Trophy[12] will be mine, the plan is now in motion.
I adorn my neck with loot I stole from oysters in the ocean.

Upon reaching the final destination on the final case, the Chief calls to inform the user that the culprit is Carmen Sandiego and that the poem indicates that Carmen is wearing a pearl necklace. The user finds within the location inhabited by several people resembling Carmen, but only one of them is wearing pearls as described on the poem. If the correct person is arrested, the user and all seven Good Guides successfully capture Carmen and Rick and Nick ICK. The Chief then informs the user that Carmen's ultimate plan was to "steal" ACME Headquarters and that the user has therefore not only captured Carmen herself, but saved ACME itself. Afterwards, the user is later inducted at the ACME Detective Hall of Fame on the World Wiz Database and retired from the game. If the user accidentally captures the wrong character, Carmen will escape and break three of her criminal henchmen out from ACME prison, immediately producing three more cases for the user to solve.

Critical reception

A review of the game by Peter Oliver for Kids Domain concluded by saying: "WWCS is computer gaming at its best. It has great graphics, it's splendidly presented, the sound and music are wonderful, and, most importantly, it's simply a lot of fun to play. The subject matter may be a few years beyond our 4-year-old's level, but he enjoys simply watching and listening to the game. Meanwhile, Mom and Dad have a lot of fun playing the game together after the kids are in bed. We're learning more about geography than we ever did in our school years, and even when its well past any reasonable bed time for parents of young kids, Mom and Dad are saying, 'Just one more.' Now how many kids' computer games can you say that about?"[13][14] Lisa Karen Savignano of Allgame said "Where in the USA is Carmen Sandiego represents a huge leap forward in the Carmen Sandiego series. Unlike the earlier versions of the game, which were mostly text-based, this new version is presented in more of a graphical format" and gave the game 4 out of 5 stars.[15]

Cognitive Remediation for Psychological Disorders: Therapist Guide says that in regard to problem solving, deductive reasoning, inductive reasoning, attention to detail, and visual/auditory memory, World is harder than the 1996 U.S.A game. However, it also says that both games "range in levels of difficulty from moderate to difficult".[16] The 24 Aug 1996 edition of Billboard described World and U.S.A, which were to come out during the holiday season (autumn), as "hotly anticipated". It said they both "feature a richer environment and a beefed-up geographic database".[17]

Computers, Curriculum, and Cultural Change: An Introduction for Teachers cites the game, as well as Oregon Trail, SimCity, and Decisions as "simulation programs" which "provide students with experiences they could not otherwise have by creating a limited model of a particular situation or phenomenon".[18] Children's Literature: Discovery for a Lifetime describes the game as "an interactive detective story that also provides geography lessons to participants".[19] An article in Network World in December 1996 says that modern educators believe "it is more important to teach children how to play [the game] than fill their heads with lifeless geography facts".[20]

Digital Diaspora: A Race for Cyberspace says that even though white masculinity dominates the gaming industry, there are some exceptions such as this title or Lara Croft Tomb Raider which are "girl-inflected game [which embrace] white femininity".[21] The December 1996 edition of Working Mother described the database as "a perfect resource for school projects".[22] The December 1999 edition of Working Mother said of both the U.S.A and World Deluxe editions (released in 1998) "[players]'ll learn about the music, culture, and historic sites of each region", and added "the ever-popular Carmen programs just seem to get better and better".[23] The article `Sandiego' still getting better says that the game has "high-quality content, use of the latest technology and the fun factor...show[ing the Broderbund] folks know what they're doing".[24]

List of countries visited and stolen items

Countries visited

This is the list of countries that are visited in this version of the game and each of them has only one item that can be stolen from it.

Country Item stolen Location Good guide
 Afghanistan The Khyber Pass Buddhas of Bamiyan Herman Nootix
 Argentina The steps to the Tango Plaza de Mayo, Buenos Aires Dee Plomasy
 Australia Uluru Sydney Ivan Idea
 Austria The baton used to lead the Vienna Boys Choir Salzburg Renee Santz
 Bolivia The fish from half of Lake Titicaca Lake Titicaca Kim Yoonity
 Brazil The plans for this year's Carnival Copacabana (Rio de Janeiro) Rock Solid
 Cambodia The Silver Pagoda Angkor Wat Ann Tickwittee
 Canada The game winning puck from the first Stanley Cup championship Parliament Hill, Ottawa Dee Plomasy
 Chile The Strait of Magellan Easter Island Ann Tickwittee
 China The keys to the Forbidden City Great Wall of China Ivan Idea
 Cuba Havana's best cigars Old Havana Dee Plomasy
 Denmark The writing desk of Hans Christian Andersen Langelinie, Copenhagen Renee Santz
 Egypt The Nile River Delta Giza Necropolis Ivan Idea
 France The gargoyles from Notre Dame Cathedral Trocadéro, Paris Ivan Idea
 Germany The keys from Beethoven's first piano Heidelberg Renee Santz
 Greece The Olympic Flame Acropolis of Athens Ann Tickwittee
 Guatemala The best coffee of the country Tikal Ann Tickwittee
 Hungary All the famous goulash Budapest Dee Plomasy
 Iceland Geysir Akureyri Rock Solid
 India Gandhi's glasses Taj Mahal, Agra Renee Santz
 Indonesia The island of Bali Borobudur Herman Nootix
 Iran The Presidential Palace's finest rug Persepolis Ann Tickwittee
 Israel The salt from the Dead Sea Jaffa Herman Nootix
 Italy The Sistine Chapel's ceiling Colosseum, Rome Ann Tickwittee
 Japan The snow from atop Mt. Fuji Tōdai-ji, Nara Herman Nootix
 Kenya Nairobi International Airport Mount Kenya National Park Rock Solid
 Mexico Every last drop of salsa Chichen Itza Ann Tickwittee
 Morocco The entire city of Casablanca Hassan Tower, Rabat Dee Plomasy
   Nepal The Abominable Snowman Kathmandu Herman Nootix
 Netherlands The dykes The Hague Dee Plomasy
 New Zealand All the kiwi birds Milford Sound Rock Solid
 Nigeria The delta of the Niger River Lagos Ivan Idea
 Pakistan K2 Shalimar Gardens, Lahore Kim Yoonity
 Panama The controls for the Panama Canal Panama Canal Ivan Idea
 Peru The headwaters of the Amazon River Machu Picchu Ann Tickwittee
 Philippines A monkey-eating eagle Banaue Rice Terraces Kim Yoonity
 Russia The Trans-Siberian Railroad Red Square, Moscow Dee Plomasy
 Saudi Arabia The middle of the Trans-Arabian Pipeline Jeddah Herman Nootix
 Singapore The statue of Sir Stamford Raffles Padang Kim Yoonity
 South Africa The Cape of Good Hope Victoria & Alfred Waterfront, Cape Town Rock Solid
 South Korea The secret recipe for kimchee Korean Folk Village, Suwon Kim Yoonity
 Spain The bulls from Pamplona Park Güell, Barcelona Renee Santz
 Sweden The court stage from Drottningholm Palace Gamla stan, Stockholm Dee Plomasy
 Tanzania The Ngorongoro Crater Mount Kilimanjaro Rock Solid
 Thailand The King's Siamese cat Temple of the Emerald Buddha, Bangkok Herman Nootix
 Turkey Every anchovy from the Black Sea Istanbul Renee Santz
 United Kingdom The keys to the Tower of London London Dee Plomasy
 United States The Statue of Liberty's torch San Francisco Ivan Idea
 Vietnam All of the water from the Mekong River Imperial City, Huế Dee Plomasy
 Zaire The Zaire River Ferry Ituri Rainforest Kim Yoonity

V.I.L.E.

The following members of V.I.L.E. are criminals that the player must catch for each of the cases and each of their crimes:

Suspect Pun Gender Hair Color Height Weight Wearing Captured by
Anita Bath I need a bath Female Red Medium Thin Hat Ann Tickwittee
Art Schrival Archrival Male Grey Short Thin Hat Kim Yoonity
Auntie Matter Antimatter Female Grey Medium Average Glasses Ann Tickwittee
Barb Dwyer Barbed wire Female Black Medium Average Hat Ivan Idea
Barry Koodah Barracuda Male Blond Medium Heavy Hat Ann Tickwittee
Buzz "Ted" Loose Busted loose Male Black Tall Heavy Glasses Herman Nootix
Dee Pockets Deep Pockets Female Red Tall Average Watch Renee Santz
Dinah Myte Dynamite Female Blond Short Average Watch Kim Yoonity
Don N. Hout Down and out Male Brown Short Heavy Camera Rock Solid
Flo N. Eddy Flow and eddy Female Grey Medium Heavy Hat Ann Tickwittee
Hal E. Tosis Halitosis Male Grey Short Heavy Glasses Kim Yoonity
Harry Bacque Hairy back Male Red Tall Average Camera Renee Santz
Herb Aside Herbicide Male Blond Tall Thin Camera Herman Nootix
Indy Slammer In the slammer Male Brown Medium Thin Watch Ivan Idea
Ivana Steele I wanna steal Female Grey Tall Average Watch Dee Plomassy
Jack Cheez Jack cheese Male Red Medium Average Camera Herman Nootix
Jerri Riggs Jury-rigs Female Black Medium Heavy Glasses Herman Nootix
Jonah Fark Joan of Arc Male Grey Short Average Hat Kim Yoonity
Kay Serrah-Serrah Que Sera, Sera Female Brown Medium Average Camera Ann Tickwittee
Ken U. Sparadigm Can you spare a dime? Male Black Tall Thin Watch Renee Santz
Leia D. Land Lay of the land Female Red Medium Thin Camera Herman Nootix
Les Cash Less cash Male Black Medium Thin Camera Ivan Idea
Lisa Carr Lease a car Female Brown Short Heavy Watch Kim Yoonity
Lou Pole Loophole Male Blond Tall Thin Hat Dee Plomassy
M.T. Pockets Empty pockets Female Blond Tall Heavy Camera Dee Plomassy
Mac R. Roni Macaroni Male Brown Tall Heavy Camera Dee Plomassy
May K. Deal Make a deal Female Brown Tall Average Glasses Renee Santz
Meg Maidey Make my day Female Grey Short Heavy Glasses Rock Solid
Mel Function Malfunction Male Red Short Heavy Glasses Rock Solid
Miss Ann Stuf Missing stuff Female Black Tall Thin Hat Renee Santz
Olive Yermunny All of your money Female Red Tall Thin Watch Renee Santz
Penny Pincher Penny-pincher Female Black Short Thin Glasses Rock Solid
Phil O. Dendron Philodendron Male Brown Tall Average Glasses Herman Nootix
Rob M. Blind Rob 'em blind Male Red Medium Average Glasses Ivan Idea
Ruth Less Ruthless Female Blond Medium Heavy Glasses Ivan Idea
"Shaky" Al LeBye Shaky alibi Male Grey Short Thin Glasses Rock Solid
Skip N. Skule Skipping school Male Brown Short Average Watch Rock Solid
Stu L. Pidjin Stool pigeon Male Blond Tall Heavy Hat Dee Plomassy
Tsu Mi Sue me Female Brown Short Thin Watch Kim Yoonity

References

  1. ↑ Kids Domain Reviews - Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? Deluxe Edition
  2. ↑ Working Mother. December 1999. p. 66. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  3. ↑ Working Mother. December 1996. p. 50. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  4. ↑ Billboard. 9 Mar 1996. p. 60. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  5. ↑ Popular Science. July 1996. p. 17. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  6. ↑ "COMPUTER Q&A". Orlando Sentinel. March 15, 1997. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  7. ↑ http://www.thefreelibrary.com/From+the+Tip+of+the+Taj+Majal+to+the+Base+of+Big+Ben,+Carmen+Sandiego...-a018611479
  8. ↑ http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1997-04-10/features/9704100151_1_acme-detective-agency-kids-world-is-carmen-sandiego
  9. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/19980504011935/http://www.carmensandiego.com/products/productsworldplayer.html
  10. ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/19980504011935/http://www.carmensandiego.com/products/productsworldplayer.html
  11. ↑ http://www.spectatornews.com/showcase/2008/09/22/what-ever-happened-to-carmen-sandiego/#sthash.CydTRYBp.dpuf"
  12. ↑ The word "Trophy" is capitalized in the game.
  13. ↑ "Kids Domain Reviews - Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?". Kidsdomain.com. 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2011-02-03.
  14. ↑ "Kids Domain Reviews - Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (Archived)". Kidsdomain.com. 2009-06-01. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  15. ↑ http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=11933&tab=review
  16. ↑ Alice Medalia, Nadine Revheim, Tiffany Herlands. Cognitive Remediation for Psychological Disorders: Therapist Guide. p. 100. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  17. ↑ Billboard. 24 Aug 1996. p. 90. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  18. ↑ By Eugene F Provenzo, Jr., Arlene Brett, Eugene F. Provenzo Arlene Brett Gary N. McCloskey (1999). Computers, Curriculum, and Cultural Change: An Introduction for Teachers. p. 79. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  19. ↑ Stoodt , Barbara D. Children's Literature: Discovery for a Lifetime. p. 78. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  20. ↑ Network World. 16 December 1996. p. 38. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  21. ↑ Everett, Anna. Digital Diaspora: A Race for Cyberspace. p. 129. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  22. ↑ Working Mother. December 1996. p. 50. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  23. ↑ Working Mother. December 1999. p. 66. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
  24. ↑ "`Sandiego' still getting better". November 29, 1996. Retrieved November 14, 2012.

External links