Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? is the title of several edutainment computer games in the Carmen Sandiego series that teach geography. These games were created by Brøderbund Software from 1985 to 1996. Another version was released by The Learning Company in 2001.
Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? (1985)
| Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? | |
|---|---|
| File:CarmenWorld1.JPG The player gets a clue from a tennis pro in Peru | |
| Developer(s) | Brøderbund Software |
| Publisher(s) | Brøderbund Software |
| Platform(s) | PC (Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Apple II, Commodore 64, DOS, Macintosh, Sega Master System, Sega Mega Drive, SNES) |
| Release | 1985 |
| Genre(s) | Educational/strategy |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
This is the earliest version of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? as well as the first product in the entire Carmen Sandiego series. The goal of the game is to track Carmen's villains around the world, arrest them and ultimately arrest Carmen herself. The player begins the game by first going to the country where the crime took place and then obtaining hints from various sources on where the thief went next, leading to a chase around the world to find the thief before they "get away."
Each case begins with the user being alerted that a ridiculously spectacular theft has been committed. Starting by first traveling to the scene of the crime, the player is given several opportunities to collect clues about the suspect's next ___location, which come in the form of puns and word play about the target place. The player will also occasionally be given information on the suspect, which is used to obtain a warrant on them so as to narrow down the suspect to one of the V.I.L.E. members in the database.
If the player travels to an incorrect ___location, they receive nonsensical clues and will have to backtrack to the previous ___location to try again. If the player travels to the correct ___location, a simple animation of an obvious but otherwise harmless V.I.L.E. henchman lurking nearby is played. The gameplay continues to repeat in this manner as the player travels from ___location to ___location several times before catching up to the criminal.
Once the player reaches the final ___location, the animation of the nearby V.I.L.E. henchman becomes more aggressive and implies imminent danger and any clues the player receive simply suggest that they should watch their back. Investigating further clues lead to a chase scene and the apprehending of the suspect, which is always automatically successful. However, the mission is only successful if the appropriate warrant was issued. Having an incorrect warrant or no warrant at all causes the criminal to be found innocent in court, therefore causing the mission to have been wasted. Each successful mission is noted in the player's record and they will occasionally go up in rank. Each rank gives harder assignments with more locations to travel to before arriving at the final one. In the final case, the culprit is Carmen Sandiego herself and apprehending her lands the player in the hall of fame.
Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Deluxe (1990)
| Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Deluxe | |
|---|---|
| File:CarmenWorld2.JPG A scene in Sri Lanka | |
| Developer(s) | Brøderbund Software |
| Publisher(s) | Brøderbund Software |
| Platform(s) | PC (DOS, Windows, Macintosh) |
| Release | 1990 |
| Genre(s) | Educational/strategy |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
The second version of this game, fully titled Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Deluxe, was released in 1990 and featured additional animation and a reworked interface. CD-ROM versions for DOS and Macintosh were released in 1992, and a Windows version was released in 1994. The Windows version was later re-released as Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Classic Edition. This game was the first version to feature dialogue spoken aloud, although most information still appeared in written form and the dialogue of bystanders was not spoken but contained in speech balloons.
Carmen Sandiego: Junior Detective Edition (1995)
| Carmen Sandiego: Junior Detective Edition | |
|---|---|
| File:CarmenJ.JPG Zack shows a clue to the Chief in Morocco | |
| Developer(s) | Brøderbund Software |
| Publisher(s) | Brøderbund Software |
| Platform(s) | PC (Windows, Macintosh) |
| Release | 1995 |
| Genre(s) | Educational |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
Although not a version of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? by name, this game is essentially a simplified version of it for pre-readers.
The lead characters of the FOX animated series Where on Earth is Carmen Sandiego? are included in the game. Although Zack, Ivy, the Chief and Carmen Sandiego seem to have the same voice actors as in Earth, Carmen's appearance is different than in the show. Aside from including these characters and the fact that the user is addressed as "Player," the game has little to do with the Earth show. Carmen Sandiego's pet cat Carmine is introduced in this game.
The game is played on a device called the GizmoTapper which includes DeeJay, an artificial intelligence who guides the user through the game. Each country visited consists of a stock photograph inserted in the GizmoTapper's monitor. The user moves the cursor over the monitor, where it turns into a magnifying glass and glows to indicate the user has found a clue. Presented to the user by Zack, Ivy or DeeJay, each clue is a simple icon. The user must match the icon to the icons on a map to determine where the crook went. As the game progresses, more and more icons are needed to determine the target ___location.
A simplified version of the "warrant" function is also included. At each ___location, a bumbling photographer attempts to take a picture of the crook, but only gets a portion of the criminal's portrait. One or two pieces of the crook's picture are captured in each destination. The user must place these pieces, which just happen to form a perfect profile shot of the culprit, together in a wanted poster located in the bottom left corner of the GizmoTapper. Failure to do this will result in the culprit escaping at the end of the case.
Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? (1996)
| Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? | |
|---|---|
| File:CarmenWorld3.JPG A bystander provides a clue in the Philippines | |
| Developer(s) | Brøderbund Software |
| Publisher(s) | Brøderbund Software (1996 - 1998) The Learning Company (1998 - 2001) |
| Platform(s) | PC (Windows, Macintosh) |
| Release | 1996 |
| Genre(s) | Educational/strategy |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
The third version of the game was released simply as Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? in 1996. Released on the heels of the end of the PBS game show, this game included QuickTime videoes of Lynne Thigpen playing the Chief. This was the last version of the game to follow the "classic" formula of the series. A new version of Where in the U.S.A. is Carmen Sandiego, released the same year, was very similar.
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. The formula of the series was simplified, with clues being provided exclusively from bystanders and from scraps of paper lying on the ground. Also, unlike in Deluxe, all dialogue in the game was spoken aloud, although speech balloons were still used on bystanders.
Another added addition were the ACME Good Guides, a group of 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. One of the Good Guides also apprehends the crook at the end of each case. 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.
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. 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 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.
The animation in the game closely imitated the look of traditional animated cartoons. The animations that alert the user that the correct distination 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. For example, Renee Santz (one of the Good Guides) would paint ropes onto crooks to capture them.
Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Treasures of Knowledge (2001)
| Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Treasures of Knowledge | |
|---|---|
| File:CarmenTreasure.JPG Jules Argent and Shadow Hawkins search for clues in Florence | |
| Developer(s) | The Learning Company |
| Publisher(s) | The Learning Company |
| Platform(s) | PC (Windows, Macintosh) |
| Release | 2001 |
| Genre(s) | Educational/adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
This game features Jules Argent and Shadow Hawkins.
The goal is to solve 8 mysteries and to recover 7 of the 8 treasures of knowledge and ultimately find a lost city where the 8th treasure is hidden. In each case except the last, the player has to find the stolen treasure. In the last case, the player has to find the 8th treasure, hidden in the lost city.
The game is similar to Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?.