Eco: East Africa
| Eco: East Africa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Viridis Corporation |
| Publisher(s) | IVI Publishing |
| Platform(s) | Windows |
| Release | 1995 |
| Genre(s) | Business simulation |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Eco: East Africa is a business simulation video game developed by American studio Viridis Corporation and published by IVI Publishing for Windows in 1995.
Gameplay
[edit]Eco: East Africa is a game in which the player is a conservation officer who has been hired to revive a failing African game park.[1][2]
Development
[edit]Eco: East Africa was developed by Viridis Corporation. Based in Los Angeles, the company focused support on the Phillips CD-i before branching out into PC games in 1994.[3][4] The project manager for Eco: East Africa was Jesyca Durchin, who started in the entertainment industry in 1991 working as a production assistant to filmmaker Tim Burton.[5][6] Durchin stated that she began with Viridis when they were working on a CD-i game about recovering the RMS Titanic and then switched to a simulation set in Africa. She recalled, "I was hired on to be an assistant, but the producer didn’t really know how to organize and produce. He was a really good programmer and technologist. And so, we kind of switched roles, and I ended up spending about a year and a half producing a simulation. Which is actually one of the hardest things to do in software, period. Which was my first CD-ROM. And it was a mess"[6]
Eco: East Africa was one of five titles announced in a distribution agreement with IVI Publishing.[4][7] Durchin claimed that she was under immense pressure from IVI to complete the game ahead of the holiday season.[6] By April 1995, the publisher pulled out of its contract with Viridis leading to massive layoffs for the latter company.[4] Viridis ultimately folded due to lack of income leaving Durchin and her team unpaid for six weeks following the game's release.[6] Eco: East Africa features music from the Nigerian Talking Drum Ensemble.[2]
Reception
[edit]| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Computer Game Review | 77/100[8] |
| Next Generation |   [1] |
| PC Gamer (US) | 63%[9] |
| Dimension-3 | 83%[10] |
| Electronic Entertainment |  [11] |
| Electronic Games | B+[12] |
Next Generation rated the game two stars out of five, and stated that "Exploring your park is kind of entertaining, but only for a very short while. Hey, once you've seen one pack of hyenas feasting on a carcass or an elephant loping across the screen, you've pretty much seen them all. And you'll be way too tied down with administrative duties to do much sight-seeing anyway."[1] Computer Game Review's Tasos Kaiafas called the game "not very educational, interesting or fun."[8]
The game received the "Four Star Award of Excellence" from Home PC Magazine.[5][13]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Next Generation staff (September 1995). "Finals". Next Generation. No. 9. Imagine Media. p. 94. ISSN 1078-9693.
- ^ a b Spiwak, Marc (November 1995). "Multimedia Watch" (PDF). Popular Electronics. Vol. 12, no. 11. Ziff Davis. pp. 23–4. ISSN 0032-4485. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 9, 2024.
- ^ Wynne, Stuart (February 1995). "Feature: Virtual Vegas". 3DO Magazine. No. 2. Paragon Publishing. p. 19. ISSN 1355-9621.
- ^ a b c "Food Dude (Unreleased, Philips CD-i)". Nintendo Player. Archived from the original on January 15, 2025. Retrieved April 7, 2025.
- ^ a b "Jesyca Durchin Schnepp". Nena Media. Archived from the original on January 23, 2025. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
- ^ a b c d Simon, Sara; Kocurek, Carly A.; Mirghaderi, Leilasadat (December 2022). "Building Digital Dream Houses: An Interview with Jesyca Durchin". ROMchip. Archived from the original on March 4, 2025. Retrieved April 6, 2025.
- ^ Electronic Games staff (December 1994). "Cutting The Deals That Matter: Distri-Deals". Electronic Games. Vol. 3, no. 3. Decker Publishing. p. 20. ISSN 0730-6687.
- ^ a b Perry, Kevin; Chapman, Ted; Kaiafas, Tasos (June 1995). "Reviews: Taking a Walk on the Wild Side Could Get You Killed By Poachers". Computer Game Review. No. 47. Sendai Publishing. pp. 70–1. ISSN 1062-113X.
- ^ Howie, Lisa M. (August 1995). "Reviews: Eco: East Africa". PC Gamer. No. 15. Future plc. p. 105. ISSN 1080-4471.
- ^ Scherpenborg, Jennifer (July 1995). "Become One With Nature By Experiencing IVI Ecological Simulation". Dimension-3. No. 3. Dimension Publishing. pp. 66–7.
- ^ Grech, Christine (August 1995). "Simulation Games: Eco East Africa". Electronic Entertainment. No. 20. International Data Group. p. 65. ISSN 1074-1356.
- ^ Worley, Joyce (July 1995). "Edutainment: ECO East Africa". Electronic Games. Vol. 3, no. 7. Decker Publishing. p. 91. ISSN 0730-6687.
- ^ Home PC staff (December 1995). "The Best of 1995". Home PC Magazine. Vol. 2, no. 12. CMP Publications Inc. p. 159. ISSN 0888-8507.