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Eco

Topic: Software

 From HandWiki - Reading time: 3 min

Eco: East Africa
Developer(s)Viridis Corporation
Publisher(s)IVI Publishing
Platform(s)Windows
Release1995
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

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

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

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
Next GenerationStarStar[1]
PC Gamer (US)63%[9]
Dimension-383%[10]
Electronic EntertainmentStarStarStarHalf star[11]
Electronic GamesB+[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

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Next Generation staff (September 1995). "Finals". Next Generation (Imagine Media) (9): 94. ISSN 1078-9693. https://archive.org/details/nextgen-issue-009/page/n95/mode/1up. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Spiwak, Marc (November 1995). "Multimedia Watch" (PDF). Popular Electronics (Ziff Davis) 12 (11): 23–4. ISSN 0032-4485. https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Poptronics/90s/95/PE-1995-11.pdf. 
  3. ↑ Wynne, Stuart (February 1995). "Feature: Virtual Vegas". 3DO Magazine (Paragon Publishing) (2): 19. ISSN 1355-9621. https://archive.org/details/3-do-02/page/19/mode/1up. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Food Dude (Unreleased, Philips CD-i)". https://www.nintendoplayer.com/unreleased/food-dude/. Retrieved April 7, 2025. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Jesyca Durchin Schnepp". Nena Media. https://www.nenamedia.com/about/jesyca-durchin-schnepp/. Retrieved April 6, 2025. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 "Building Digital Dream Houses: An Interview with Jesyca Durchin". December 2022. https://romchip.org/index.php/romchip-journal/article/view/159. Retrieved April 6, 2025. 
  7. ↑ Electronic Games staff (December 1994). "Cutting The Deals That Matter: Distri-Deals". Electronic Games (Decker Publishing) 3 (3): 20. ISSN 0730-6687. https://archive.org/details/electronic-games-1994-12/page/20/mode/1up. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 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 (Sendai Publishing) (47): 70–1. ISSN 1062-113X. https://archive.org/details/computer-game-review-issue-47-june-1995/page/n69/mode/2up. 
  9. ↑ Howie, Lisa M. (August 1995). "Reviews: Eco: East Africa". PC Gamer (Future plc) (15): 105. ISSN 1080-4471. https://archive.org/details/pc-gamer-issue-15-august-1995/page/n106/mode/1up. 
  10. ↑ Scherpenborg, Jennifer (July 1995). "Become One With Nature By Experiencing IVI Ecological Simulation". Dimension-3 (Dimension Publishing) (3): 66–7. https://archive.org/details/dimension-3-july-1995/page/n65/mode/2up. 
  11. ↑ Grech, Christine (August 1995). "Simulation Games: Eco East Africa". Electronic Entertainment (International Data Group) (20): 65. ISSN 1074-1356. https://archive.org/details/ElectronicEntertainment20Aug1995/page/n66/mode/1up. 
  12. ↑ Worley, Joyce (July 1995). "Edutainment: ECO East Africa". Electronic Games (Decker Publishing) 3 (7): 91. ISSN 0730-6687. https://archive.org/details/Electronic-Games-1995-07/page/n90/mode/1up. 
  13. ↑ Home PC staff (December 1995). "The Best of 1995". Home PC Magazine (CMP Publications Inc) 2 (12): 159. ISSN 0888-8507. https://archive.org/details/home-pc-magazine-1995-12/page/159/mode/1up. 



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