EcoQuest: The Search for Cetus
| Industry | Video games |
|---|---|
Key people | Bill Davis (Vice President of Creative Development), Jane Jensen (Game designer), Gano Haine (Game designer) |
| Products | EcoQuest: The Search for Cetus |
EcoQuest: The Search for Cetus is an educational adventure game created by Sierra On-Line. The idea originated from Sierra's Vice President of Creative Development, Bill Davis, alongside game designers Jane Jensen and Gano Haine. Although versions for the Amiga and Macintosh platforms were intended, they never saw release. The title was succeeded by the 1993 sequel, Lost Secret of the Rainforest.
Serving as the concluding chapter of Sierra's Quest series, EcoQuest emphasizes environmental responsibility. Compared to typical Sierra adventure titles, these games are more straightforward and designed to prevent players from losing progress or reaching unwinnable states. Both installments utilize a fully mouse-controlled iteration of SCI1, akin to that used in Space Quest IV and King's Quest VI. Initially distributed on floppy disk in 1991, The Search for Cetus was later reissued in 1992 on CD-ROM with complete voice narration.
Plot
The narrative centers on Adam Greene, a ten-year-old boy who is both the child of an ecologist and an accomplished scuba diver. He assists in the recovery of a rescued dolphin that gains the ability to communicate verbally. Alongside Delphineus—the talking dolphin—Adam embarks on a quest to find Cetus, the sperm whale monarch ruling over Eluria, a submerged realm inhabited by marine creatures. While anthropomorphic animals appear throughout, the storyline retains a primarily realistic approach.
Gameplay
Players engage in solving story-driven puzzles and challenges characteristic of Sierra's adventure games, incorporating gameplay elements reminiscent of Castle of Dr. Brain. A notable feature in The Search for Cetus is the introduction of the recycling symbol within Sierra’s command interface, encouraging players to collect and dispose of ocean debris responsibly. Targeted at children aged 12 and above, the game serves an educational purpose by exploring topics related to marine biology and conservation efforts. It addresses human-induced issues such as marine pollution from littering, helium balloon releases, discarded fishing equipment, collisions between boats and sea mammals, as well as contamination from oil spills, chemical leaks, and nutrient runoffs causing algal blooms.
Sequel
The follow-up title, Lost Secret of the Rainforest (also referred to as EcoQuest II), features an older Adam who now possesses the ability to converse with animals. Set within a tropical rainforest, he searches for a remedy to a disease afflicting local Indigenous peoples of South America while striving to halt deforestation. A significant addition to gameplay was the "Ecorder," a device similar to a tricorder used for collecting information throughout the adventure. According to Pelit, this installment presents greater difficulty than its predecessor and shifts focus toward themes of human selfishness and greed rather than solely environmental harm.