Backpacker (video game series)

Backpacker is a series of Swedish computer games. The games are travel simulators where the player travels the world and answers questions. The graphics in the games consists mostly of static images. The series has never been released for game consoles.

This article is about the computer game series. For the travel-reality series, see Backpackers (TV series). For the comedy series, see Backpackers (web series).
Backpacker
Cover for Backpacker
Genre(s)Quiz, Adventure
Developer(s)TATI Mixedia
Aniware AB
Pan Vision AB
Publisher(s)BMG Interactive
Pan Vision AB
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
Mac OS
First releaseBackpacker
1995
Latest releaseBackpacker 3 - The Collection
2006

The series was originally developed by Tati Mixedia and Aniware AB and published by BMG Interactive. After Backpacker 2, Pan Vision AB took over the series.

Gameplay

The game is about traveling around to different cities in the world and answering questions about the locations. In order to get the money needed for traveling, the player have to take different jobs.

There can be several different goals in the game. Either that travel around the world in the shortest time to visit as many cities as possible or to get certificates in as many jobs as possible. In Backpacker 3 there are also other missions.

Backpacker

Backpacker was released in 1995[1] on one CD-ROM. The game was developed by Stefan Gadnell and Jens Thorsen.[2][3]

Backpacker 2

Backpacker 2 was released in 1997 on two CD-ROMs. As of 2010, it had sold 600,000 copies in the Nordic countries.[4] The game contains 70 destinations, 70 different jobs and 6,000 questions. It has two difficulty levels, Tourist and Globetrotter.

Backpacker 3

Backpacker 3 was released on 24 October 2003 by Pan Vision AB.[5][6] It is programmed in Macromedia director.[7] The game includes 100 destinations and 9,000 questions.[3][8] There are different levels of difficulty to the questions so that both adults and children can play.[8]

The game received a positive review and a rating of 4/5 by the newspaper Aftonbladet, its readers gave a rating of 3.45/5 (as of March 2011).[9] The graphics was criticized in a review in the newspaper Expressen.[7] It was the eighth best-selling video game in Sweden in 2003.[10]

Expansions

Two expansion packs were released in 2004.[11][12] Backpacker 3: Mediterraneo includes 15 new destinations in the Mediterranean region and contains 2,100 questions. Backpacker 3: Americana includes 15 new destinations in and around the United States, and contains 2,600 questions.[8]

In 2006, Backpacker 3 and the two expansion packs was released in a collection box.[8][13]

Titles
Game Date Publisher Ref(s)
Backpacker 1995 BMG Interactive [1]
Backpacker 2 1997 BMG Interactive [14]
Backpacker Junior 1997 Vision Park AB [15]
Backpacker 3 24 October 2003 Pan Vision AB [5][6]
Backpacker 3: Mediterraneo 29 October 2004 Pan Vision AB [11]
Backpacker 3: Americana 29 October 2004 Pan Vision AB [12]
Backpacker 3 DVD 01 November 2005 Pan Vision AB [12]
Backpacker 3 - The Collection 16 January 2006 Pan Vision AB [8][13]

References
  1. "Backpacker". MobyGames. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  2. Rittsel, Pär (21 January 2008). "Historia och nutid med spel på museum" (in Swedish). Computer Sweden. Retrieved 19 March 2011.
  3. Bergin, Erik (27 September 2003). "Lärorik fotvandring är inne på åttonde året". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 19 March 2011.
  4. "Game Developer Index 2009" (PDF). Dataspelsbranschen. 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  5. "Backpacker 3". MobyGames. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  6. Sandbladh, Jan (13 November 2003). "Backpacker 3 får tilläggspaket". PC för Alla (in Swedish). Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  7. Falk, Ingemar (22 October 2003). "Backpacker 3". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  8. "Backpacker 3 - The Collection". Pan Vision AB. 2011. Archived from the original on 21 March 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  9. Rudin, Henrik (24 October 2003). "Res jorden runt på din dator". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  10. "Sims toppar listan" (in Swedish). IDG Sweden. 22 October 2004. Retrieved 19 March 2011.
  11. "Backpacker 3: Mediterraneo". MobyGames. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  12. "Backpacker 3: Americana". MobyGames. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  13. "Backpacker 3 - The Collection". MobyGames. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  14. "Backpacker 2". MobyGames. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
  15. "Backpacker Junior". MobyGames. Retrieved 13 March 2011.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.