Hidden Expedition
Hidden Expedition is a series of single-player hidden object casual games developed by the internal studios of Big Fish Games for the first five installments, and by Eipix Entertainment for all subsequent installments. The three latest installments are developed by Domini Games. As of 2021, a total of twenty-one games in the series have been released. The Hidden Expedition series marks the second major hidden object game brand from Big Fish Games. The second game in the series, Hidden Expedition: Everest, would go on to be the first game Big Fish released on the iPhone.
Games
[Big Fish Games] (2006—2009)
''Hidden Expedition: Titanic''
Hidden Expedition: Titanic was released on July 22, 2006, for Windows. It was released to iOS for the iPhone and iPod Touch on August 1, 2009.In this game, the player takes on the role of a treasure hunter working for the Hidden Expedition Adventure League to investigate the wreckage of the ocean liner Titanic. The Titanic Museum Foundation has discovered a rare artifact - the Queen's jeweled crown - was on the ship and have hired H.E.A.L. to retrieve it, as well as any other pieces that may be of value to the museum. Players have a limited time to search hidden object scenes in each area of the ship, or their oxygen will run out.
The game's music was composed by Jean-Marc Lederman.
According to independent tracking site game-sales-charts.com, following its release on July 22, 2006, Hidden Expedition: Titanic climbed into the top 10 on nearly every major casual game distribution site. Moreover, it held the #1 sales spot on 11 of these sites.
''Hidden Expedition: Everest''
Hidden Expedition: Everest was released on June 1, 2007. As a member of the Hidden Expedition Club, the player is trying to reach the top of Mount Everest ahead of three competing expedition clubs. But first the player must find a mysterious adventurer who can help them find a hidden passage up. This leads the player through a variety of locations in Latin America, Europe, and Asia before ending at Mount Everest.The game features a likeness of world-famous mountaineer and Mount Everest climber, Ed Viesturs, as an assistant who provides players with guidance on various locations. Viesturs was involved in the actual development of the game, along with National Geographic Ventures, which worked with Big Fish Games to incorporate some of "National Geographic's rich repository of video, photos, stories and other editorial from previous Everest expeditions and from National Geographic's incredible collection of exploration and adventure content" into the gameplay.
An iOS version was released on May 14, 2009. This marked Big Fish Game's first foray into making games targeted at the then-emerging iPhone market. Lead Artist Shawn Wood and Lead Programmer Tyson Chihaya were given the job of remaking the game for the iOS platform. Due to the series' popularity and it being Big Fish's first iPhone game, Woods noted they "felt a bit of pressure to get it right." The team started by first playing through the PC version to determine what elements would need to be changed due to the differences in PC gaming and the iPhone, as well as to see what improvements could be made. They then had to deconstruct the original code and rewrite it, as the PC games were made with Adobe Flash and Adobe Director, while the iOS game would need to be written in Objective-C.
The significantly smaller screen of an iPhone resulted in the team having to redesign the buttons and hidden object scenes. Many of the original objects were too small to find once the pictures were rescaled to the 320x480 size, resulting in the scenes and some mini-games having to be changed. The team also leveraged the iPhone touch controls and zooming capabilities to render the scenes into a usable form.
According to Big Fish, upon release the game quickly rose to the top of the iPhone sales charts and was rated 4 out of 5 stars by users. With the success of this game, Big Fish was committed to continuing to release games for the iPhone and iOS.
''Hidden Expedition: Amazon''
Hidden Expedition: Amazon was released on June 20, 2008, for Windows. Two years after, on April 2, 2010, a version was released for iOS devices, including the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch. This version adds a multiplayer mode, allowing two players to compete against each other in a split-screen mode and integrates OpenFeint's award system. The vice president of Big Fish Games Studios, Patrict Wylie, stated that these changes "transforms the device into a modern board game". A black-and-white version for Amazon Kindle followed on July 28, 2011. It is also available on Kindle.In this entry in the series, the player assumes the role of a member of the Hidden Expedition Adventure Club who goes to look for some folks who went missing in the Amazon, including their friend and a biologist. The game's music and sound effects were produced by SomaTone Interactive Audio.
The iOS versions of the game were selected as a free "Pick of the Week" by Starbucks on October 30, 2012, meaning Starbucks gave away free cards that could be used to purchase the game in the Apple App Store.
''Hidden Expedition: Devil's Triangle''
Hidden Expedition: Devil's Triangle was released on October 24, 2009. As the leader of the Hidden Expedition Adventure Team, the player must search for a pilot who disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle.[Big Fish Games], Flood Light Games (2011)
''Hidden Expedition: The Uncharted Islands''
Hidden Expedition: The Uncharted Islands is the fifth game in the series, developed with Flood Light Games. The Collector's Edition of the game was released on PC on August 14, 2011, with a Mac edition following. A sequel to Devil's Triangle, the game's main character attempts to leave the islands only to find themselves crash-landing on a previously undiscovered set of islands in the Bermuda Triangle. The player must search for a dangerous pirate who is also trying to escape the islands with stolen treasure.A Standard Edition of the game was released later in 2011. The Collector's Edition differs from the regular version in that it includes extra gameplay, a built-in strategy guide, concept art, and computer wallpapers.