Police Quest: Open Season

Police Quest: Open Season (also known as Police Quest IV) is a 1993 police procedural point-and-click adventure video game developed and published by Sierra On-Line. It is the fourth installment in the Police Quest series. Departing from the fictional setting of Lytton, California from the first three installments, Open Season follows police detective John Carey as he investigates a series of brutal murders in Los Angeles.

The game was produced in cooperation with former Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) chief Daryl F. Gates, who had been recently ousted for his involvement in the 1992 Los Angeles Riots. Gates replaced former series director and ex-California Highway Patrol officer Jim Walls, who left Sierra around 1991. Sierra employee Tammy Dargan wrote and designed most of the game.

Open Season received mixed reviews and underperformed compared to previous entries. Since release, the game has been criticized as a racist and "reactionary" depiction of crime in Los Angeles.

An updated CD-ROM version was released in 1994; the updated version replaced on-screen text with recorded audio and also provided additional animations, music, and arcade sequences. An indirect sequel and spinoff, Police Quest: SWAT, was released in 1995.

Open Season uses mouse-based point-and-click gameplay similar to the previous Police Quest III and other contemporary adventure games. Icons for actions such as "walking" and "speaking" are used rather than a text-parsing system as seen in the first two Police Quest games. The player uses these actions to interact with characters and investigate crime scenes.

Like previous Police Quest games, Open Season emphasizes the following of "realistic" police procedure and will penalize the player for failing to do so. The player will suffer negative consequences for violating protocol, failing to file paperwork, or committing sexual harassment.

The game features full-motion video, with much of the imagery based on video recordings of actors or real photographs of Los Angeles. The 1994 CD version replaces in-game written text with audio narration.

LAPD robbery-homicide detective John Carey is dispatched to investigate a homicide in a South Central alleyway. Carey finds his best friend and ex-partner Bob Hickman dead alongside an eight-year-old boy. Carey investigates the murder as a gang killing, but over time five more victims are found mutilated in public places and Carey learns the crimes are the work of a serial killer.