Screenshots from The Oregon Trail game.

The Oregon Trail is an educational/edutainment computer game about American pioneer life that has a long history. The game was inspired by the real-life Oregon Trail and was designed to teach schoolchildren about the realities of 19th century pioneer life on the trail.

History

The first version of the game made in 1971 and was designed for the teletype machines operating at Carleton College. One of the original developers, Don Rawitsch, later began working at the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium (MECC) in 1974, where he introduced the game to that organization. The game was distributed through that state-funded consortium to educational institutions. It became a very common program for Apple computers in public schools during the 1980s and 1990s. Later versions were distributed by Brøderbund.

Overview

Players started out at the beginning of the trail, in Independence, Missouri, where they selected a profession for their character from a number of choices such as banker or carpenter. Each profession had different advantages and drawbacks. Players then had to buy equipment, oxen, and food for the journey.

Along the way, numerous events could occur. Friendly or hostile Indians might be encountered; a member of the family might fall ill or die of a snakebite; rivers had to be forded or ferried; and many other events occurred. Players usually had several different choices of how to deal with each situation. The wrong choice would cause the player to lose oxen or rations, and possible death could result for members of the caravan. Although it was a children's video game, it was by no means sugar-coated; death and disease were common occurrences. Periodically, the wagon train would stop at outposts along the journey, where goods might be purchased at ever-increasing prices, and where players would learn matters of history. At any point between outposts and landmarks, players could rest, trade with passing travellers and natives, or hunt; though excessive hunting in one area would lead to scarcity of wildlife.

At the end of the journey, points would be awarded according to a formula weighted by the profession chosen, the number and health of surviving family members, remaining possessions, and cash on hand.

The Oregon Trail

It first appeared on Elementary Volume 6 - Social Studies for the Apple II by MECC. This text-only version featured hunting for food with success based upon how quickly the user could type the word BANG on the keyboard.

A later incarnation with the same title appeared on its own for the Apple II, including rudimentary graphics and physical hunting. Hunting was performed by directing a little man around a field from an overview perspective, turning and shooting at passing wildlife. The only choices for professions were banker, carpenter, and farmer.

The Oregon Trail 2

This version introduced first-person perspective hunting: the player would position his sights over the animals as they ran laterally across the screen.

The Oregon Trail 3

This is the "150th anniversary" edition.

The Oregon Trail 4

The Oregon Trail 5

External links

• Broderbund: The Oregon Trail 5th Edition (http://www.broderbund.com/jump.jsp?itemID=147&mainPID=147&itemType=PRODUCT&RS=1&keyword=oregon+trail)
• Gamespot: Oregon Trail (http://www.gamespot.com/gamespot/features/all/greatestgames/p-34.html)
• ClassicGaming.com: Oregon Trail (http://www.classicgaming.com/rotw/otrail.shtml)