- 1970's -
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So, in the section titled "1970's"… they talk about Asteroids and Space Invaders both being released in 1979… which SI is usually given a 1978 release date (its Japanese release.) Fine, that's close enough… but in the same section they also mention arcade hits like Pac-Man, Centipede and "other" arcade hits being put onto the TRS-80. Really guys? Pac-Man was 1980, Centipede 1981… how are they going to put future arcade releases on the TRS-80 in the 1970's?#1 = OREGON TRAIL (1971)
- review by JT (John Teti)
- Apple II
- They put this in the book first, with a release date of 1971. That's just plain dumb, and many people were surprised by this first entry. The game they're describing in this review (and the one most people think of for "Oregon Trail") is the 1985 Apple II release (see below).
- The skeleton of a game in 1971 was nothing like the 1985 version which truly defined "The Oregon Trail" in the minds of school children everywhere. The picture in the article is from a version circa 1978 or so. Back then, if you could play the game at all -- it was likely through a terminal and teletype machine - hardly a video game.
- No doubt "The Oregon Trail" should be in the list... but place it in 1985, and discuss some of the earlier games as merely developmental steps!
- Also, I beg to differ that "students learned almost nothing about the actual Oregon Trail". Awareness is a big part of learning, actually. And the 1985 game had actual cities along the way, the fact you started in Independence, Missouri… had to make it to various Fort's, the danger of fording rivers, etc. There's a lot of great eduational material worked into the "play" factor beautifully. The game was built to spark the imagination - and on that front, it clearly delivered. Dysentery as a death is legendary in gaming circles because of Oregon Trail.
VIDEOS:
(here's the 1985 Apple IIe version, which is much more what the article was talking about)
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