1001 VG Book #01 - "Oregon Trail" - (1971)

-  1970's  -

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The book begins with a short introduction to the "1970's" section.  In it, they talk about Asteroids and Space Invaders both being released in 1979… (Space invaders is usually given a 1978 release date because of its Japanese release first)... but fine, close enough and still late 1970's.  However, 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?

commentary about the book article for:

#1 = Oregon Trail (1971)
- by JT (John Teti)
- Apple II (which didn't exist in 1971 BTW)

  - 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).  Even putting down the date of 1971 for an Apple II release doesn't matchup given that the first Apple II was made in 1977 (and wasn't the same computer that could play the 1985 Oregon Trail game either)

- 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, playing the game (if you had access to it at all) meant typing on a teletype machine, or maybe even an early timeshare terminal system.  It was hardly what people think of as a "video game".

- No doubt "The Oregon Trail" should be in the list... but I would much prefer to place the date in 1985, and discuss some of the earlier Oregon Trail versions as developmental steps towards the definitive Apple II edition!

- 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 educational 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.

MY QUICK REVIEW:
There is a magical quality to the Oregon Trail... something that has kept the game being revisited, improved, and updated for over 50 years now. I think it's the power of the story. The harsh setting of the actual Oregon Trail with all its risks and rewards. The incredible fortitude of those people who risked it all to move out west, take ownership of some land, and start a new life.  And YOU get to transport yourself into that very situation with the power of imagination and gameplay.

The first version in 1971 was told through text on a teletype machine, not even a video screen. Then came later initial graphical flourishes and additions. MECC (the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium) continued to publish this educational game throughout the early 80's and it was a popular classroom item. Finally, the game which immortalized The Oregon Trail was the 1985 update for the Apple II.

I grew up fascinated by the possibilities of exploring the Oregon Trail game. However, in a classroom situation, we never seemed to have quite enough time with it. I don't remember ever finishing an entire game and making it alive to the promised land. But the game sticks in the memory, perhaps even more than it has a right to. Yes, it's a game based around resource management, survival, planning and some luck. And yet, that's somewhat true of life, isn't it?  This real-world feeling might just be part of that magic that makes Oregon Trail so long lived.

VIDEOS:

 

(This is 1975 version... as close of an approximation to the original 1971 version of Oregon Trail they've been able to find)

 

 

(here's the 1985 Apple IIe version, which is much more what the article was talking about)

 

CHVG: 1971

Chronological History of Video Games:

Early History of Video Games (1971)

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Look at that... cabinet!

Computer Space:
The "arcade video game" got its first actual commercial game in 1971... Computer Space. Nolan Bushnell was an engineer/entrepreneur who experienced Spacewar! while attending college, and was now involved with the arcade scene. He thought it'd be a hit if he could make Spacewar! playable in the arcades, alongside the other electro-mechanical games, pinball machines and more. The only problem was that it was still prohibitively expensive to setup a PDP microcomputer... it would never enough money to pay for the equipment.

The solution he came up with was a more simplistic version of Spacewar! that could run on dedicated transistors. (how this actually works is beyond me, since it has nothing to do with programming, and everything to do with engineering). Nolan called his game Computer Space (ironically, since he had just ditched the actual computer part of the design entirely). He made a deal with his employer, Nutting Associates, to produce and sell the game. They made about 1500 cabinets total, and it was such a futuristic and cool looking design they've become collector items, and have even made cameo movie appearances. (see links at end of article).

As a commercial endeavor, it wasn't a huge hit. The usual reason you'll hear a lot of videogame history books is that the game was "too complicated." Well, I'll have more to say on that front after we first take a look at the OTHER big arcade development of 1971.

Resides in the Computer History Museum - Mtn. View, CA

Galaxy Game:
Remember how Nolan decided it was too expensive to run Spacewar! commercially on that expensive PDP11? Well we actually have a glimpse into the road not taken with Galaxy Game. This was a version of Spacewar! modified for coin-operation at 10 cents a game, or 25 cents for 3 plays. It was installed at the Tresidder Union at Stanford University in September, 1971, beating Nolan's Computer Space into customer usage by a month or two.

But, this was not a commercial product. It was only a prototype... a test market game if you will. Programmed by Bill Pitts and Hugh Tuck, it ran on a single PDP11. Eventually it had two separate vector displays... two games running, and each one you could have 2 players competing head-to-head.

Th estimated hardware cost was around $20,000 in 1971 money. At 10 cents a play, you'd make your money back after just 200,000 games... well, you'd also have to earn money for the rent, power, cleaning, maintenance and repairs. So basically never.

In June 1972 the hardware was updated... allowing four to eight consoles to run at the same time. It was actually well-received on campus, much like Spacewar! had many fans in its time. Galaxy Game remained on campus until May of 1979, with reported wait times of as much as an hour during its peak popularity.

Was it really too complex?

Too Complicated?
We'll see the first mega-hit of arcade games in 1972, Pong (it' really not a secret). And that game was very simple... just a single analog knob for each player. Thus the reasoning is always that Nolan Bushnell's Computer Space failed commercially because it was just too complicated. But I don't think so. I think it was just a boring game. Have you watched game footage?

Example:


If it was so complicated, why was Spacewar! so popular? Why was Galaxy Game so popular and remained so for years? I've even seen Galaxy Game described as an instant hit. How can you have an instant hit if the controls were so complicated!?

No, I don't think the reason for its failure was simply its level of complexity. I believe Computer Space just didn't hold enough interest for players to WANT to learn it. This is proven again and again as games got more complex. Look at Defender (1980)! It was a game with a myriad of buttons, an up/down joystick, and also incredible difficulty. But because it had some whiz-bang action, a story and really fun gameplay, people learned it. By far the most complex thing of its day, yet it was a HUGE success.

So, to me anyway, I think saying "too complicated" is just a cop-out. Time to admit the game looked cool, was certainly a pioneer, but the gameplay lacked staying power. And that's okay. It's part of a rich history now.

Unfortunately it's hard to play either of these games today. You have to visit a museum to play Galaxy Game, and Computer Space is also more of a museum display than video game even in retro arcades. Still.. I really like the cabinet for Computer Space, very slick! Wish there were more out there, and would love to try the authentic experience.

MOVIE:
A Computer Space unit appears in the 1973 movie 'Soylent Green', starring Charlton Heston. It appears briefly on screen being played by a woman while policeman Heston is visiting the apartment's owner.

MOVIE:

A yellow Computer Space unit appears in the 1975 movie 'Jaws', during the arcade/beach scene (approximately 40 minutes from the beginning).

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COMPUTER GAMING:
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Ralph Baer's Brown Box (prototype) is picked up by Magnavox for exclusive manufacturing and distribution. We are going to look at the very first home video game console coming soon.

OREGON TRAIL
- Yes, this venerable game actually got its start in 1971, where you'd play by entering some commands into a terminal, and then a printer/teletype would print out some results, and you'd play on. This really isn't anything like the classroom classic which was a school staple in the late 80's. Text-only... printed out. Imagine the trees destroyed by typing BANG! to hunt for food as the paper spooled ever onward.

I remember playing what I thought was Oregon Trail in 6th grade. My school had a Commodore lab, though... and looking into it I believe it was actually a knock-off from a type-in magazine listing called Westward Ho. But yes, I love the constant evolution of Edutainment and hope to cover a lot more of it in the future.


CIVILIZATION / a.k.a. Empire
- This was an early version of a management/economy simulation, written for the PDP 11/45 platform. Naturally, as all "unpurposeful" data in the early computing days - it was deleted.

And finally...
The first emails were sent over ARPANET - and established the @ sign in email addresses.