Oregon Trail - Developing A Classic

Via Press the Buttons, an interview on the site Deadly Hippos with Philip Bouchard, designer for the original "Oregon Trail". The classic game of food, hunting, and cholera was a staple for many folks around my age growing up, and the piece makes for interesting reading. From the article: "Unfortunately, in real life it was all too easy to kill a buffalo with a rifle. In later decades hunters would kill vast numbers of buffalos and take only the tongues. So I wanted kids to feel a sense of shame for killing too much and then wasting the kill. That was one of the reasons for allowing the player to carry back no more than 200 pounds of meat. I wanted the kids to develop a sense of conservation while playing the game - to say "We should not shoot more meat than we can carry". Our field testing showed that this lesson was indeed effective."

Comments

Hilarity Ensues

[American AC in Paris]

[OBVIOUS] Slashdot chasing Fark's tail for choice bits 'o news. Your dog wants CowboyNeal. (CT: yeah, it's a dupe. Whoopty-dee.)

[OBVIOUS] Slashdot chasing Fark's tail for choice bits 'o news. Your dog wants CowboyNeal.

Takes me back...

[Shadow Wrought]

To fifth grade. I remember the hunting part involving hitting the button when the animal first appeared. The shot would then slowly work its way down range as the animal, equally slowly, would work its way towards the center. At the time I thought it was pretty dumb to have to shoot before the animal was in your targets. With a decade (or two) of hindsight, I guess they were trying to force you to lead the deer, but for a fifth grader, I thought it was just stupid.

I also, for the longest time, thought that "Miscellaneous" was just a fancy term for medicine, since that's primarily what I equated to the "miscellaneous" category of supplies.

While part of me is interested in playing Oregon Trail again, I think I'd much rather play Gato ; the first game to really hook me.

Don't Read It

[MBCook]

I loved Oregon Trail, as I'm sure many others did. Do you're self a favor and DON'T read this article. While the guy gives good answers and manages to be civil, the "interviewer" asks questions like he's an 8 year old. Tell you what, I'll post back with the interview text only changing those terrible questions to more reasonable ones.