Talk:The Oregon Trail (1971 video game)

Oregon Trail: American Settlers iOS and Android is not the same game
I have downloaded it before and re-verified the screenshots via the link on the wiki. It is not remotely the same game (American Settlers basically has similar gameplay to Farmville where you accumulate resources and continuously building and producing). Also, as far as I can tell, the developer has no association to the original series. I think citation would be useful if it is in fact officially associated. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.65.177.78 (talk) 04:58, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

I couldn't agree more. Using the name 'Oregon Trail' in the title of Oregon Trail: American Settlers is just mis-selling basically. This has nothing what-so-ever to do with the original, and is basically a name-drop on one of the many Farmville type clones. Whilst you can't stop people making a game, and naming it based on an unrelated classic, wikipedia shouldn't then associate the game, by linking to is.

sibaz (talk) 12:32, 9 May 2016 (UTC)

Sources:
Here:--Coin945 (talk) 09:48, 27 October 2014 (UTC)
 * Old newspapers
 * Journal articles
 * Books
 * On the Road to Cultural Bias: A critique of "The Oregon Trail" CD-ROM:

"The critics all agree: The Oregon Trail is one of the greatest educational computer games ever produced. In 1992, Prides' Guide to Educational Softwareawarded it five stars for being"a wholesome, absorbing historical simulation," and "multi-ethnic," to boot. The newer version, Oregon Trail II,is the "best history simulation we've seen to date," according to a 1994 review by Warren Buckleitner, editor of Children's Software Review Newsletter."

- On the Road to Cultural Bias


 * Polygon:

"The Oregon Trail is one of the most successful games of all time, a cultural icon that has given us catch-phrases like, 'You Have Died of Dysentery'. It sold something in the order of 65 million copies and is a treasured school days memory for millions of Americans."

- Polygon


 * IGN nostalgic review
 * Quick overview of franchise in Serious Games and Edutainment Applications
 * The Atlantic
 * The AV Club

External links modified
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External links modified
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Useful source, + split sections more?
This article seems to conflate the 1971 game with the 1985 remakes. Per an article from the lead designer:
 * Every now and then, I run across an online article that suggests that the 1985 Apple II version of The Oregon Trail was essentially identical to the original 1971 game, except for the addition of color graphics. This assertion is so ridiculously inaccurate that it completely baffles me. https://medium.com/the-philipendium/how-i-managed-to-design-the-most-successful-educational-computer-game-of-all-time-4626ea09e184

While it might make sense to cover them both in one article, there should be a much clearer separation. Also, the 80s version is frankly far more notable and important, so it should have pride of place most likely. SnowFire (talk) 21:08, 13 July 2017 (UTC)


 * I agree. That would also fix the current problem where the article claims the game was released in 1974, yet was popular due to being bundled with school computers over a decade later without specifying the platform. —Trilkhai (talk) 07:34, 3 October 2017 (UTC)

Survival game
My memory of this game is hazy, but could it be considered part of the Survival game genre? It seems survival is a major factor in this game. SharkD  Talk  19:04, 31 October 2017 (UTC)

Useful sources
Amazing work !! So excited to see The Oregon Trail get its moment in the spotlight on Wikipedia considering its place as the longest running video gaming franchise of all time. :) Here's some useful sources which you may or may not have read already (some info may bleed over to the 1985 version).--Coin945 (talk) 04:29, 31 August 2018 (UTC)


 * https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/qkx8vw/the-forgotten-history-of-the-oregon-trail-as-told-by-its-creators
 * https://medium.com/the-philipendium/how-i-managed-to-design-the-most-successful-educational-computer-game-of-all-time-4626ea09e184
 * https://www.businessinsider.com.au/don-rawitsch-oregon-trail-creator-sacred-scrolls-2017-3?r=US&IR=T
 * https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2015/10/the-making-of-the-oregon-trail-an-interview-with-d.html
 * http://www.worldvideogamehalloffame.org/games/oregon-trail
 * https://www.usgamer.net/articles/the-oral-history-of-oregon-trail
 * https://www.forbes.com/sites/sethporges/2017/11/27/the-surprising-story-behind-how-the-oregon-trail-was-built-without-access-to-a-computer/#2957bb364f11
 * http://au.ign.com/articles/2009/03/05/fond-memories-the-oregon-trail

1978 version
The 1978 Apple 2 version is just the 1971 version with two minor graphical screens. A navigation map which shows the wagon moving on the trail, and a shooting screen that has an animated deer/bandit/wolf. There's an entire generation of people who see the 1985 version and say "that's not what I played in school". Wikipedia doesn't do an adequate job of identifying this unique predecessor. SchmuckyTheCat (talk) 14:07, 18 August 2022 (UTC)


 * The article does explain the original game was text, while they made a full graphical port in 85. M asem (t) 14:11, 18 August 2022 (UTC)


 * Already in article: "Rawitsch published the source code of The Oregon Trail in Creative Computing's May–June 1978 issue [...] That year [...] MECC began converting several of their products to run on microcomputers, and John Cook adapted the game for the Apple II; though the text-based gameplay remained largely the same, he added a display of the player's position along the trail on a map between rounds, and replaced the typing in the hunting and attack minigame with a graphical version in which a deer or attacker moves across the screen and the player presses a key to fire at it.[1][14]" -- Pres N  20:03, 18 August 2022 (UTC)