TITLE
How I Managed to Design the Most Successful Educational Computer Game of All Time
AUTHOR
R. Philip Bouchard
PUBLICATION
The Philipendium
YEAR
2017
ARTICLE TYPE
Postmortem
FROM THE ARTICLE
The Oregon Trail is, by most measures, the most successful educational computer game of all time. Many versions of the game were created over the years, dating all the way back to 1971. However, the version that many people assume is the “original” — the version that constantly appears in memes and magazine articles — is the 1985 Apple II version. (The 1985 design was also implemented on the IBM PC, but it first appeared on the Apple II.) I was the lead designer and team leader of this most famous version of this most famous educational game, and therefore I am an excellent source for revealing exactly how this design came to be.
COMPANIES MENTIONED
MECC
GAMES MENTIONED
The Oregon Trail
PLATFORMS MENTIONED
Apple II
NOTES
R. Philip Bouchard was the lead designer and team leader of the 1985 version of The Oregon Trail.