Many gamers and non-gamers alike have played or at least heard ofThe Oregon Trail. The original game debuted in a classroom in 1971 and itsApple Arcade releasehas come out 50 years later in 2021. In those 50 years, the little game created a huge legacy with various editions released and the development of very similar games likeThe Amazon TrailandThe Yukon Trail.
This old game had very humble beginnings, starting with an eighth-grade history student teacher in Minnesota. His name wasDon Rawitsch, and he, with the help of fellow student teachers and friends Bill Heinemann and Paul Dillenberger, created what would later be one of the most well-known historical games.
RELATED:Pentiment Should Prioritize Historical Accuracy in its Story
The Oregon Trail’s Origins
The computer program was written on an HP Time-Shared BASIC which ran on a HP 2100 minicomputer. Once the game was completed, it went live in Rawitsch’s class. WithOregon Trail’s mechanicsof hunting, overseeing supplies, random events, sickness, and more, the game was incredibly popular for the class. They could learn about history in the form of a game, and while many games would later have historical settings,The Oregon Trailwas one of the first to do this. This version of the game was entirely text-based.
Three years later, Rawitsch was hired by the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium (MECC). They sought to create educational software for classroom purposes, so Rawitsch worked more on the game through his new job. MECC thus became the known developer of the game and sharedThe Oregon Trailwith schools state-wide. In the late 70s, the game went country-wide, and in 1985, the game got its visuals, no longer being just text-based.
By the 1990s, MECC was incredibly successful, but the video game industry got more competitive. MECC eventually got bought by SoftKey and the MECC name was changed to the Learning Company. More focus was put on making money rather than creating educational games for kids. The Learning Company was then got acquired by Mattel, and the original employees were laid off.
According to a 2011 article in City Pages, Rawitsch, Heinemann, and Dillenberger never saw a dime of the millions their game has made over the years, except for what Rawitsch made while working at MECC. According to Rawitsch, this has not bothered them. He shared that he still gave presentations on the creation of the game and still gets a lot of positive attention from fans.
The Legacy Of The Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trailhas inspired tons of games, parodies, and mentions in popular media over the years. Aside fromThe Oregon Trail’s many subsequent games, MECC’sThe Yukon TrailwasThe Oregon Trailset in the 19th century Klondike Gold Rush andThe Amazon Trailwas the same except set in the Amazon.A parody zombie version ofOregon Trailcalled theOrgan Trailwas made in 2012 by Men Who Wear Many Hats, and in 2016, a card game based on the video game was made by the Pressman Toy Corporation.
The legacy goes far beyond just games.The Oregon Trailsold a decent amount of merchandise, putting iconic phrases like “You have died of dysentery” on mugs, t-shirts, and more. In 2012 in Salem, Oregon, anOregon TrailLive event had teams complete challenges based on the video game, such as shooting nerf guns at fake animals, reciting historical fact trivia, and carrying 200 pounds in a child-size wagon. A parody musical calledThe Trail to Oregon!was released in 2014, andTeen Titans Go!referenced the game in an episode called “Oregon Trail.” All in all, it’s clear thatThe Oregon Trailhas left a mark on video game history and pop culture overall.
The Oregon Trailis available now on Apple Arcade.
MORE:The World Needs More Historical Fiction Games Like Red Dead Redemption 2
