[game_preservation] hard copy of original Oregon Trail mainframe code?

[Devin Monnens]

The short answer is there were three versions of the code. The first was
from (December) 1971 and was played in the classroom. Rawitsch stated in an
interview with me that he copied the code onto the MECC system in 1974. In
1976, Rawitsch modified the game using more accurate data as part of his
graduate research, but the overall flow of the game reflects the original.
This code was later published in Creative Computing in 1978. The 1973 date
is incorrect and appears to be the result of a misquote in David Ahl's BASIC
Computer Adventures book where he writes it as being made 1972-1973 (a lot
of Ahl's information is actually incorrect though it was written to the best
of his knowledge, so you should take whatever he writes with a grain of
salt). Ahl republished the game there as Westward Ho! with revisions. The
code from Creative Computing (with one correction - an added ") is below. I
don't know which flavor of BASIC this runs in.

http://deserthat.wordpress.com/2010/11/07/oregon-trail-ver-3-basic-3-1-1978/

I'll e-mail Don to see if he knows what happened to the original printout,
but my guess is it found its way into the MECC archives. Now if anyone knows
what actually happened to the MECC computer program archives, I'd love to
hear that! They had what must have been the largest collection of
educational games at the time.

On Sun, Jan 30, 2011 at 9:00 PM, Henry Lowood <lowood at stanford.edu> wrote:


>  Matt,

>

> Devin reported to the SIG not long ago that he had access to it, but there

> is a discrepancy in dates.  Here is what he said:

>

> "BTW, what's the status on Preserving Virtual Worlds II? Aren't you

> working with the Oregon Trail? I've already got an interview from Don

> Rawitsch and the source code for the 1973 version, but I still need to

> contact his associates... Geez, it's been almost a year!"

>

> He writes 1973, so I'm not entirely sure you are talking about the same

> version.

>

> Anyway, you and Devin will figure it out.

>

> Henry

>

>

> On 1/30/2011 7:40 PM, Matthew Kirschenbaum wrote:

>

> Does anyone know the whereabouts of the hard copy of the original

> (1971) Oregon Trail mainframe code? Its existence, but not its fate

> (printed "on a long roll of yellow computer paper"), is detailed here:http://www.citypages.com/content/printVersion/1740595/

>

> I'd love for someone to tell me it's safe in a Minnesota historical

> society somewhere. Matt

>

>

>

>

> --

> Henry Lowood

> Curator, History of Science & Technology Collections;

>    Film & Media Collections

> HRG, Green Library, 557 Escondido Mall

> 650-723-4602; lowood at stanford.eduhttp://www.stanford.edu/~lowood

>

>

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>

>



-- 
Devin Monnens
www.deserthat.com

The sleep of Reason produces monsters.
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