<s>
The	B-Application
Oregon	I-Application
Trail	I-Application
is	O
a	O
text-based	O
strategy	B-Application
video	I-Application
game	I-Application
developed	O
by	O
Don	O
Rawitsch	O
,	O
Bill	O
Heinemann	O
,	O
and	O
Paul	O
Dillenberger	O
in	O
1971	O
and	O
produced	O
by	O
the	O
Minnesota	O
Educational	O
Computing	O
Consortium	O
(	O
MECC	O
)	O
beginning	O
in	O
1975	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
was	O
developed	O
as	O
a	O
computer	O
game	O
to	O
teach	O
school	O
children	O
about	O
the	O
realities	O
of	O
19th-century	O
pioneer	O
life	O
on	O
the	B-Application
Oregon	I-Application
Trail	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
contain	O
no	O
graphics	O
,	O
as	O
they	O
were	O
developed	O
for	O
computers	O
that	O
used	O
teleprinters	O
instead	O
of	O
computer	B-Device
monitors	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
later	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
port	O
added	O
a	O
graphical	O
shooting	O
minigame	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Despite	O
its	O
popularity	O
with	O
the	O
students	O
,	O
it	O
was	O
deleted	O
from	O
the	O
school	O
district	O
's	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
computer	I-Architecture
at	O
the	O
end	O
of	O
the	O
school	O
semester	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rawitsch	O
recreated	O
the	O
game	O
in	O
1974	O
for	O
the	O
MECC	O
,	O
which	O
distributed	O
educational	B-Application
software	I-Application
for	O
free	O
in	O
Minnesota	O
and	O
for	O
sale	O
elsewhere	O
,	O
and	O
recalibrated	O
the	O
probabilities	O
of	O
events	O
based	O
on	O
historical	O
journals	O
and	O
diaries	O
for	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
release	O
the	O
following	O
year	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
the	O
rise	O
of	O
microcomputers	B-Architecture
in	O
the	O
1970s	O
,	O
the	O
MECC	O
released	O
several	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
over	O
the	O
next	O
decade	O
for	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
,	O
Atari	B-Device
8-bit	I-Device
family	I-Device
,	O
and	O
Commodore	O
64	O
computers	O
,	O
before	O
redesigning	O
it	O
as	O
a	O
graphical	O
commercial	O
game	O
for	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
under	O
the	O
same	B-Application
name	I-Application
in	I-Application
1985	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
is	O
the	O
first	O
entry	O
in	O
The	B-Application
Oregon	I-Application
Trail	I-Application
series	O
;	O
games	O
in	O
the	O
series	O
have	O
since	O
been	O
released	O
in	O
many	O
editions	O
by	O
various	O
developers	O
and	O
publishers	O
,	O
many	O
titled	O
The	B-Application
Oregon	I-Application
Trail	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
series	O
has	O
also	O
inspired	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
spinoffs	O
such	O
as	O
The	B-Application
Yukon	I-Application
Trail	I-Application
and	O
The	B-Application
Amazon	I-Application
Trail	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Oregon	I-Application
Trail	I-Application
is	O
a	O
text-based	O
strategy	B-Application
video	I-Application
game	I-Application
in	O
which	O
the	O
player	O
,	O
as	O
the	O
leader	O
of	O
a	O
wagon	O
train	O
,	O
controls	O
a	O
group	O
journeying	O
down	O
the	B-Application
Oregon	I-Application
Trail	I-Application
from	O
Independence	O
,	O
Missouri	O
to	O
Oregon	O
City	O
,	O
Oregon	O
in	O
1847	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
His	O
supervising	O
teacher	O
assigned	O
him	O
to	O
prepare	O
a	O
unit	O
on	O
"	O
The	O
Western	O
Expansion	O
of	O
the	O
Mid-19th	O
Century	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
Rawitsch	O
decided	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
board	O
game	O
activity	O
about	O
the	B-Application
Oregon	I-Application
Trail	I-Application
for	O
the	O
students	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Minneapolis	O
school	O
district	O
had	O
recently	O
purchased	O
an	O
HP	B-Device
2100	I-Device
minicomputer	B-Architecture
,	O
and	O
the	O
schools	O
the	O
trio	O
were	O
teaching	O
in	O
,	O
like	O
the	O
other	O
schools	O
in	O
the	O
district	O
,	O
were	O
connected	O
to	O
it	O
via	O
a	O
single	O
teleprinter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
video	O
game	O
industry	O
was	O
in	O
its	O
infancy	O
in	O
1971	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
three	O
had	O
no	O
resources	O
to	O
draw	O
on	O
to	O
develop	O
the	O
game	O
software	O
beyond	O
their	O
own	O
programming	O
knowledge	O
;	O
instead	O
,	O
they	O
spent	O
two	O
weeks	O
working	O
and	O
coding	O
in	O
HP	B-Language
Time-Shared	I-Language
BASIC	I-Language
on	O
their	O
own	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Oregon	I-Application
Trail	I-Application
debuted	O
to	O
Rawitsch	O
's	O
classes	O
on	O
December	O
3	O
,	O
1971	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
the	O
school	O
district	O
shared	O
a	O
single	O
central	O
minicomputer	B-Architecture
,	O
schools	O
across	O
the	O
city	O
began	O
to	O
play	O
the	O
game	O
as	O
well	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1974	O
,	O
Rawitsch	O
was	O
hired	O
by	O
the	O
Minnesota	O
Educational	O
Computing	O
Consortium	O
(	O
MECC	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
state-funded	O
organization	O
that	O
developed	O
educational	B-Application
software	I-Application
for	O
the	O
classroom	O
,	O
as	O
an	O
entry-level	O
liaison	O
for	O
local	O
community	O
colleges	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
MECC	O
had	O
a	O
similar	O
system	O
to	O
the	O
Minneapolis	O
school	O
district	O
's	O
setup	O
in	O
1971	O
,	O
with	O
a	O
CDC	B-Device
Cyber	I-Device
70/73	I-Device
-26	I-Device
mainframe	B-Architecture
computer	I-Architecture
which	O
schools	O
across	O
the	O
state	O
could	O
connect	O
to	O
via	O
terminals	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rather	O
than	O
submit	O
the	O
recreated	O
copy	O
,	O
he	O
instead	O
enhanced	O
the	O
game	O
with	O
research	O
on	O
the	O
events	O
of	O
the	B-Application
Oregon	I-Application
Trail	I-Application
that	O
he	O
had	O
not	O
had	O
time	O
for	O
with	O
the	O
original	O
version	O
,	O
and	O
changed	O
the	O
frequency	O
and	O
types	O
of	O
random	O
events	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
bad	O
weather	O
or	O
wagons	O
breaking	O
down	O
,	O
to	O
be	O
based	O
on	O
the	O
actual	O
historical	O
probabilities	O
for	O
what	O
happened	O
to	O
travelers	O
on	O
the	O
trail	O
at	O
each	O
location	O
in	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
placed	O
The	B-Application
Oregon	I-Application
Trail	I-Application
into	O
the	O
organization	O
's	O
time-sharing	O
network	O
in	O
1975	O
,	O
where	O
it	O
could	O
be	O
accessed	O
by	O
schools	O
across	O
Minnesota	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
1975	O
mainframe	B-Architecture
game	O
was	O
the	O
most	O
popular	O
software	O
in	O
the	O
system	O
for	O
Minnesota	O
schools	O
for	O
five	O
years	O
,	O
with	O
thousands	O
of	O
players	O
monthly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rawitsch	O
published	O
the	O
source	O
code	O
of	O
The	B-Application
Oregon	I-Application
Trail	I-Application
in	O
Creative	O
Computings	O
May	O
–	O
June	O
1978	O
issue	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
some	O
of	O
the	O
historical	O
information	O
he	O
had	O
used	O
to	O
refine	O
the	O
statistics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
That	O
year	O
MECC	O
began	O
encouraging	O
schools	O
to	O
adopt	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
microcomputer	B-Architecture
,	O
purchasing	O
large	O
amounts	O
at	O
a	O
discount	O
and	O
reselling	O
them	O
to	O
schools	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
MECC	O
began	O
converting	O
several	O
of	O
their	O
products	O
to	O
run	O
on	O
microcomputers	B-Architecture
,	O
and	O
John	O
Cook	O
adapted	O
the	O
game	O
for	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
;	O
though	O
the	O
text-based	O
gameplay	O
remained	O
largely	O
the	O
same	O
,	O
he	O
added	O
a	O
display	O
of	O
the	O
player	O
's	O
position	O
along	O
the	O
trail	O
on	O
a	O
map	O
between	O
rounds	O
,	O
and	O
replaced	O
the	O
typing	O
in	O
the	O
hunting	O
and	O
attack	O
minigame	O
with	O
a	O
graphical	O
version	O
in	O
which	O
a	O
deer	O
or	O
attacker	O
moves	O
across	O
the	O
screen	O
and	O
the	O
player	O
presses	O
a	O
key	O
to	O
fire	O
at	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
version	O
for	O
the	O
Atari	B-Device
8-bit	I-Device
family	I-Device
,	O
again	O
titled	O
The	B-Application
Oregon	I-Application
Trail	I-Application
,	O
was	O
released	O
in	O
1982	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
version	O
was	O
included	O
under	O
the	O
name	O
Oregon	O
as	O
part	O
of	O
MECC	O
's	O
Elementary	O
series	O
,	O
distributed	O
to	O
Minnesota	O
schools	O
for	O
free	O
and	O
for	O
profit	O
to	O
schools	O
outside	O
of	O
the	O
state	O
,	O
on	O
Elementary	O
Volume	O
6	O
in	O
1980	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
the	O
mid-1980s	O
,	O
MECC	O
was	O
selling	O
their	O
educational	B-Application
software	I-Application
to	O
schools	O
around	O
the	O
country	O
,	O
and	O
The	B-Application
Oregon	I-Application
Trail	I-Application
was	O
their	O
most	O
popular	O
product	O
by	O
far	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1985	O
,	O
MECC	O
produced	O
a	O
fully-graphical	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
for	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
computers	O
,	O
redesigned	O
by	O
R	O
.	O
Philip	O
Bouchard	O
as	O
a	O
greatly	O
expanded	O
product	O
for	O
home	O
consumers	O
under	O
the	O
same	O
name	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Oregon	I-Application
Trail	I-Application
was	O
extremely	O
successful	O
,	O
and	O
along	O
with	O
successive	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
it	O
sold	O
over	O
65	O
million	O
copies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Several	O
further	O
games	O
have	O
been	O
released	O
in	O
The	B-Application
Oregon	I-Application
Trail	I-Application
series	O
,	O
many	O
under	O
the	O
title	O
The	B-Application
Oregon	I-Application
Trail	I-Application
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
spinoffs	O
such	O
as	O
The	B-Application
Yukon	I-Application
Trail	I-Application
and	O
The	B-Application
Amazon	I-Application
Trail	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
original	O
Oregon	B-Application
Trail	I-Application
has	O
been	O
described	O
in	O
Serious	B-Application
Games	I-Application
and	O
Edutainment	O
Applications	O
as	O
"	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
famous	O
ancestors	O
"	O
of	O
the	O
serious	B-Application
game	I-Application
subgenre	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
text-based	O
and	O
graphical	O
versions	O
of	O
The	B-Application
Oregon	I-Application
Trail	I-Application
are	O
often	O
described	O
as	O
different	O
iterations	O
of	O
the	O
same	O
game	O
when	O
discussing	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
legacy	O
;	O
Colin	O
Campbell	O
of	O
Polygon	O
,	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
has	O
described	O
it	O
collectively	O
as	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
successful	O
games	O
of	O
all	O
time	O
,	O
calling	O
it	O
a	O
cultural	O
icon	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
its	O
widespread	O
popularity	O
,	O
The	B-Application
Oregon	I-Application
Trail	I-Application
,	O
referring	O
to	O
all	O
versions	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
released	O
over	O
40	O
years	O
,	O
was	O
inducted	O
into	O
the	O
World	O
Video	O
Game	O
Hall	O
of	O
Fame	O
in	O
2016	O
.	O
</s>
