Bison were the slowest moving targets and yielded the most food, while rabbits and squirrels were fast and offered very small amounts of food. In later versions, players hunted with a crosshair controlled by the mouse. Later, players would control a little man who was capable of pointing a rifle in eight directions and firing single shots at animals. In the original version, there were no graphics and players were timed on how fast they could type 'BANG,' 'WHAM,' or 'POW,' with misspelled words resulting in a failed hunt. Using guns and bullets purchased over the course of the game, players select the hunt option and hunt wild animals to add to their food reserves.
The game has been released in many editions since the original release by various developers and publishers who have acquired rights to the game.Īn important aspect of the game was the ability to hunt. The player assumes the role of a wagon leader guiding his party of settlers from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon's Willamette Valley over the Oregon Trail via a Conestoga wagon in 1848. The original game was designed to teach school children about the realities of 19th century pioneer life on the Oregon Trail. The Oregon Trail is a computer game originally developed by Don Rawitsch, Bill Heinemann, and Paul Dillenberger in 1971 and produced by MECC in 1974.
