Entertainment news and discussion on TalkFuse.
How The Oregon Trail became a generational icon
The Verge's podcast Version History has kicked off its fifth season with an episode exploring the history and cultural impact of The Oregon Trail, the educational video game that shaped childhoods for generations of American students. Host David Pierce is joined by gaming journalist Chris Grant and Philip Bouchard, who designed and led the team behind the game's most famous version, to discuss its academic origins, its enduring and sometimes contested legacy, and the game's infamous dysentery deaths.
This season will also cover other pieces of classroom and personal technology, including the TI-84 graphing calculator, One Laptop Per Child, Chromebooks, LeapPad and the overhead projector. The Verge is also planning a livestreamed playthrough of The Oregon Trail on its YouTube channel, in which staff members will attempt to complete the journey. Episodes are available via the Version History podcast feed, YouTube channel, TikTok and Instagram, with an ad-free option for Verge subscribers.
In short
- The Verge's Version History podcast returns for a fifth season
- Season opener examines The Oregon Trail's history and legacy
- Upcoming episodes cover TI-84 calculators, Chromebooks and more classroom tech
Explained simply
The Oregon Trail is a computer game about travelling west across the United States in the 19th century, when settlers made long journeys by wagon. Players manage supplies and make choices along the way, learning about the risks of the trip as they go.
The game began as an educational project for American schoolchildren and became widely played in classrooms and at home. Philip Bouchard led the team behind its best-known version; its mix of history and challenging decisions helped make it familiar to generations of players.
Its place in schools raises questions about how games teach history and which parts of the past they leave out. The game is also remembered for its blunt depictions of illness and death, including the much-repeated message that a traveller has died of dysentery.