New ‘Oregon Trail’ Game Revisits Westward Expansion From Native Perspective

Tue, 25 May 2021 05:30:27 +1000

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/new-oregon-trail-game-features-playable-native-american-characters-180977744/>

"The iconic video game “The Oregon Trail” is back with a new version—and a more
nuanced approach to the story of white settlers traveling across the American
West in 1848.

As Kimber Collins reports for WKRG, the updated iteration, created by Gameloft,
is now available through the Apple Arcade subscription service. First launched
in 1971 as a computer game, “The Oregon Trail” lets users step into the role of
wagon leader. Players struggle to keep people and oxen alive in the face of
starvation, dysentery and other dangers.

The new game opens with a message from developers acknowledging that earlier
versions of “The Oregon Trail” failed to depict Native American perspectives
and cultures.

“For Indigenous Peoples, westward expansion was not an adventure but an
invasion,” they write.

The game now features playable Native American characters. Developers hired
three Native American historians to help design the virtual figures’
appearance, speech and roles."

Via Esther Schindler.

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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