The Oregon Trail 3rd Edition
{{Short description|1997 video game}}
{{Infobox video game
| title = The Oregon Trail 3rd Edition
| image = Oregon_Trail_3rd_Edition_Mac_Cover_art.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| developer = MECC
| publisher = The Learning Company (TLC Properties Inc.)
| series = The Oregon Trail
| engine =
| platforms = Microsoft Windows 95 (CD, DVD), Mac OS 7.5 (CD)
| genre = Edutainment
| modes = Single-player
}}
The Oregon Trail 3rd Edition (full title: The Oregon Trail 3rd Edition: Pioneer Adventures) is the second sequel to the 1985 edutainment video game The Oregon Trail after Oregon Trail II. It was developed by MECC and released in 1997.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pb9uFv1P_68C&dq=%22The+Oregon+Trail%3A+3rd+Edition%22&pg=PA32|title=Serious Games and Edutainment Applications|isbn=9781447121619|last1=Ma|first1=Minhua|last2=Oikonomou|first2=Andreas|last3=Jain|first3=Lakhmi C.|date=9 December 2011|publisher=Springer}}
Gameplay
Like all other games in the Trail series, The Oregon Trail 3rd Edition requires careful resource management in order to successfully complete the perilous journey across America via the Oregon trail to the Western frontier.
The game included a guide book with helpful hints in case the player got stuck.{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TodvBDXmM_oC&dq=%22The+Oregon+Trail%3A+3rd+Edition%22&pg=PA366|title=PC Mag|work=google.com.au|date=6 October 1998}}
Reception
{{Video game reviews
| award1Pub = PC Magazine
| award1 = Top 100 CD-Rom Award{{cite video game |title=Reader Rabbit Kindergarten Previews |developer=The Learning Company |publisher=The Learning Company |date=1996-10-13 |platform=Windows |language=English}}
| award2Pub = National Educational Media Network
}}
Game Industry News wrote: "I do find this game to be an excellent learning experience for players. It is marketed for people ages ten to adult, and even if you are an adult this game offers enough of a challenge coupled with entertainment to keep your interest".{{cite web|url=http://www.gameindustry.com/review/item.asp?id=1490|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131030075850/http://www.gameindustry.com/review/item.asp?id=1490|title=Review: Oregon Trail 3rd Edition (The Learning Company) - Game Industry News|archivedate=30 October 2013|work=Game Industry News}} The Hour wrote: "This is an excellent role playing game for children ages 10 up to adults".{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1916&dat=19981020&id=1Q1JAAAAIBAJ&pg=4240,2577820|title=The Hour - Google News Archive Search|work=google.com}} Elizabeth Weal of the MacHome Journal said that "this upgrade of the simulation - with new full-motion video, improved graphics, and new players' decisions - makes the product even more engaging than its predecessors".{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Es8JAQAAMAAJ&q=%22The+Oregon+Trail:+3rd+Edition%22|title=History Computer Review|work=google.com.au|year=1997}}
The 2002 book Designing Instruction for Technology-enhanced Learning suggested that edutainment properties that have been around for a long time, such as Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? and The Oregon Trail "have been through many..evaluations, and the subsequent versions reflect careful attention to who is using the product and how well it sells". It cited the then-recent The Oregon Trail 3rd Edition (1997) and Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (1996) as examples of this.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QxB5IW4XKjUC&dq=%22The+Oregon+Trail%3A+3rd+Edition%22&pg=PA12|title=Designing Instruction for Technology-enhanced Learning|isbn=9781931777711|last1=Rogers|first1=Patricia L.|date=January 2003|publisher=Idea Group Inc (IGI)}} During the inaugural Interactive Achievement Awards, The Oregon Trail received a nomination for "PC Family/Kids Title of the Year" by the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.{{cite web |url=https://www.interactive.org/games/video_game_details.asp?idAward=1998&idGame=785 |title=D.I.C.E. Awards By Video Game Details Oregon Trail 3rd Edition: Pioneer Adventures |publisher=Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences |website=interactive.org |access-date=4 August 2023}}
References
{{reflist|2}}
External links
- Broderbund (Riverdeep Interactive Learning Limited) page: [https://web.archive.org/web/20071028001354/http://support.broderbund.com/faq_list.asp?id=1294818083 OT3EPA DVD support], [https://web.archive.org/web/20071028001435/http://support.broderbund.com/faq_list.asp?id=75 OT3EPA 1.0 support], [https://web.archive.org/web/20071029112423/http://support.broderbund.com/faq_list.asp?id=1294818180 OT3EPA 1.1 support], [https://web.archive.org/web/20071028001408/http://support.broderbund.com/faq_list.asp?id=77 OT3EPA 1.2 support], [https://web.archive.org/web/20071028001242/http://support.broderbund.com/faq_list.asp?id=1294817914 OT3EPA 1.3 support]
- Riverdeep Interactive Learning Limited page: [https://web.archive.org/web/20060529041526/http://support.riverdeep.net:80/faq_list.asp?id=1294818642 OT3EPA 1.0 (School Edition) support]
- {{moby game|id=/oregon-trail-3rd-edition}}
- [https://books.google.com/books?id=vpU9AQAAIAAJ&q=%22The+Oregon+Trail:+3rd+Edition%22 Entry in CD-ROMs in Print]
- [https://books.google.com/books?id=2BGxLDlrhp0C&q=%22The+Oregon+Trail:+3rd+Edition%22 Reference in The Complete Sourcebook on Children's Software]
{{Trail video game series}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oregon Trail 3rd Edition, The}}
Category:Children's educational video games
Category:History educational video games
Category:The Learning Company games
Category:The Oregon Trail (series)
Category:Single-player video games
Category:Video games developed in the United States