Edu-Ware
Encyclopedia
Edu-Ware Services, Inc. was an educational
and entertainment software publisher
established in 1979
by Sherwin Steffin and Steven Pederson It was known for its adventure games, role-playing video game
s, and flight simulator
s for the Apple II family of computers.
, he and Pederson decided to form a software publishing company
specializing in educational software
for the Apple II
. In particular, Steffin, who held degrees in experimental psychology
and instructional technology
, wanted to create computer aided instruction that encouraged divergent thinking, in contrast to current school curriculum, which he believed encouraged convergent thinking.
Working out of his Woodland Hills, California apartment, Steffin programmed educational software, while Pederson favored games the games he created while completing his studies at UCLA. Edu-Ware's first products were Perception, followed by Compu-Read
, which Steffin had begun programming before starting Edu-Ware, with the intention of selling it to Programma International
. Software store Rainbow Computing
, enticed by Pederson's concept for a new role-playing video game
called Space
, gave him his first Apple II computer
, which he used to also write the strategy game
Terrorist
and the educational program Compu-Spell
, for which Pederson wrote the first version of Edu-Ware's EWS graphics engine for generating text on the Apple's high-resolution graphics screen.
The company expanded beyond the two founders when it hired Mike Lieberman, who had also worked at the student radio station, as sales manager, and contracted game developer David Mullich
, who met Steffin while working at Rainbow Computing. After writing several games for Edu-Ware as a freelancer, he joined Edu-Ware after completing his own studies at California State University, Northridge
in 1980
, and as his first assignment created the ground-breaking adventure game
The Prisoner
, the product for which Edu-Ware is best remembered today. The game was also a financial success for the company, which moved into actual officespace, at 22222 Sherman Way in Canoga Park, California, by the year's end. Sometime later, the company relocated to larger facilities overlooking the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills, California.
Edu-Ware may be most noted for what it failed to publish rather than what it did publish: Ken Williams
originally shopped the first graphical adventure, Mystery House
to Eduware in 1980. Unhappy with how the negotiations were proceeding, he formed On-line Systems
to publish the game. On-line Systems became Sierra On-line and Sierra became extremely successful, based largely on their reputation in the graphic adventure genre.
While The Prisoner remained Edu-Ware's best-selling individual product during its first two years of business, educational software remained its primary focus. The Compu-Math series
, consisting of three programs designed by Steffin and programmed by Mullich for teaching elementary mathematics, unveiled Edu-Ware's vision of teaching by objectives and measuring learning through pretesting and posttesting. The company's educational approach was perfected in 1981 with the release of the first in the Algebra series, in which learners choose the cognitive approach by which they want to learn. The Algebra series greatly surpassed The Prisoner in sales and became Edu-Ware's greatest source of revenue.
Despite the company's successes, by 1982
it was obvious that to Steffin and Pederson that they could not continue running the company themselves. Rapidly climbing marketing costs and heavier competition from rivals like Davidson & Associates
and Spinnaker Software
were taking their toll. For the 1.5 million dollar software company to survive, Edu-Ware needed more management strength and expertise. In July 1983
Management Sciences America, then the world's largest independent software manufacturer, announced that it was purchasing Edu-Ware for a combination of cash and MSA stock, valued at $1.5 million, plus a percentage of future earnings. Having previously specialized in mainframe computer software, MSA saw the purchase as its entry into educational software, which it saw as a future growth market.
However, the relationship soon soured as Edu-Ware's marketing was taken over by MSA's Peachtree Software accounting software division, and the Edu-Ware brand identity was slowly extinguished. The final straw came when Personal Computing hit the newsstands in October 1984
. The issue featured a well-publicized peach-scented insert that unfolded into eight pages, 32-inches wide, displaying a shelf of 67 Peachtree Software products, all in identical packaging. This included 45 Edu-Ware products that were virtually indistinguishable from the accounting software packaging, the only difference being that the Edu-Ware products had the word 'Education' on the box, even for the Edu-Ware games like Prisoner 2.
Steffin's protests over how MSA was handling Edu-Ware caused him to be fired in August 1984
. The next month, he filed a lawsuit against MSA, claiming the company had violated securities laws in making fraudulent representations to Edu-Ware’s stockholders in order to buy the latter’s stock and for the promise of future payments not materialized. Steffin further claimed he was to be employed by Edu-Ware for four years after the sale, and charged that MSA undercut Edu-Ware sales to diminish the payments it had promised. He said MSA sabotaged the company by holding some products off the market, eliminating advertising and discontinuing use of the Edu-Ware name.
Two months after Steffin filed his lawsuit, MSA announced plans to sell its retail microcomputer software group of Peachtree Software, DesignWare, and Eduware, which together lost $2 million that year. MSA cited the millions of dollars Peachtree Software had spent on advertising and promotion, including the expensive peach-scented insert, as a reason for selling off the group. In March 1985
Encyclopædia Britannica
announced that it had purchased Designware and Edu-Ware from MSA for an undisclosed sum. The EduWare development team was to be disbanded, and DesignWare would handle both development and marketing of Edu-Ware and Designware products.
Steffin started another software publishing company, BrainPower
, along with sales manager Lieberman, while Pederson, who had left Edu-Ware several months earlier, went on to other ventures. Mullich and a few other remaining Edu-Ware employees acquired two of the computer games
in development, an adventure game
called Wilderness: A Survival Adventure and a space flight simulator called Tranquility Base, and formed their own game company, Electric Transit.
Besides Mullich, another notable Edu-Ware alumni include former Apple Computer
evangelist Guy Kawasaki
, who was Director of Marketing at the company, and NASA
official Wesley Huntress
, who developed Rendezvous: A Spaceflight Simulator.
, educational software
and computer games, which it marketed under the slogan "unique software for the unique mind". Its 1979
product listed such diverse titles as the metric conversion
calculator Metri-Vert, an E.S.P. program to help determine if users have extrasensory perception, and a drinking game
called Zintar.
However, the photocopied documentation that was packaged in a zip-lock bag with each of Edu-Ware's early products outlined the company's goal of creating software that fell into two distinct categories: K-12 educational products that aimed to provide computer aided instruction that went beyond "random drill and practice routines', and entertainment products which were “often more intellectually powerful, and educational, than the educational products themselves".
While many of the company’s initial efforts fell short of that vision and were soon dropped from future catalogs, several early products typified the Edu-Ware experience, including its durable speed reading
program Compu-Read
, and its science fiction
role-playing video game
Space
.
, Edu-Ware formalized the distinction between its educational and entertainment products by creating two separate product lines, each with its own packaging. The "Science of Learning" product line consisted of no-nonsense tutorials such as the Compu-Spell
, Compu-Math
and Algebra series. In each, the learner is given specific, measurable learning objectives; then pre-tested to assess current skill levels before presented with sequenced learning modules; after which he is post-tested to determine what he has learned. Several of these products featured a classroom management module, which measured the individual progress of an entire classroom of students and provide teacher control over the learning process.
While Edu-Ware's attempts at applying formal learning theory were often praised, its no-nonsense approach to learning had its critics. For example, a review of Compu-Math: Arithemetic Skiills complained that the program is "devoid of the fun aspect that makes computerized learning human and inspiring. The sole reinforcement is an ever-increasing complexity of the problems".
Although most of Edu-Ware’s Science of Learning products were developed internally, by 1982
the company was attracting outside educators such as Judith S. Priven, Ed.M., who developed several PSAT/SAT
products; Neil Bennett, Ph.D., who created an interactive tutorial for teaching BASIC programming; and M. David Merill, who created the first of a (never-completed) comprehensive series to teach poetry.
), television programming (Network
), and global terrorism (Terrorist
). Noted one magazine reviewer, "there is that residual element of reality that makes Edu-Ware stuff so good".
Many of Edu-Ware’s games were written by game designer David Mullich
. The most famous (or notorious) of these was Prisoner 2, an update that added graphics to their earlier game The Prisoner
. The game was Mullich's homage to the Patrick McGoohan
1967 TV series The Prisoner
, which had recently been rebroadcast in the United States. The game was Edu-Ware's most critically acclaimed title, and was ported to the Atari
and IBM PC
computers. While the game was one of Edu-Ware's best-selling titles, like most of EduWare's output, it proved too outside the mainstream to be considered a true hit.
Edu-Ware introduced a third brand, Interactive Simulations, when it released Rendezvous: A Space Shuttle Simulation, developed by NASA
scientist Wesley Huntress
. Accompanied by a thick "Spacecraft Operations" manual with a chapter on use in the classroom, this flight simulator
was marketed as being as educational as it was fun to play.
John Conrad had created a series of educational products such as Introduction to Counting and Spelling and Reading Primer for Edu-Ware that were designed for the younger learner and thus more playful than the typical Edu-Ware product.
However, two of Conrad’s later products, Spelling Bee Games and Webster’s Numbers, fell so far into the realm of edutainment
that Edu-Ware created a fourth product line for them in 1983
. The Dragonware line featured a dragon
mascot named Webster, who was to be the child’s companion this series of educational games.
saga, a Tranquility Base lunar lander
simulator, and a children’s game called Merry Canned Nightmare’s and Dreams – would each have fit well into its Science of Learning, Interactive Fantasies, Interactive Simulations, and Dragonware brands, respectively.
However, Edu-Ware’s new owner, MSA, decided to strip Edu-Ware of all its brands and marketed the entire software line in identical packaging, bearing the logo of its Peachtree Software accounting software division. All of the products were promoted as being educational software – even such games as Prisoner 2 – until the product line was sold to Encyclopædia Britannica
in 1985
.
Educational software
Educational software is computer software, the primary purpose of which is teaching or self-learning.-Early History, 1940s - 1970s:The use of computer hardware and software in education and training dates to the early 1940s, when American researchers developed flight simulators which used analog...
and entertainment software publisher
Software publisher
A software publisher is a publishing company in the software industry between the developer and the distributor. In some companies, two or all three of these roles may be combined ....
established in 1979
1979 in video gaming
-Notable releases:* Richard Garriott creates Akalabeth, a computer role-playing game for the Apple IIe. It launches Garriott's career and is a precursor to his highly successful Ultima series....
by Sherwin Steffin and Steven Pederson It was known for its adventure games, role-playing video game
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
s, and flight simulator
Flight simulator
A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and various aspects of the flight environment. This includes the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they react to applications of their controls and other aircraft systems, and how they react to the external...
s for the Apple II family of computers.
History
Edu-Ware founders Sherwin Steffin and Steven Pederson met at UCLA, where Steffin was working as a faculty advisor to the campus radio station where Pederson worked as a student. When Steffin was laid off in the spring of 19791979 in video gaming
-Notable releases:* Richard Garriott creates Akalabeth, a computer role-playing game for the Apple IIe. It launches Garriott's career and is a precursor to his highly successful Ultima series....
, he and Pederson decided to form a software publishing company
Software publisher
A software publisher is a publishing company in the software industry between the developer and the distributor. In some companies, two or all three of these roles may be combined ....
specializing in educational software
Educational software
Educational software is computer software, the primary purpose of which is teaching or self-learning.-Early History, 1940s - 1970s:The use of computer hardware and software in education and training dates to the early 1940s, when American researchers developed flight simulators which used analog...
for the Apple II
Apple II
The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977...
. In particular, Steffin, who held degrees in experimental psychology
Experimental psychology
Experimental psychology is a methodological approach, rather than a subject, and encompasses varied fields within psychology. Experimental psychologists have traditionally conducted research, published articles, and taught classes on neuroscience, developmental psychology, sensation, perception,...
and instructional technology
Instructional technology
In education, instructional technology is "the theory and practice ofdesign, development, utilization, management, and evaluation of processes and resources for learning," according to the Association for Educational Communications and Technology Definitions and Terminology Committee...
, wanted to create computer aided instruction that encouraged divergent thinking, in contrast to current school curriculum, which he believed encouraged convergent thinking.
Working out of his Woodland Hills, California apartment, Steffin programmed educational software, while Pederson favored games the games he created while completing his studies at UCLA. Edu-Ware's first products were Perception, followed by Compu-Read
Compu-Read
Compu-Read is an educational program originally developed by Sherwin Steffin of Edu-Ware Services in 1979 for the Apple II.-Summary:It consists of four modules training the user in rapidly increasing comprehension and retention: Character Recognition, High-speed word recognition, Synonyms; Sentence...
, which Steffin had begun programming before starting Edu-Ware, with the intention of selling it to Programma International
Programma International
Programma International was one of the first personal computer software publishers. Established in the late 1970s by David Gordon, it published a line of approximately 300 game, programming utility, and office productivity products for the Apple II, Commodore PET, TRS-80 and other personal computer...
. Software store Rainbow Computing
Rainbow Computing
Rainbow Computing was an Apple II retailer and software publisher that was established in 1976 in Los Angeles, USA by Gene Sprouse and Glenn Dollar...
, enticed by Pederson's concept for a new role-playing video game
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
called Space
Space (computer game)
Space is a text-based computer role-playing game franchise for the Apple II that was originally designed by Steven Pederson and Sherwin Steffin of Edu-Ware Services, and then expanded upon in a sequel by David Mullich, in 1979....
, gave him his first Apple II computer
Apple II
The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977...
, which he used to also write the strategy game
Strategy game
A strategy game or strategic game is a game in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome...
Terrorist
Terrorist (computer game)
Terrorist is a real-time, two player strategy game developed by Steven Pederson of Edu-Ware Services in 1980 for the Apple II. One player plays the government authority, while the other plays a terrorist organization in three scenarios: the capture of a building and taking of hostages, air piracy,...
and the educational program Compu-Spell
Compu-Spell
Compu-Spell is educational software developed by Sherwin Steffin and Steven Pederson of Edu-Ware Services for the Apple II in 1980. It is designed to teach spelling based on the assumption that spelling is a memorization task. The program presents a series of spelling words within sentences, and...
, for which Pederson wrote the first version of Edu-Ware's EWS graphics engine for generating text on the Apple's high-resolution graphics screen.
The company expanded beyond the two founders when it hired Mike Lieberman, who had also worked at the student radio station, as sales manager, and contracted game developer David Mullich
David Mullich
David Mullich is an American game producer and designer best known for creating the cult classic 1980 adventure game The Prisoner, producing the 1995 adaptation I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, and developing many games in the Heroes of Might and Magic franchise...
, who met Steffin while working at Rainbow Computing. After writing several games for Edu-Ware as a freelancer, he joined Edu-Ware after completing his own studies at California State University, Northridge
California State University, Northridge
California State University, Northridge is a public university in Northridge, a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles, California, United States....
in 1980
1980 in video gaming
-Notable releases:* May 22, Namco releases Pac-Man, which is their biggest selling game of all time* December, Nintendo releases the Radar Scope arcade game...
, and as his first assignment created the ground-breaking adventure game
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
The Prisoner
The Prisoner (computer game)
The Prisoner is a 1980 Apple II computer game produced by Edu-Ware. The game was loosely based upon the 1960s television series The Prisoner and incorporates the show's themes about the loss of individuality in a technological and controlling society...
, the product for which Edu-Ware is best remembered today. The game was also a financial success for the company, which moved into actual officespace, at 22222 Sherman Way in Canoga Park, California, by the year's end. Sometime later, the company relocated to larger facilities overlooking the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills, California.
Edu-Ware may be most noted for what it failed to publish rather than what it did publish: Ken Williams
Ken Williams (gaming)
Ken Williams is an American game programmer and co-founded On-Line Systems, which later became Sierra On-Line, together with his wife Roberta Williams. Roberta and Ken married at the age of 19 and have two children...
originally shopped the first graphical adventure, Mystery House
Mystery House
Mystery House is an adventure computer game released in 1980 by Roberta and Ken Williams for the Apple II. The game is remembered as one of the first adventure games to feature computer graphics and the first game produced by On-Line Systems, the company which would evolve into Sierra On-Line...
to Eduware in 1980. Unhappy with how the negotiations were proceeding, he formed On-line Systems
Sierra Entertainment
Sierra Entertainment Inc. was an American video-game developer and publisher founded in 1979 as On-Line Systems by Ken and Roberta Williams...
to publish the game. On-line Systems became Sierra On-line and Sierra became extremely successful, based largely on their reputation in the graphic adventure genre.
While The Prisoner remained Edu-Ware's best-selling individual product during its first two years of business, educational software remained its primary focus. The Compu-Math series
Compu-Math series
The Compu-Math series are mathematics tutorials developed and published by Edu-Ware Services in the 1980s. Each program in the Compu-Math series begins with a diagnostic Pre-Test, which presents learners with mathematics problems to determine their current skill level in the subject and then...
, consisting of three programs designed by Steffin and programmed by Mullich for teaching elementary mathematics, unveiled Edu-Ware's vision of teaching by objectives and measuring learning through pretesting and posttesting. The company's educational approach was perfected in 1981 with the release of the first in the Algebra series, in which learners choose the cognitive approach by which they want to learn. The Algebra series greatly surpassed The Prisoner in sales and became Edu-Ware's greatest source of revenue.
Despite the company's successes, by 1982
1982 in video gaming
-Events:* December 27 - Starcade, a video game television game show, debuts on TBS in the United States.-Notable releases:*October 13 - Mystique releases the Custer's Revenge adult video game for the Atari 2600 home console....
it was obvious that to Steffin and Pederson that they could not continue running the company themselves. Rapidly climbing marketing costs and heavier competition from rivals like Davidson & Associates
Davidson & Associates
Davidson & Associates was an educational software company headquartered in Torrance, California. It was best known for the Blaster series, including Math Blaster and Reading Blaster...
and Spinnaker Software
Spinnaker Software
Spinnaker Software was a 1982 founded software company known primarily for its line of non-curriculum based educational software, which was a major seller during the 1980s. It was founded by chairman Bill Bowman and president C. David Seuss....
were taking their toll. For the 1.5 million dollar software company to survive, Edu-Ware needed more management strength and expertise. In July 1983
1983 in video gaming
-Events:* A major shakeout of the video game industry begins. By 1986, total video games sales will decrease from US$3.2 billion to US$0.1 billion.* MCA Universal files suit against Nintendo, claiming that the latter company's video arcade hit Donkey Kong violated Universal's copyright on King Kong...
Management Sciences America, then the world's largest independent software manufacturer, announced that it was purchasing Edu-Ware for a combination of cash and MSA stock, valued at $1.5 million, plus a percentage of future earnings. Having previously specialized in mainframe computer software, MSA saw the purchase as its entry into educational software, which it saw as a future growth market.
However, the relationship soon soured as Edu-Ware's marketing was taken over by MSA's Peachtree Software accounting software division, and the Edu-Ware brand identity was slowly extinguished. The final straw came when Personal Computing hit the newsstands in October 1984
1984 in video gaming
-Notable releases:* May 10, King's Quest , the first animated adventure game, the first in the King's Quest series, and the first to use the AGI engine.* June 4, Nintendo releases Donkey Kong 3...
. The issue featured a well-publicized peach-scented insert that unfolded into eight pages, 32-inches wide, displaying a shelf of 67 Peachtree Software products, all in identical packaging. This included 45 Edu-Ware products that were virtually indistinguishable from the accounting software packaging, the only difference being that the Edu-Ware products had the word 'Education' on the box, even for the Edu-Ware games like Prisoner 2.
Steffin's protests over how MSA was handling Edu-Ware caused him to be fired in August 1984
1984 in video gaming
-Notable releases:* May 10, King's Quest , the first animated adventure game, the first in the King's Quest series, and the first to use the AGI engine.* June 4, Nintendo releases Donkey Kong 3...
. The next month, he filed a lawsuit against MSA, claiming the company had violated securities laws in making fraudulent representations to Edu-Ware’s stockholders in order to buy the latter’s stock and for the promise of future payments not materialized. Steffin further claimed he was to be employed by Edu-Ware for four years after the sale, and charged that MSA undercut Edu-Ware sales to diminish the payments it had promised. He said MSA sabotaged the company by holding some products off the market, eliminating advertising and discontinuing use of the Edu-Ware name.
Two months after Steffin filed his lawsuit, MSA announced plans to sell its retail microcomputer software group of Peachtree Software, DesignWare, and Eduware, which together lost $2 million that year. MSA cited the millions of dollars Peachtree Software had spent on advertising and promotion, including the expensive peach-scented insert, as a reason for selling off the group. In March 1985
1985 in video gaming
-Notable releases:* Brøderbund releases Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, the first game of the prolific Carmen Sandiego series* Nintendo releases Super Mario Bros. on September 13, 1985, which eventually sells 40 million copies making it the best-selling video game of all time until 2008.*...
Encyclopædia Britannica
Encyclopædia Britannica
The Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
announced that it had purchased Designware and Edu-Ware from MSA for an undisclosed sum. The EduWare development team was to be disbanded, and DesignWare would handle both development and marketing of Edu-Ware and Designware products.
Steffin started another software publishing company, BrainPower
Brainpower
Gertjan Mulder, professionally known as Brainpower, is a bi-lingual rapper, who writes, records and performs in both the English as well as the Dutch language. The Dutch audience mainly knows him as a Dutch language rapper. He was born in Belgium and grew up in the Netherlands. He started making...
, along with sales manager Lieberman, while Pederson, who had left Edu-Ware several months earlier, went on to other ventures. Mullich and a few other remaining Edu-Ware employees acquired two of the computer games
Computer Games
"Computer Games" is a single by New Zealand group, Mi-Sex released in 1979 in Australia and New Zealand and in 1981 throughout Europe. It was the single that launched the band, and was hugely popular, particularly in Australia and New Zealand...
in development, an adventure game
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
called Wilderness: A Survival Adventure and a space flight simulator called Tranquility Base, and formed their own game company, Electric Transit.
Besides Mullich, another notable Edu-Ware alumni include former Apple Computer
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
evangelist Guy Kawasaki
Guy Kawasaki
Guy Kawasaki is a Silicon Valley venture capitalist, bestselling author, and Apple Fellow. He was one of the Apple employees originally responsible for marketing the Macintosh in 1984. He is currently a Managing Director of Garage Technology Ventures, and has been involved in the rumor reporting...
, who was Director of Marketing at the company, and NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
official Wesley Huntress
Wesley Huntress
Wesley T. Huntress, Jr. is president of the Planetary Society in the United States and Director of the Geophysical Laboratory at the Carnegie Institution. Huntress spent much of his career at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, also teaching as a professor at the associated California Institute of...
, who developed Rendezvous: A Spaceflight Simulator.
Unique software for the unique mind
Edu-Ware’s initial product line was an eclectic mix of analytical softwareAnalytical software
Analytical software is software that is designed specifically for analysis and development of a particular environment or object....
, educational software
Educational software
Educational software is computer software, the primary purpose of which is teaching or self-learning.-Early History, 1940s - 1970s:The use of computer hardware and software in education and training dates to the early 1940s, when American researchers developed flight simulators which used analog...
and computer games, which it marketed under the slogan "unique software for the unique mind". Its 1979
1979 in video gaming
-Notable releases:* Richard Garriott creates Akalabeth, a computer role-playing game for the Apple IIe. It launches Garriott's career and is a precursor to his highly successful Ultima series....
product listed such diverse titles as the metric conversion
Conversion of units
Conversion of units is the conversion between different units of measurement for the same quantity, typically through multiplicative conversion factors.- Process :...
calculator Metri-Vert, an E.S.P. program to help determine if users have extrasensory perception, and a drinking game
Drinking game
Drinking games are games which involve the consumption of alcoholic beverages. These games vary widely in scope and complexity, although the purpose of most is to become intoxicated as quickly as possible...
called Zintar.
However, the photocopied documentation that was packaged in a zip-lock bag with each of Edu-Ware's early products outlined the company's goal of creating software that fell into two distinct categories: K-12 educational products that aimed to provide computer aided instruction that went beyond "random drill and practice routines', and entertainment products which were “often more intellectually powerful, and educational, than the educational products themselves".
While many of the company’s initial efforts fell short of that vision and were soon dropped from future catalogs, several early products typified the Edu-Ware experience, including its durable speed reading
Speed reading
Speed reading is a collection of reading methods which attempt to increase rates of reading without greatly reducing comprehension or retention. Methods include chunking and eliminating subvocalization...
program Compu-Read
Compu-Read
Compu-Read is an educational program originally developed by Sherwin Steffin of Edu-Ware Services in 1979 for the Apple II.-Summary:It consists of four modules training the user in rapidly increasing comprehension and retention: Character Recognition, High-speed word recognition, Synonyms; Sentence...
, and its science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
role-playing video game
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
Space
Space (computer game)
Space is a text-based computer role-playing game franchise for the Apple II that was originally designed by Steven Pederson and Sherwin Steffin of Edu-Ware Services, and then expanded upon in a sequel by David Mullich, in 1979....
.
The science of learning
In 19811981 in video gaming
-Events:* November -** The British video game magazine Computer and Video Games starts.** Game & Watch - released in Sweden.* Arnie Katz and Bill Kunkel found Electronic Games, the first magazine on video games and generally recognized as the beginning of video game journalism.-Notable releases:*...
, Edu-Ware formalized the distinction between its educational and entertainment products by creating two separate product lines, each with its own packaging. The "Science of Learning" product line consisted of no-nonsense tutorials such as the Compu-Spell
Compu-Spell
Compu-Spell is educational software developed by Sherwin Steffin and Steven Pederson of Edu-Ware Services for the Apple II in 1980. It is designed to teach spelling based on the assumption that spelling is a memorization task. The program presents a series of spelling words within sentences, and...
, Compu-Math
Compu-Math series
The Compu-Math series are mathematics tutorials developed and published by Edu-Ware Services in the 1980s. Each program in the Compu-Math series begins with a diagnostic Pre-Test, which presents learners with mathematics problems to determine their current skill level in the subject and then...
and Algebra series. In each, the learner is given specific, measurable learning objectives; then pre-tested to assess current skill levels before presented with sequenced learning modules; after which he is post-tested to determine what he has learned. Several of these products featured a classroom management module, which measured the individual progress of an entire classroom of students and provide teacher control over the learning process.
While Edu-Ware's attempts at applying formal learning theory were often praised, its no-nonsense approach to learning had its critics. For example, a review of Compu-Math: Arithemetic Skiills complained that the program is "devoid of the fun aspect that makes computerized learning human and inspiring. The sole reinforcement is an ever-increasing complexity of the problems".
Although most of Edu-Ware’s Science of Learning products were developed internally, by 1982
1982 in video gaming
-Events:* December 27 - Starcade, a video game television game show, debuts on TBS in the United States.-Notable releases:*October 13 - Mystique releases the Custer's Revenge adult video game for the Atari 2600 home console....
the company was attracting outside educators such as Judith S. Priven, Ed.M., who developed several PSAT/SAT
SAT
The SAT Reasoning Test is a standardized test for college admissions in the United States. The SAT is owned, published, and developed by the College Board, a nonprofit organization in the United States. It was formerly developed, published, and scored by the Educational Testing Service which still...
products; Neil Bennett, Ph.D., who created an interactive tutorial for teaching BASIC programming; and M. David Merill, who created the first of a (never-completed) comprehensive series to teach poetry.
Interactive fantasies
While educational software was Edu-Ware’s bread-and-butter, its innovate games are what the company is remembered for today. The goal of Edu-Ware's games was to "test, challenge and perhaps inspire that closet intellectual in all of us." Dubbed "Interactive Fantasies", they tackled such weighty topics as the oil crisis (WindfallWindfall (computer game)
Windfall: The Oil Crisis Game is a real-time business simulation game developed by David Mullich in 1980 for the Apple II. Based upon queuing theory and released after the 1979 energy crisis, the game puts the player in the role of chief executive of Engulf Oil, setting gas prices and worker...
), television programming (Network
Network (computer game)
Network is a real-time, two player business simulation game developed by David Mullich for the Apple II in 1980. Two players play competitively against the computer, each taking the role of the programming chief for a major television network...
), and global terrorism (Terrorist
Terrorist (computer game)
Terrorist is a real-time, two player strategy game developed by Steven Pederson of Edu-Ware Services in 1980 for the Apple II. One player plays the government authority, while the other plays a terrorist organization in three scenarios: the capture of a building and taking of hostages, air piracy,...
). Noted one magazine reviewer, "there is that residual element of reality that makes Edu-Ware stuff so good".
Many of Edu-Ware’s games were written by game designer David Mullich
David Mullich
David Mullich is an American game producer and designer best known for creating the cult classic 1980 adventure game The Prisoner, producing the 1995 adaptation I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, and developing many games in the Heroes of Might and Magic franchise...
. The most famous (or notorious) of these was Prisoner 2, an update that added graphics to their earlier game The Prisoner
The Prisoner (computer game)
The Prisoner is a 1980 Apple II computer game produced by Edu-Ware. The game was loosely based upon the 1960s television series The Prisoner and incorporates the show's themes about the loss of individuality in a technological and controlling society...
. The game was Mullich's homage to the Patrick McGoohan
Patrick McGoohan
Patrick Joseph McGoohan was an American-born actor, raised in Ireland and England, with an extensive stage and film career, most notably in the 1960s television series Danger Man , and The Prisoner, which he co-created...
1967 TV series The Prisoner
The Prisoner
The Prisoner is a 17-episode British television series first broadcast in the UK from 29 September 1967 to 1 February 1968. Starring and co-created by Patrick McGoohan, it combined spy fiction with elements of science fiction, allegory and psychological drama.The series follows a British former...
, which had recently been rebroadcast in the United States. The game was Edu-Ware's most critically acclaimed title, and was ported to the Atari
Atari 8-bit family
The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers manufactured from 1979 to 1992. All are based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU and were the first home computers designed with custom coprocessor chips...
and IBM PC
IBM PC
The IBM Personal Computer, commonly known as the IBM PC, is the original version and progenitor of the IBM PC compatible hardware platform. It is IBM model number 5150, and was introduced on August 12, 1981...
computers. While the game was one of Edu-Ware's best-selling titles, like most of EduWare's output, it proved too outside the mainstream to be considered a true hit.
Interactive simulations
In 19821982 in video gaming
-Events:* December 27 - Starcade, a video game television game show, debuts on TBS in the United States.-Notable releases:*October 13 - Mystique releases the Custer's Revenge adult video game for the Atari 2600 home console....
Edu-Ware introduced a third brand, Interactive Simulations, when it released Rendezvous: A Space Shuttle Simulation, developed by NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
scientist Wesley Huntress
Wesley Huntress
Wesley T. Huntress, Jr. is president of the Planetary Society in the United States and Director of the Geophysical Laboratory at the Carnegie Institution. Huntress spent much of his career at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, also teaching as a professor at the associated California Institute of...
. Accompanied by a thick "Spacecraft Operations" manual with a chapter on use in the classroom, this flight simulator
Flight simulator
A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and various aspects of the flight environment. This includes the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they react to applications of their controls and other aircraft systems, and how they react to the external...
was marketed as being as educational as it was fun to play.
Dragonware
While the typical Edu-Ware educational product adopted a very serious tone in its instruction, developerVideo game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
John Conrad had created a series of educational products such as Introduction to Counting and Spelling and Reading Primer for Edu-Ware that were designed for the younger learner and thus more playful than the typical Edu-Ware product.
However, two of Conrad’s later products, Spelling Bee Games and Webster’s Numbers, fell so far into the realm of edutainment
Edutainment
Edutainment is a form of entertainment designed to educate as well as to amuse.-Overview:...
that Edu-Ware created a fourth product line for them in 1983
1983 in video gaming
-Events:* A major shakeout of the video game industry begins. By 1986, total video games sales will decrease from US$3.2 billion to US$0.1 billion.* MCA Universal files suit against Nintendo, claiming that the latter company's video arcade hit Donkey Kong violated Universal's copyright on King Kong...
. The Dragonware line featured a dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...
mascot named Webster, who was to be the child’s companion this series of educational games.
Peachtree software
Edu-Ware’s final products – the comprehensive Learning to Read literacy series , the final chapter in the Empire role-playing video gameRole-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
saga, a Tranquility Base lunar lander
Lunar lander
Lunar lander or Moon lander may refer to:* Apollo Lunar Module, used for the 1969-1972 human spaceflight program of the United States* LK Lander, designed for the human spaceflight program of the Soviet Union...
simulator, and a children’s game called Merry Canned Nightmare’s and Dreams – would each have fit well into its Science of Learning, Interactive Fantasies, Interactive Simulations, and Dragonware brands, respectively.
However, Edu-Ware’s new owner, MSA, decided to strip Edu-Ware of all its brands and marketed the entire software line in identical packaging, bearing the logo of its Peachtree Software accounting software division. All of the products were promoted as being educational software – even such games as Prisoner 2 – until the product line was sold to Encyclopædia Britannica
Encyclopædia Britannica
The Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
in 1985
1985 in video gaming
-Notable releases:* Brøderbund releases Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, the first game of the prolific Carmen Sandiego series* Nintendo releases Super Mario Bros. on September 13, 1985, which eventually sells 40 million copies making it the best-selling video game of all time until 2008.*...
.
Published titles
| Year | Title | Genres | Platforms | Developer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 1979 in video gaming -Notable releases:* Richard Garriott creates Akalabeth, a computer role-playing game for the Apple IIe. It launches Garriott's career and is a precursor to his highly successful Ultima series.... |
Compu-Read Compu-Read Compu-Read is an educational program originally developed by Sherwin Steffin of Edu-Ware Services in 1979 for the Apple II.-Summary:It consists of four modules training the user in rapidly increasing comprehension and retention: Character Recognition, High-speed word recognition, Synonyms; Sentence... |
Drill and practice | Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
Edu-Ware | Originally programmed by Steffin before starting Edu-Ware, it became Edu-Ware's longest-selling title together with its 1981 hi-res graphics remake, Compu-Read 3.0. |
| 1979 1979 in video gaming -Notable releases:* Richard Garriott creates Akalabeth, a computer role-playing game for the Apple IIe. It launches Garriott's career and is a precursor to his highly successful Ultima series.... |
Edu-Pak I | Educational software Educational software Educational software is computer software, the primary purpose of which is teaching or self-learning.-Early History, 1940s - 1970s:The use of computer hardware and software in education and training dates to the early 1940s, when American researchers developed flight simulators which used analog... compendium |
Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
Edu-Ware | Includes Compu-Read, Perception, and Statistics |
| 1979 1979 in video gaming -Notable releases:* Richard Garriott creates Akalabeth, a computer role-playing game for the Apple IIe. It launches Garriott's career and is a precursor to his highly successful Ultima series.... |
E.S.P. | Personal development Personal development Personal development includes activities that improve awareness and identity, develop talents and potential, build human capital and facilitates employability, enhance quality of life and contribute to the realization of dreams and aspirations... |
Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
Edu-Ware | |
| 1979 1979 in video gaming -Notable releases:* Richard Garriott creates Akalabeth, a computer role-playing game for the Apple IIe. It launches Garriott's career and is a precursor to his highly successful Ultima series.... |
Metri-Vert | Analytical software Analytical software Analytical software is software that is designed specifically for analysis and development of a particular environment or object.... |
Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
Edu-Ware | |
| 1979 1979 in video gaming -Notable releases:* Richard Garriott creates Akalabeth, a computer role-playing game for the Apple IIe. It launches Garriott's career and is a precursor to his highly successful Ultima series.... |
Party-Pak | Entertainment software compendium | Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
Edu-Ware | Includes E.S.P, Subliminal and Zintar. |
| 1979 1979 in video gaming -Notable releases:* Richard Garriott creates Akalabeth, a computer role-playing game for the Apple IIe. It launches Garriott's career and is a precursor to his highly successful Ultima series.... |
Perception | Puzzle Computer puzzle game Puzzle video games are a genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles to be solved can test many problem solving skills including logic, strategy, pattern recognition, sequence solving, and word completion.... |
Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
Edu-Ware | Edu-Ware's first product to be released. Remade with hi-res graphics in 1982 as Perception 3.0. |
| 1979 1979 in video gaming -Notable releases:* Richard Garriott creates Akalabeth, a computer role-playing game for the Apple IIe. It launches Garriott's career and is a precursor to his highly successful Ultima series.... |
Rescue | Strategy game Strategy game A strategy game or strategic game is a game in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome... |
Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
Edu-Ware | |
| 1979 1979 in video gaming -Notable releases:* Richard Garriott creates Akalabeth, a computer role-playing game for the Apple IIe. It launches Garriott's career and is a precursor to his highly successful Ultima series.... |
Rescue/War | Strategy game Strategy game A strategy game or strategic game is a game in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome... compendium |
Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
Edu-Ware | Includes Rescue and War. |
| 1979 1979 in video gaming -Notable releases:* Richard Garriott creates Akalabeth, a computer role-playing game for the Apple IIe. It launches Garriott's career and is a precursor to his highly successful Ultima series.... |
Statistics | Analytical software Analytical software Analytical software is software that is designed specifically for analysis and development of a particular environment or object.... |
Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
Edu-Ware | Remade with hi-res graphics in 1982 as Statistics 3.0. |
| 1979 1979 in video gaming -Notable releases:* Richard Garriott creates Akalabeth, a computer role-playing game for the Apple IIe. It launches Garriott's career and is a precursor to his highly successful Ultima series.... |
Space Space (computer game) Space is a text-based computer role-playing game franchise for the Apple II that was originally designed by Steven Pederson and Sherwin Steffin of Edu-Ware Services, and then expanded upon in a sequel by David Mullich, in 1979.... |
Role-playing video game Role-playing video game Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests... |
Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
Edu-Ware | The concept proposal for Edu-Ware's first role-playing video game convinced Rainbow Computing to give Pederson his first computer. Replaced by Empire I: World Builders in 1981 when Game Designers Workshop sued Edu-Ware for copyright infringement. |
| 1979 1979 in video gaming -Notable releases:* Richard Garriott creates Akalabeth, a computer role-playing game for the Apple IIe. It launches Garriott's career and is a precursor to his highly successful Ultima series.... |
Space II | Role-playing video game Role-playing video game Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests... Expansion pack Expansion pack An expansion pack, expansion set, or supplement is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game or video game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, and/or an extended storyline to a complete and already released game... |
Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
David Mullich David Mullich David Mullich is an American game producer and designer best known for creating the cult classic 1980 adventure game The Prisoner, producing the 1995 adaptation I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, and developing many games in the Heroes of Might and Magic franchise... |
Expansion pack for Space. |
| 1979 1979 in video gaming -Notable releases:* Richard Garriott creates Akalabeth, a computer role-playing game for the Apple IIe. It launches Garriott's career and is a precursor to his highly successful Ultima series.... |
Story Teller | Word game Word game Word games and puzzles are spoken or board games often designed to test ability with language or to explore its properties.Word games are generally engaged as a source of entertainment, but have been found to serve an educational purpose as well... |
Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
Edu-Ware | |
| 1979 1979 in video gaming -Notable releases:* Richard Garriott creates Akalabeth, a computer role-playing game for the Apple IIe. It launches Garriott's career and is a precursor to his highly successful Ultima series.... |
Subliminal | Word game Word game Word games and puzzles are spoken or board games often designed to test ability with language or to explore its properties.Word games are generally engaged as a source of entertainment, but have been found to serve an educational purpose as well... |
Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
Edu-Ware | |
| 1979 1979 in video gaming -Notable releases:* Richard Garriott creates Akalabeth, a computer role-playing game for the Apple IIe. It launches Garriott's career and is a precursor to his highly successful Ultima series.... |
Text File Editor | Analytical software Analytical software Analytical software is software that is designed specifically for analysis and development of a particular environment or object.... |
Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
Edu-Ware | |
| 1979 1979 in video gaming -Notable releases:* Richard Garriott creates Akalabeth, a computer role-playing game for the Apple IIe. It launches Garriott's career and is a precursor to his highly successful Ultima series.... |
Unisolve | Analytical software Analytical software Analytical software is software that is designed specifically for analysis and development of a particular environment or object.... |
Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
Edu-Ware | Remade with hi-res graphics in 1982 as Statistics 3.0. |
| 1979 1979 in video gaming -Notable releases:* Richard Garriott creates Akalabeth, a computer role-playing game for the Apple IIe. It launches Garriott's career and is a precursor to his highly successful Ultima series.... |
War | Strategy game Strategy game A strategy game or strategic game is a game in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome... |
Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
Edu-Ware | |
| 1979 1979 in video gaming -Notable releases:* Richard Garriott creates Akalabeth, a computer role-playing game for the Apple IIe. It launches Garriott's career and is a precursor to his highly successful Ultima series.... |
Zintar | Drinking game Drinking game Drinking games are games which involve the consumption of alcoholic beverages. These games vary widely in scope and complexity, although the purpose of most is to become intoxicated as quickly as possible... |
Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
Edu-Ware | Advertised in Edu-Ware’s catalog as being banned by Rainbow Computing Rainbow Computing Rainbow Computing was an Apple II retailer and software publisher that was established in 1976 in Los Angeles, USA by Gene Sprouse and Glenn Dollar... . |
| 1980 1980 in video gaming -Notable releases:* May 22, Namco releases Pac-Man, which is their biggest selling game of all time* December, Nintendo releases the Radar Scope arcade game... |
Compu-Math: Arithmetic Skills | Tutorial | Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
Edu-Ware | |
| 1980 1980 in video gaming -Notable releases:* May 22, Namco releases Pac-Man, which is their biggest selling game of all time* December, Nintendo releases the Radar Scope arcade game... |
Compu-Math: Decimals | Tutorial | Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... , Atari Atari 8-bit family The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers manufactured from 1979 to 1992. All are based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU and were the first home computers designed with custom coprocessor chips... |
Edu-Ware | Remade with hi-res graphics in 1982 as Decimals. |
| 1980 1980 in video gaming -Notable releases:* May 22, Namco releases Pac-Man, which is their biggest selling game of all time* December, Nintendo releases the Radar Scope arcade game... |
Compu-Math: Fractions | Tutorial | Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... , Atari Atari 8-bit family The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers manufactured from 1979 to 1992. All are based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU and were the first home computers designed with custom coprocessor chips... |
Edu-Ware | First product created in the Compu-Math series. Remade with hi-res graphics in 1981 as Fractions. |
| 1980 1980 in video gaming -Notable releases:* May 22, Namco releases Pac-Man, which is their biggest selling game of all time* December, Nintendo releases the Radar Scope arcade game... |
Compu-Spell Compu-Spell Compu-Spell is educational software developed by Sherwin Steffin and Steven Pederson of Edu-Ware Services for the Apple II in 1980. It is designed to teach spelling based on the assumption that spelling is a memorization task. The program presents a series of spelling words within sentences, and... |
Drill and practice | Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
Edu-Ware | The first program to use Edu-Ware's EWS high resolution graphics engine. |
| 1980 1980 in video gaming -Notable releases:* May 22, Namco releases Pac-Man, which is their biggest selling game of all time* December, Nintendo releases the Radar Scope arcade game... |
Network Network (computer game) Network is a real-time, two player business simulation game developed by David Mullich for the Apple II in 1980. Two players play competitively against the computer, each taking the role of the programming chief for a major television network... |
Business simulation | Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
David Mullich David Mullich David Mullich is an American game producer and designer best known for creating the cult classic 1980 adventure game The Prisoner, producing the 1995 adaptation I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, and developing many games in the Heroes of Might and Magic franchise... |
|
| 1980 1980 in video gaming -Notable releases:* May 22, Namco releases Pac-Man, which is their biggest selling game of all time* December, Nintendo releases the Radar Scope arcade game... |
The Prisoner The Prisoner (computer game) The Prisoner is a 1980 Apple II computer game produced by Edu-Ware. The game was loosely based upon the 1960s television series The Prisoner and incorporates the show's themes about the loss of individuality in a technological and controlling society... |
Adventure game Adventure game An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,... |
Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
Edu-Ware | Arguably Edu-Ware’s best-remembered title, and Mullich’s first as an Edu-Ware employee. It remained Edu-Ware's greatest seller until the release of the first in the Algebra series. Remade with hi-res graphics in 1982 as Prisoner 2. |
| 1980 1980 in video gaming -Notable releases:* May 22, Namco releases Pac-Man, which is their biggest selling game of all time* December, Nintendo releases the Radar Scope arcade game... |
Terrorist Terrorist (computer game) Terrorist is a real-time, two player strategy game developed by Steven Pederson of Edu-Ware Services in 1980 for the Apple II. One player plays the government authority, while the other plays a terrorist organization in three scenarios: the capture of a building and taking of hostages, air piracy,... |
Strategy game Strategy game A strategy game or strategic game is a game in which the players' uncoerced, and often autonomous decision-making skills have a high significance in determining the outcome... |
Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
Edu-Ware | First Interactive Fantasies brand title. |
| 1980 1980 in video gaming -Notable releases:* May 22, Namco releases Pac-Man, which is their biggest selling game of all time* December, Nintendo releases the Radar Scope arcade game... |
Windfall: An Oil Crisis Simulation Windfall (computer game) Windfall: The Oil Crisis Game is a real-time business simulation game developed by David Mullich in 1980 for the Apple II. Based upon queuing theory and released after the 1979 energy crisis, the game puts the player in the role of chief executive of Engulf Oil, setting gas prices and worker... |
Business simulation | Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
David Mullich David Mullich David Mullich is an American game producer and designer best known for creating the cult classic 1980 adventure game The Prisoner, producing the 1995 adaptation I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, and developing many games in the Heroes of Might and Magic franchise... |
|
| 1981 1981 in video gaming -Events:* November -** The British video game magazine Computer and Video Games starts.** Game & Watch - released in Sweden.* Arnie Katz and Bill Kunkel found Electronic Games, the first magazine on video games and generally recognized as the beginning of video game journalism.-Notable releases:*... |
Algebra 1 | Tutorial | Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... , IBM IBM PC compatible IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to... , Commodore 64 Commodore 64 The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595... |
Edu-Ware | The first of the Algebra series, Edu-Ware's all-time greatest seller. |
| 1981 1981 in video gaming -Events:* November -** The British video game magazine Computer and Video Games starts.** Game & Watch - released in Sweden.* Arnie Katz and Bill Kunkel found Electronic Games, the first magazine on video games and generally recognized as the beginning of video game journalism.-Notable releases:*... |
Counting Bee | Tutorial | Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
John Conrad | Repacked as Introduction to Counting in 1983. |
| 1981 1981 in video gaming -Events:* November -** The British video game magazine Computer and Video Games starts.** Game & Watch - released in Sweden.* Arnie Katz and Bill Kunkel found Electronic Games, the first magazine on video games and generally recognized as the beginning of video game journalism.-Notable releases:*... |
Compu-Read 3.0 Compu-Read Compu-Read is an educational program originally developed by Sherwin Steffin of Edu-Ware Services in 1979 for the Apple II.-Summary:It consists of four modules training the user in rapidly increasing comprehension and retention: Character Recognition, High-speed word recognition, Synonyms; Sentence... |
Drill and practice | Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... , Atari Atari 8-bit family The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers manufactured from 1979 to 1992. All are based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU and were the first home computers designed with custom coprocessor chips... , Commodore 64 Commodore 64 The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595... , IBM IBM PC compatible IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to... |
Edu-Ware | Hi-res graphics remake of Compu-Read. Together, they were Edu-Ware’s longest-selling title. |
| 1981 1981 in video gaming -Events:* November -** The British video game magazine Computer and Video Games starts.** Game & Watch - released in Sweden.* Arnie Katz and Bill Kunkel found Electronic Games, the first magazine on video games and generally recognized as the beginning of video game journalism.-Notable releases:*... |
Empire I: World Builders | Role-playing video game Role-playing video game Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests... |
Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
Edu-Ware | First hi-res graphics title. Replaced Space. |
| 1981 1981 in video gaming -Events:* November -** The British video game magazine Computer and Video Games starts.** Game & Watch - released in Sweden.* Arnie Katz and Bill Kunkel found Electronic Games, the first magazine on video games and generally recognized as the beginning of video game journalism.-Notable releases:*... |
Spelling Bee with Reading Primer | Tutorial | Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
John Conrad | Repackaged in 1982 as Spelling and Reading Primer. |
| 1982 1982 in video gaming -Events:* December 27 - Starcade, a video game television game show, debuts on TBS in the United States.-Notable releases:*October 13 - Mystique releases the Custer's Revenge adult video game for the Atari 2600 home console.... |
Algebra 2 | Tutorial | Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... , IBM IBM PC compatible IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to... |
Edu-Ware | |
| 1982 1982 in video gaming -Events:* December 27 - Starcade, a video game television game show, debuts on TBS in the United States.-Notable releases:*October 13 - Mystique releases the Custer's Revenge adult video game for the Atari 2600 home console.... |
Algebra 3 | Tutorial | Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... , IBM IBM PC compatible IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to... |
Edu-Ware | |
| 1982 1982 in video gaming -Events:* December 27 - Starcade, a video game television game show, debuts on TBS in the United States.-Notable releases:*October 13 - Mystique releases the Custer's Revenge adult video game for the Atari 2600 home console.... |
Algebra 4 | Tutorial | Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... , IBM IBM PC compatible IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to... |
Edu-Ware | |
| 1982 1982 in video gaming -Events:* December 27 - Starcade, a video game television game show, debuts on TBS in the United States.-Notable releases:*October 13 - Mystique releases the Custer's Revenge adult video game for the Atari 2600 home console.... |
Decimals | Tutorial | Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... , IBM IBM PC compatible IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to... |
Edu-Ware | Hi-res graphics remake of Compu-Math: Decimals. |
| 1982 1982 in video gaming -Events:* December 27 - Starcade, a video game television game show, debuts on TBS in the United States.-Notable releases:*October 13 - Mystique releases the Custer's Revenge adult video game for the Atari 2600 home console.... |
Fractions | Tutorial | Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... , IBM IBM PC compatible IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to... |
Edu-Ware | Hi-res graphics remake of Compu-Math: Fractions. |
| 1982 1982 in video gaming -Events:* December 27 - Starcade, a video game television game show, debuts on TBS in the United States.-Notable releases:*October 13 - Mystique releases the Custer's Revenge adult video game for the Atari 2600 home console.... |
Empire II: Interstellar Sharks | Role-playing video game Role-playing video game Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests... |
Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
Edu-Ware | |
| 1982 1982 in video gaming -Events:* December 27 - Starcade, a video game television game show, debuts on TBS in the United States.-Notable releases:*October 13 - Mystique releases the Custer's Revenge adult video game for the Atari 2600 home console.... |
Perception 3.0 | Puzzle Computer puzzle game Puzzle video games are a genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles to be solved can test many problem solving skills including logic, strategy, pattern recognition, sequence solving, and word completion.... |
Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
Edu-Ware | Remake of Perception, using hi-res graphics. |
| 1982 1982 in video gaming -Events:* December 27 - Starcade, a video game television game show, debuts on TBS in the United States.-Notable releases:*October 13 - Mystique releases the Custer's Revenge adult video game for the Atari 2600 home console.... |
Prisoner 2 | Adventure game Adventure game An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,... |
Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... , Atari Atari 8-bit family The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers manufactured from 1979 to 1992. All are based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU and were the first home computers designed with custom coprocessor chips... , IBM |
Edu-Ware | Remake of The Prisoner, using hi-res graphics. |
| 1982 1982 in video gaming -Events:* December 27 - Starcade, a video game television game show, debuts on TBS in the United States.-Notable releases:*October 13 - Mystique releases the Custer's Revenge adult video game for the Atari 2600 home console.... |
PSAT Word Attack Skills | Tutorial | Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... , Atari Atari 8-bit family The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers manufactured from 1979 to 1992. All are based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU and were the first home computers designed with custom coprocessor chips... , IBM |
Judith S. Priven, Ed.M. | |
| 1982 1982 in video gaming -Events:* December 27 - Starcade, a video game television game show, debuts on TBS in the United States.-Notable releases:*October 13 - Mystique releases the Custer's Revenge adult video game for the Atari 2600 home console.... |
Rendezvous: A Space Shuttle Simulation | Space flight simulator | Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... , Atari Atari 8-bit family The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers manufactured from 1979 to 1992. All are based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU and were the first home computers designed with custom coprocessor chips... |
Wesley Huntress, Ph.D. Wesley Huntress Wesley T. Huntress, Jr. is president of the Planetary Society in the United States and Director of the Geophysical Laboratory at the Carnegie Institution. Huntress spent much of his career at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, also teaching as a professor at the associated California Institute of... |
First Interactive Simulations brand title. |
| 1982 1982 in video gaming -Events:* December 27 - Starcade, a video game television game show, debuts on TBS in the United States.-Notable releases:*October 13 - Mystique releases the Custer's Revenge adult video game for the Atari 2600 home console.... |
SAT Word Attack Skills | Tutorial | Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... , Atari Atari 8-bit family The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers manufactured from 1979 to 1992. All are based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU and were the first home computers designed with custom coprocessor chips... , Commodore 64 Commodore 64 The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595... , IBM |
Judith S. Priven, Ed.M. | |
| 1982 1982 in video gaming -Events:* December 27 - Starcade, a video game television game show, debuts on TBS in the United States.-Notable releases:*October 13 - Mystique releases the Custer's Revenge adult video game for the Atari 2600 home console.... |
Spelling and Reading Primer | Tutorial | Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... , IBM |
John Conrad | Repackaged version of Spelling Bee with Reading Primer. |
| 1982 1982 in video gaming -Events:* December 27 - Starcade, a video game television game show, debuts on TBS in the United States.-Notable releases:*October 13 - Mystique releases the Custer's Revenge adult video game for the Atari 2600 home console.... |
Spelling Bee Games | Edutainment Edutainment Edutainment is a form of entertainment designed to educate as well as to amuse.-Overview:... |
Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... , Atari Atari 8-bit family The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers manufactured from 1979 to 1992. All are based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU and were the first home computers designed with custom coprocessor chips... |
John Conrad | First Dragonware brand title. |
| 1982 1982 in video gaming -Events:* December 27 - Starcade, a video game television game show, debuts on TBS in the United States.-Notable releases:*October 13 - Mystique releases the Custer's Revenge adult video game for the Atari 2600 home console.... |
Statistics 3.0 | Analytical software Analytical software Analytical software is software that is designed specifically for analysis and development of a particular environment or object.... |
Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
Edu-Ware | Hi-res remake of Statistics. |
| 1982 1982 in video gaming -Events:* December 27 - Starcade, a video game television game show, debuts on TBS in the United States.-Notable releases:*October 13 - Mystique releases the Custer's Revenge adult video game for the Atari 2600 home console.... |
Algebra 5/6 | Tutorial | Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... , IBM IBM PC compatible IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to... |
Edu-Ware | |
| 1983 1983 in video gaming -Events:* A major shakeout of the video game industry begins. By 1986, total video games sales will decrease from US$3.2 billion to US$0.1 billion.* MCA Universal files suit against Nintendo, claiming that the latter company's video arcade hit Donkey Kong violated Universal's copyright on King Kong... |
Empire III: Armageddon | Role-playing video game Role-playing video game Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests... |
Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
Edu-Ware | Packaged by Peachtree Software as an “educational” title. |
| 1983 1983 in video gaming -Events:* A major shakeout of the video game industry begins. By 1986, total video games sales will decrease from US$3.2 billion to US$0.1 billion.* MCA Universal files suit against Nintendo, claiming that the latter company's video arcade hit Donkey Kong violated Universal's copyright on King Kong... |
Hands-On BASIC Programming | Tutorial | Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
Neil Bennett, Ph.D. | |
| 1983 1983 in video gaming -Events:* A major shakeout of the video game industry begins. By 1986, total video games sales will decrease from US$3.2 billion to US$0.1 billion.* MCA Universal files suit against Nintendo, claiming that the latter company's video arcade hit Donkey Kong violated Universal's copyright on King Kong... |
Introduction to Counting | Tutorial | Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... , IBM IBM PC compatible IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to... |
John Conrad | Repackaged version of 'Counting Bee. |
| 1983 1983 in video gaming -Events:* A major shakeout of the video game industry begins. By 1986, total video games sales will decrease from US$3.2 billion to US$0.1 billion.* MCA Universal files suit against Nintendo, claiming that the latter company's video arcade hit Donkey Kong violated Universal's copyright on King Kong... |
Introduction to Poetry | Tutorial | Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
M. David Merill | |
| 1983 1983 in video gaming -Events:* A major shakeout of the video game industry begins. By 1986, total video games sales will decrease from US$3.2 billion to US$0.1 billion.* MCA Universal files suit against Nintendo, claiming that the latter company's video arcade hit Donkey Kong violated Universal's copyright on King Kong... |
PSAT/SAT Analogies | Tutorial | Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... , IBM |
Judith S. Priven, Ed.M. | |
| 1983 1983 in video gaming -Events:* A major shakeout of the video game industry begins. By 1986, total video games sales will decrease from US$3.2 billion to US$0.1 billion.* MCA Universal files suit against Nintendo, claiming that the latter company's video arcade hit Donkey Kong violated Universal's copyright on King Kong... |
Webster’s Numbers | Edutainment Edutainment Edutainment is a form of entertainment designed to educate as well as to amuse.-Overview:... |
Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... , Commodore 64 Commodore 64 The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595... |
John Conrad | |
| 1984 1984 in video gaming -Notable releases:* May 10, King's Quest , the first animated adventure game, the first in the King's Quest series, and the first to use the AGI engine.* June 4, Nintendo releases Donkey Kong 3... |
Learning to Read: Letters, Words and Sentences, Volume 1 | Tutorial | Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
MicroTeacher | |
| 1984 1984 in video gaming -Notable releases:* May 10, King's Quest , the first animated adventure game, the first in the King's Quest series, and the first to use the AGI engine.* June 4, Nintendo releases Donkey Kong 3... |
Learning to Read: Letters, Words and Sentences, Volume 2 | Tutorial | Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
MicroTeacher | |
| 1984 1984 in video gaming -Notable releases:* May 10, King's Quest , the first animated adventure game, the first in the King's Quest series, and the first to use the AGI engine.* June 4, Nintendo releases Donkey Kong 3... |
Learning to Read: Letters, Words and Sentences, Volume 3 | Tutorial | Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
MicroTeacher | |
| 1984 1984 in video gaming -Notable releases:* May 10, King's Quest , the first animated adventure game, the first in the King's Quest series, and the first to use the AGI engine.* June 4, Nintendo releases Donkey Kong 3... |
Learning to Read: Letters, Words and Sentences, Volume 4 | Tutorial | Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
MicroTeacher | |
| 1984 1984 in video gaming -Notable releases:* May 10, King's Quest , the first animated adventure game, the first in the King's Quest series, and the first to use the AGI engine.* June 4, Nintendo releases Donkey Kong 3... |
Merry Canned Nightmares and Dreams | Board game Board game A board game is a game which involves counters or pieces being moved on a pre-marked surface or "board", according to a set of rules. Games may be based on pure strategy, chance or a mixture of the two, and usually have a goal which a player aims to achieve... |
Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
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| 1984 1984 in video gaming -Notable releases:* May 10, King's Quest , the first animated adventure game, the first in the King's Quest series, and the first to use the AGI engine.* June 4, Nintendo releases Donkey Kong 3... |
Tranquility Base | Space flight simulator | Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... , IBM IBM PC compatible IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to... |
L. Roberts | Enhanced and re-published as Lunar Explorer” in 1985 by Electric Transit. |
| 1984 1984 in video gaming -Notable releases:* May 10, King's Quest , the first animated adventure game, the first in the King's Quest series, and the first to use the AGI engine.* June 4, Nintendo releases Donkey Kong 3... |
States & Traits | Learning Learning Learning is acquiring new or modifying existing knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences and may involve synthesizing different types of information. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals and some machines. Progress over time tends to follow learning curves.Human learning... |
PCjr, IBM IBM PC compatible IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to... |
DesignWare | |
| 1984 1984 in video gaming -Notable releases:* May 10, King's Quest , the first animated adventure game, the first in the King's Quest series, and the first to use the AGI engine.* June 4, Nintendo releases Donkey Kong 3... |
Wilderness: A Survival Adventure | Adventure game Adventure game An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,... |
Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... |
Wesley Huntress, Ph.D. Wesley Huntress Wesley T. Huntress, Jr. is president of the Planetary Society in the United States and Director of the Geophysical Laboratory at the Carnegie Institution. Huntress spent much of his career at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, also teaching as a professor at the associated California Institute of... |
Enhanced and re-published in 1985 by Electric Transit. |
| 1984 1984 in video gaming -Notable releases:* May 10, King's Quest , the first animated adventure game, the first in the King's Quest series, and the first to use the AGI engine.* June 4, Nintendo releases Donkey Kong 3... |
Writing Skills, Volume 1 | Tutorial | Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... , IBM IBM PC compatible IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to... , Macintosh |
MicroTeacher | |
| 1984 1984 in video gaming -Notable releases:* May 10, King's Quest , the first animated adventure game, the first in the King's Quest series, and the first to use the AGI engine.* June 4, Nintendo releases Donkey Kong 3... |
Writing Skills, Volume 2 | Tutorial | Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... , IBM IBM PC compatible IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to... , Macintosh |
MicroTeacher | |
| 1984 1984 in video gaming -Notable releases:* May 10, King's Quest , the first animated adventure game, the first in the King's Quest series, and the first to use the AGI engine.* June 4, Nintendo releases Donkey Kong 3... |
Writing Skills, Volume 3 | Tutorial | Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... , IBM IBM PC compatible IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to... , Macintosh |
MicroTeacher | |
| 1984 1984 in video gaming -Notable releases:* May 10, King's Quest , the first animated adventure game, the first in the King's Quest series, and the first to use the AGI engine.* June 4, Nintendo releases Donkey Kong 3... |
Writing Skills, Volume 4 | Tutorial | Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... , IBM IBM PC compatible IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to... , Macintosh |
MicroTeacher | |
| 1984 1984 in video gaming -Notable releases:* May 10, King's Quest , the first animated adventure game, the first in the King's Quest series, and the first to use the AGI engine.* June 4, Nintendo releases Donkey Kong 3... |
Writing Skills, Volume 5 | Tutorial | Apple II Apple II The Apple II is an 8-bit home computer, one of the first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products, designed primarily by Steve Wozniak, manufactured by Apple Computer and introduced in 1977... , IBM IBM PC compatible IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to... , Macintosh |
MicroTeacher | |
External links
- Edu-Ware Services, Inc. title list on Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...