The Amazon Trail
Encyclopedia
The Amazon Trail is an educational computer game created by MECC
. It was inspired by the popularity of The Oregon Trail
, featuring the areas surrounding the Amazon River
and some of its tributaries. In this 2-D adventure, the player is asked to set out on a journey down the Amazon, hoping to make it to the lost Inca village of Vilcabamba
. Along the way, the player learns about the people who live on and use the river for their survival. There are two sequels, Amazon Trail II and Amazon Trail 3rd Edition. It was released in 1994.
and European explorers, and the player will be taken back in time in order to search for cinchona
and deliver it to the king.
Upon actually beginning a quest, the player has been transported to Belém, Brazil, and is given the option of choosing one of two native guides (Isabel or Antonio), who offer advice over the course of the game pertinent to navigating the river and maintaining ample supplies & good health. Each guide comes equipped with a slightly different spread of supplies (for example, Isabel has two tents while Antonio has three). While on the quest, players find themselves meeting various people along the river, taking photographs of the flora and fauna of the area, fishing, and trying to avoid capsizing their canoes. The jaguar from the dream appears throughout the game as a hazy vision, running off a checklist of items desired by the Inca King, and offering various gloomy sentiments about the rainforest in general. Players must navigate the treacherous waters of the Amazon to avoid hitting other boats, logs, and whirlpools or paddling up the wrong tributary, travel through the forest in search of exotic plants and animals to photograph and identify, use harpoons to fish in the river and then identify whether the catch is edible, and trade with the individuals encountered at the various stops along the river. Capsizing could lead to loss of supplies and injury, while attempting to bring an electric eel or stingray into the boat may lead to a loss of health (though the latter is regarded as edible). In order to aid in identification, each time a picture is taken or fish caught, the player has the option of checking the guide, which lists all of the species in the game except for the "new species."
A unique aspect of the game is the time travel element, which allows the user to learn historical information in addition to science. Before arriving at a new town or tributary, players pass through a "blue mist" over the river (line of fog across the screen). Upon arriving at a landmark, the option is given of talking to two people, typically one native and one Westerner. Often, the duo offer conflicting information and advice. The timeframe spans from the then-present (1993) back to the Middle Ages. Historical figures appear, such as Henry Ford
, Teddy Roosevelt, and Claude Lévi-Strauss
. The player is given a good feel for the differing attitudes and clashing roles portrayed by the encountered individuals, pertaining to the history of the Amazon. Many of these figures have interesting items which can be acquired in trade for food, clothing, etc. For example, Henry Ford has a ball of rubber
.
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When they reach the hidden city in which the Inca are living, players are graded on various aspects of the game, including the amount of personal activity on the journey, the number of plants and animals correctly identified in the rainforest, whether or not they acquired additional gifts for the Inca King, and, depending on the version of the game, the amount of time taken, the health of the player, and the completion of mini-quests. Based on these factors, the player is awarded a shield covered in designs. Each task completed translates to an additional gem on the shield.
The Amazon Trail is known for being significantly more difficult than its predecessors in the franchise, such as The Oregon Trail.
Amazon Trail II is the sequel to The Amazon Trail. In this version, the player has to continue the journey on the Amazon river as an explorer via canoe. The player stops at many different sites along the river, and travels back in time before visiting each site, just as in the first game. This allows for the player to experience many famous historical events and places along the Amazon, rather than only those in a narrow timeframe. They pass many famous sites such as Henry Ford
's campsite where he is trying to start a rubber plantation for his tires
, and can speak with other notable figures such as Theodore Roosevelt
, who went on an expedition
to South America
in 1913 and 1914. Many more plants, animals, and fish were added. It also allowed players to search for food such as plantains in the forest.
Amazon Trail 3rd Edition: Rainforest Adventures is not a true sequel to the franchise, but is rather largely the same game as Amazon Trail II, only with updated graphics and interfaces and fixing major bugs that caused problems in the second game.
MECC
The Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium , most commonly known as MECC, was an organization founded in 1973. The goal of the organization was to coordinate and provide computer services to schools in the state of Minnesota; however, its software eventually became popular in schools around...
. It was inspired by the popularity of The Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail (computer game)
The Oregon Trail is a computer game originally developed by Don Rawitsch, Bill Heinemann, and Paul Dillenberger in 1971 and produced by the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium in 1974. The original game was designed to teach school children about the realities of 19th century pioneer life...
, featuring the areas surrounding the Amazon River
Amazon River
The Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...
and some of its tributaries. In this 2-D adventure, the player is asked to set out on a journey down the Amazon, hoping to make it to the lost Inca village of Vilcabamba
Vilcabamba, Peru
Vilcabamba was a city founded by Manco Inca in 1539 and was the last refuge of the Inca Empire until it fell to the Spaniards in 1572, signaling the end of Inca resistance to Spanish rule.- History :...
. Along the way, the player learns about the people who live on and use the river for their survival. There are two sequels, Amazon Trail II and Amazon Trail 3rd Edition. It was released in 1994.
Gameplay
During the opening sequence, a short animation displays a person asleep in bed, ironically, in Peru, IN. He/she is visited during a dream by black panther who calls himself the jaguar of the Inca King. The jaguar explains that the Inca people are endangered by malariaMalaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
and European explorers, and the player will be taken back in time in order to search for cinchona
Cinchona
Cinchona or Quina is a genus of about 38 species in the family Rubiaceae, native to tropical South America. They are large shrubs or small trees growing 5–15 metres in height with evergreen foliage. The leaves are opposite, rounded to lanceolate and 10–40 cm long. The flowers are white, pink...
and deliver it to the king.
Upon actually beginning a quest, the player has been transported to Belém, Brazil, and is given the option of choosing one of two native guides (Isabel or Antonio), who offer advice over the course of the game pertinent to navigating the river and maintaining ample supplies & good health. Each guide comes equipped with a slightly different spread of supplies (for example, Isabel has two tents while Antonio has three). While on the quest, players find themselves meeting various people along the river, taking photographs of the flora and fauna of the area, fishing, and trying to avoid capsizing their canoes. The jaguar from the dream appears throughout the game as a hazy vision, running off a checklist of items desired by the Inca King, and offering various gloomy sentiments about the rainforest in general. Players must navigate the treacherous waters of the Amazon to avoid hitting other boats, logs, and whirlpools or paddling up the wrong tributary, travel through the forest in search of exotic plants and animals to photograph and identify, use harpoons to fish in the river and then identify whether the catch is edible, and trade with the individuals encountered at the various stops along the river. Capsizing could lead to loss of supplies and injury, while attempting to bring an electric eel or stingray into the boat may lead to a loss of health (though the latter is regarded as edible). In order to aid in identification, each time a picture is taken or fish caught, the player has the option of checking the guide, which lists all of the species in the game except for the "new species."
A unique aspect of the game is the time travel element, which allows the user to learn historical information in addition to science. Before arriving at a new town or tributary, players pass through a "blue mist" over the river (line of fog across the screen). Upon arriving at a landmark, the option is given of talking to two people, typically one native and one Westerner. Often, the duo offer conflicting information and advice. The timeframe spans from the then-present (1993) back to the Middle Ages. Historical figures appear, such as Henry Ford
Henry Ford
Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
, Teddy Roosevelt, and Claude Lévi-Strauss
Claude Lévi-Strauss
Claude Lévi-Strauss was a French anthropologist and ethnologist, and has been called, along with James George Frazer, the "father of modern anthropology"....
. The player is given a good feel for the differing attitudes and clashing roles portrayed by the encountered individuals, pertaining to the history of the Amazon. Many of these figures have interesting items which can be acquired in trade for food, clothing, etc. For example, Henry Ford has a ball of rubber
Rubber
Natural rubber, also called India rubber or caoutchouc, is an elastomer that was originally derived from latex, a milky colloid produced by some plants. The plants would be ‘tapped’, that is, an incision made into the bark of the tree and the sticky, milk colored latex sap collected and refined...
.
The Amazon Trail is known for being significantly more difficult than its predecessors in the franchise, such as The Oregon Trail.
Amazon Trail II is the sequel to The Amazon Trail. In this version, the player has to continue the journey on the Amazon river as an explorer via canoe. The player stops at many different sites along the river, and travels back in time before visiting each site, just as in the first game. This allows for the player to experience many famous historical events and places along the Amazon, rather than only those in a narrow timeframe. They pass many famous sites such as Henry Ford
Henry Ford
Henry Ford was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry...
's campsite where he is trying to start a rubber plantation for his tires
Fordlândia
Fordlândia is a now-abandoned, prefabricated industrial town established in the Amazon Rainforest in 1928 by American industrialist Henry Ford to secure a source of cultivated rubber for the automobile manufacturing operations of the Ford Motor Company in the United States...
, and can speak with other notable figures such as Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
, who went on an expedition
Roosevelt-Rondon Scientific Expedition
The Roosevelt-Rondon Scientific Expedition was jointly led by Theodore Roosevelt and Cândido Rondon in 1913–1914 to be the first explorers of the 1000-mile long "River of Doubt" located in a remote area of the Brazilian Amazon basin...
to South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
in 1913 and 1914. Many more plants, animals, and fish were added. It also allowed players to search for food such as plantains in the forest.
Amazon Trail 3rd Edition: Rainforest Adventures is not a true sequel to the franchise, but is rather largely the same game as Amazon Trail II, only with updated graphics and interfaces and fixing major bugs that caused problems in the second game.
External links
- Amazon Trail at MobyGamesMobyGames-Platforms not yet included:- Further reading :* Rusel DeMaria, Johnny L. Wilson, High Score!: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games, McGraw-Hill/Osborne Media; 2 edition , ISBN 0-07-223172-6...