Freedom! (video game)

Freedom!
Screenshot of start screen
Developer(s) MECC
Publisher(s) MECC
Platform(s) Apple II
Release 1992
Genre(s) Edutainment Simulation

Freedom! is an educational computer game developed and published by MECC. The player assumes the role of a runaway slave in the Antebellum Period of American history who is trying to reach the North through the Underground Railroad. The game met a mixed reception; some educators found it valuable while others found it racially offensive due to its use of stereotyped speech by slave characters.

In 1993, a group of offended parents sued a school which had provided the game to students and MECC, the developer. The game was pulled off the market as a result.[1][2][3]

Gameplay

Players choose one of two characters (male or female). Attributes such as literacy, and ability to swim, are randomly generated providing the player with different experiences during each play through.[4] If the player's character is illiterate, written signs and notes appear onscreen as indecipherable symbols. Literacy also affected other areas of play. For example, early in the game the character may receive a pass from his slavemaster in order to escape to the North. If they do not receive a pass, players are also given the option to forge a pass if the player's character is able to read and write.

Freedom! was the first educational game to use an open world environment simulating real world areas of Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware.[4] During gameplay, players were allowed to travel in any direction they wished using the stars, moss, or a compass to orient themselves. During travel, the player will encounter random events such as interactions with slavecatchers, who pursue the player with dogs, and members of the underground railroad who provide the player with food and shelter.[4]

References

  1. ↑ School's Computer Game on Slavery Prompts Suit New York Times
  2. ↑ Joe Juba, A Pioneer Story How Mecc Blazed New Trails, "Game Informer Magazine", 2017
  3. ↑ What Cost Freedom?, Atari magazine
  4. 1 2 3 MECC, Freedom! instruction manual, 1992


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.