A game of strategy and management. The Sumerian Game is one of the earliest computer games. Developed and programmed between 1963 and 1965, it was designed to teach children math, economy and ancient history. The source code was lost but now you can play it again.
On Reddit, someone known as "GamePreservationists", a fitting name, shared this:
store.steampowered.com
I haven't tried it yet, but I will. Imagine, a videogame from the 60s! The lack of graphics and UI back in those days, made the focus 100% on the gameplay and systems.
On Reddit, someone known as "GamePreservationists", a fitting name, shared this:
Between 1962 and 1965, some classes of students in New York were involved in an innovative research project. The goal was to create a new teaching method without teachers, using powerful computers, automatic systems such as slide projectors, and the playback of recorded audio lessons.
At the conclusion of the lesson, a 300-baud modem connected a powerful mainframe, costing tens of millions of dollars at the time, to a teletype under the students' control. The teletype printed long texts on continuous paper rolls, forcing the students to make difficult decisions on how to manage scarce resources to feed the population and plant crops for the next season.
It was the Sumerian Game, the ancestor of all strategy, management, and city simulation games.
I managed to rebuild The Sumerian Game from the few gameplay printouts that survived and the notes of its designer, Mabel Addis, and BOCES supervisor, Richard Wing. I'll release it on Steam as Free to Play, to allow anyone to play it again.
The Sumerian Game on Steam
A game of strategy and management. The Sumerian Game is one of the earliest computer games. Developed and programmed between 1963 and 1965, it was designed to teach children math, economy and ancient history. The source code was lost but now you can play it again.
I haven't tried it yet, but I will. Imagine, a videogame from the 60s! The lack of graphics and UI back in those days, made the focus 100% on the gameplay and systems.