Troggling Childhood Memories

[vovat]

I know I've already written about the Munchers series of educational games from the Minnesota Educational Computer Consortium (MECC), but since I recently came upon someone else's post on the games, I might as well say a little more about them. Word Munchers was the first one I played, and that was at school. We later also got Number and Fraction Munchers, and I eventually obtained Super Munchers at home. I had somewhat of an obsession with the games, writing the characters into stories, coming up with a play about going inside the computer and becoming a Word Muncher (we taped the little bit of it that we ended up performing, but I'm sure the tape has either been lost or erased since then), and drawing my own cut scenes. Now, when I say "drawing," I don't mean I did it WELL, although at least the Munchers themselves were easy to draw. Most of it was more representative.


The concept of the games was quite simple, and rather reminiscent of Pac-Man, in that your hero is preoccupied with eating, and his enemies want to eat him. The bad guys were known as Troggles, which is probably derived from "troglodyte." Since that term implies ignorance, it's quite appropriate for monsters trying to impede educational pursuits. There were five types of Troggles, each with their own movement patterns, and trying to avoid them added an element of challenge to the games beyond simply getting the right answers. I think MECC invented its own cast of characters was an improvement over simply putting familiar video game characters into educational settings. You don't hear much talk about Donkey Kong Jr. Math, which I'm guessing was DK's attempt to get his son into a good school so he wouldn't end up a barrel-chucking loser like his old manimal. And the series of games in which Mario tried teaching typing, geography, history, and the like seems to be universally panned. Fortunately, the plumber has since abandoned these pursuits, probably after the Carmen Sandiego gang roughed up the Koopa family for horning in on their racket.

Comments

[arfies.livejournal.com]

Apple IIe FTW! I miss MECC. :(

[vovat.livejournal.com]

I have to wonder what the kids play during school computer time these days. Or do they not even bother with that anymore, since most kids now probably have their own computers?

[alicornmoon.livejournal.com]

Well, the point when we were little was never that we didn't maybe have home computers, it was teaching us to use them and to teach reading and letters. I'm sure they still have it somehow, I mean they re-did Reader Rabbit for goodness sakes, and there is also teaching internet safety now :3

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Instead of Troggles, the Munchers now have to avoid Internet predators.

[alicornmoon.livejournal.com]

Exactly! :D Is there a site with pictures of all the Troggles? I want to draw them now....

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Looks like this page (http://www.platypuscomix.net/applepalooza/numbermunchers.html) has all of them, plus some good screen grabs.

[vilajunkie.livejournal.com]

*reading your icon* I was the 1st Grade Class of '91!

[alicornmoon.livejournal.com]

*lol* It's good to know there are still some of us around :3!

[vilajunkie.livejournal.com]

When I was still working at the special ed school, the kids who were capable of or interested in using computers would learning typing with MS Word. But on a Mac. There were also a few math/reading games, but I don't remember which ones.

And for a while, the public library had a pair of computers in the children's section that played an Arthur the Aardvark game. It was a reading game, but more in the style of a "kiddy" RPG. Clicking on things or talking to characters moved along the storyline.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

I recently saw a kids' computer at a public library, which had several programs including an interactive version of Green Eggs and Ham.

[alicornmoon.livejournal.com]

Maybe you remember a game I have been trying to find again, I think it was on the same disc as Freedom!..It was about putting together a team of husky sled dogs based on their weight and temperament (as lead dog, and whatever the other rows were called) and they that would effect the dog race you took them on...

[vovat.livejournal.com]

I hadn't heard of it, but it looks like it might be the same game under discussion here (http://ask.metafilter.com/109004/What-was-this-late-80searly-90s-computer-game). If so, it's presumably called "Dog Sled Ambassadors."

[alicornmoon.livejournal.com]

It's weird how they haven't made a super collection of all these games for the modern day Mac isn't it? They are so small I thought it would be easy..the same for the WITWICS? series on today's Mac...