Virtual pet games not only provide a substitute for real pets but also prepare the child for the responsibilities that come with caring for a living animal.Īnother genre of children’s games includes those adapted from other media. In this category might be included Feeding Frenzy, in which the player rises up the ocean food chain by eating other fish. Other games which provide a combination of learning and fun place more emphasis on the latter than those above. Yet another franchise, JumpStart, which premiered in the 1990s, focuses on a variety of subjects and age groups. Math Blaster! was remade several times and, beginning in the mid-1990s, its model was expanded to teach other subjects as well.
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The series was so popular it inspired television shows, board games, and other cross-media spin-offs.Īnother major educational franchise began in 1987 with the release of Davidson Associates’ Math Blaster!, which taught children mathematics as part of an astronaut-themed game. Sequels included more specific locales, and one branched out into teaching history as well through the device of time-travel.
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In 1985 Brøderbund Software published Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, which teaches players geography as they hunt down a globe-trotting fugitive. A spin-off, Yukon Trail, was also created. Oregon Trail is typical of a successful educational video game: it provides accurate knowledge while also entertaining the students. Originally released for the home computer, it has more recently been ported to new devices such as the iPhone. The game has been revised many times since, but the essence of the game remains the same: the player is responsible for leading a party of pioneers from Missouri to Oregon, facing the same challenges that real-life Americans did on the trail in the mid-to-late nineteenth century. With the help of two other student teachers, he created one of the most enduring and iconic of all kids’ games: Oregon Trail. In 1971, Don Rawitsch, a student history teacher from Carleton College, decided to create a computer game to explain a certain aspect of American history to his young students. As the use of home computers and consoles for gaming has grown more widespread over the last thirty years, the demand for kids’ video games has expanded as well. That said, however, there has long been a demand for games which specifically cater to children. Eventually parents’ desire to protect children from certain games led to the creation of a ratings system, the ERSB, in 1994. The 1990s saw an increase in controversy over adult themes and violence in video games. Only later would games with more mature content and themes, such as Mortal Kombat and Doom, enter the mainstream of gaming. Pong, Space Invaders, Pac-Man, Super Mario Bros., etc., contained no objectionable material which parents might has sought to shield their children from. Within that broad definition, there are a great many subcategories of children’s games.īefore looking at the history of games specifically designed for children, it should be noted that most popular early arcade and home games would probably be considered as appropriate for children as adults. They naturally avoid too-complex rule systems and are designed to be aesthetically appealing to certain age brackets. They feature age-appropriate content, with no realistic violence or inappropriate themes. Such games are often, but need not necessarily be, educational in nature. Kids’ games include any video game designed to be played by children.
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