MECC
You have died of dysentery
Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium created The Oregon Trail and pioneered educational software that taught generations of American students.
Overview
MECC began as a state-funded consortium bringing computing to Minnesota schools. They became famous for educational games that made learning genuinely engaging—most notably The Oregon Trail, which taught history through simulation and mortality. MECC proved that educational software could be both pedagogically sound and genuinely fun.
Fast facts
- Founded: 1973 as Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium.
- Original purpose: provide computing resources to Minnesota schools.
- Key title: The Oregon Trail (1971, widespread 1985).
- Other hits: Number Munchers, Word Munchers, Odell Lake.
- Privatised: 1984; acquired by Softkey (1995), then The Learning Company.
The Oregon Trail
Gaming’s most famous educational title:
- Origins: created by student teachers Don Rawitsch, Bill Heinemann, and Paul Dillenberger.
- Premise: simulate 19th-century pioneer journey.
- Learning: resource management, historical context, consequences.
- Cultural impact: “You have died of dysentery” became gaming meme.
Educational philosophy
What MECC understood:
- Engagement first: games needed to be genuinely fun.
- Failure as teacher: dying taught decision-making.
- Simulation: experience history rather than memorise it.
- Accessibility: software designed for classroom deployment.