The Sumerian Game: The Most Important Video Game You've Never Heard Of (2021)
The Sumerian Game, a pioneering narrative video game from 1964, tasked players with managing a city-state. Designed for classrooms, it featured slideshows and a cassette tape, marking a significant milestone in educational gaming. Mabel Addis, the first female video game designer, contributed to its development. Despite its historical importance, complete copies are scarce.
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The Sumerian Game, designed in 1964, is hailed as the first narrative video game, predating popular titles like Carmen Sandiego. Created for classrooms, it tasked players with managing the Sumerian city-state of Lagash using resource management decisions. The game featured slideshows synchronized with a cassette tape, making it an innovative educational tool. Mabel Addis, a school teacher, is credited as the first female video game designer and writer for her work on the game. The game evolved into a more narrative-driven experience in 1966, setting the stage for future edutainment games. Despite its historical significance, complete copies of the game are elusive, with only partial documentation available. Efforts by historians have unearthed some materials related to the game, shedding light on its pioneering role in the early history of video games.
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13 commentshttps://www.appbrain.com/app/hammurabi/com.papacut.hammurabi
(also available on Google Play and Apple Store, although Sumerians wouldn't recommend using those companies' services.)
I don’t think I realized the game itself was so venerable though!
The web site is also very old-school.
Designed in 1964 for classrooms, it was as innovative as it is forgotten."
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