Goldfields (video game)

Goldfields
Developer(s) Jacaranda Software
Publisher(s) Jacaranda Software
Platform(s)

Release date(s)
  • 1986
  • 2007
Genre(s) simulation game
Mode(s) Single-player

Goldfields is a computer game for children which simulates 'life on the diggings' during a 19th-century gold rush. Beginning with a concept by Trevor Jacob, it was developed and published by Jacaranda Software in Australia in 1986.[1] It was first released for Apple II, BBC Micro, Commodore 64[2] and IBM compatible systems.[3] The first Macintosh version was later developed using Hypercard.[4] The original Goldfields package contained a disk, teacher's guide, four black-line masters and a copy of A Goldfields Journal or A Guide to Prospective Gold Seekers. A review in Australian Educational Computing magazine described it as 'a particularly useful package, adaptable to a number of levels in both upper primary and secondary social science classes.'[3] The game also received a favourable review from the Australian Journal of Reading in 1986.[5] Despite its age, Goldfields remains well regarded as a mining-themed economic simulator with integrated action sequences.[6]

Due to its ongoing popularity with children and educators, it was rewritten from scratch for Windows XP and Macintosh OSX by Greygum Software in 2007,[7] who bought the rights to the title after Jacaranda Software's closure in the early 1990s.

References

  1. "Goldfields". Play it again... Retrieved 2015-01-27.
  2. "Goldfields". Gamebase 64. Retrieved 2015-01-27.
  3. 1 2 "Software Reviews - Goldfields" (PDF). Australian Educational Computing. 1986-07-01. Retrieved 2015-01-27.
  4. "Goldfields : a simulation of life on the diggings". OCLC World Cat. Retrieved 2015-01-27.
  5. "Australian Journal of Reading Volume 9 Issue 4". Informit. 1986-11-01. Retrieved 2015-01-27.
  6. "Strategy > 1990 > Goldfields". Squakenet. Retrieved 2015-01-27.
  7. "Greygum Software". Greygum Software. 2007-01-22. Retrieved 2015-01-27.
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