Organ Trail
| Organ Trail | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | The Men Who Wear Many Hats |
| Publisher(s) | The Men Who Wear Many Hats |
| Platform(s) | iOS, Android, Linux, Microsoft Windows, OS X, Ouya, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita |
| Release date(s) |
Web
iOS, Android
PS4, PS Vita |
| Genre(s) | Simulation, survival |
Organ Trail is a "retro zombie survival game"[2] that parodies the educational game The Oregon Trail.[3][4] It was initially released as a free Adobe Flash-based browser game, and later as a Facebook app. This version was developed by Ben Perez, Michael Block, and Ryan Wiemeyer.[5][6] The game uses the Unity game engine.
An expanded version, The Organ Trail: Director's Cut, was released on mobile devices in August 2012. That same month the Director's Cut was also posted on Steam Greenlight; after receiving enough support, it was released on Steam for Windows, Mac, and Linux on March 19, 2013.[7] The expanded version was developed by Michael Block and Ryan Wiemeyer, founders of the company The Men Who Wear Many Hats.[8]
Director's Cut has sold 429,192 copies as of August 9, 2013. Most of the copies were sold on Humble Bundle, Steam and iOS. Most profits were made on the Steam and iOS platforms.[9]
Gameplay
In The Organ Trail, players must cross a post-apocalyptic United States in an old station wagon in order to reach a sanctuary free of zombies. Players must manage their limited resources, including food, ammunition and fuel for their vehicle, in order to complete their journey and keep everyone in their party alive and healthy.
At the beginning players can choose from a number of characters to play as, including a cop from Kentucky, a clerk from New Jersey, or a lawyer from Miami.[10] Each character has different bonuses in gameplay. For example, the cop will offer more hours for the player to scavenge for supplies at the beginning of the game but will earn fewer points if the player beats the game, while the lawyer will give the player the least amount of time to scavenge for supplies but will earn the most points.
Director's Cut
The Organ Trail's popularity led its developers to start a Kickstarter to fund a "director's cut" of the game based on fan feedback and suggestions.[11][12][13] The Director's Cut features a number of changes to the original game, including a customizable protagonist instead of the above preset characters, "choose-your-own-adventure" style random encounters, boss fights, in-game achievements and online leaderboards.[2] While the original game has been described as a "1:1 pure parody" of The Oregon Trail, the developers decided The Director's Cut should stand on its own as a title that pushed beyond the source material.[14]
In contrast to the original game which is free to play, The Director's Cut is a commercial product. It was released for iOS and Android devices on 9 August 2012.[2] It debuted for Linux, Mac, PC and Android via The Humble Bundle.[15]
References
- ↑ http://blog.us.playstation.com/2015/10/15/organ-trail-complete-edition-coming-to-ps4-ps-vita-october-20th/
- 1 2 3 "Organ Trail: Director's Cut". The Men Who Wear Many Hats. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
- ↑ Stephen Totilo (April 11, 2012). "Organ Trail Adds Zombies To That One Educational Game Where You Could Get Sick and Die". Kotaku. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
- ↑ "Indie Hour: The Organ Trail Highlights". Indie Hour. Gamespot. January 21, 2013. Retrieved February 15, 2013.
- ↑ Lauren Davis (October 30, 2010). "Flee the zombie hordes on the "Organ Trail"". i09. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
- ↑ "Organ Trail". The Men Who Wear Many Hats. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
- ↑ "Organ Trail: Director's Cut". steamcommunity.com. Valve Corporation. Retrieved May 12, 2013.
- ↑ "Official Company Website". Retrieved February 15, 2013.
- ↑ Wiemeyer, Ryan (9 August 2013). "Organ Trail: Director's Cut One Year Sales Figures". Gamasutra. Think Services. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
- ↑ Brenna Ehrlich (October 29, 2010). ""Oregon Trail"-Inspired Zombie Game Is Apocalyptically Awesome". Mashable Entertainment. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
- ↑ Alexa Ray Corriea (April 13, 2012). "Organ Trail - Meet The Men Behind the Zombie Roadtrip". G4TV. Retrieved May 26, 2012.
- ↑ Chuck Lawton (January 5, 2012). "Kickstarter: Organ Trail Simulates the Zombie Apocalypse". Wired. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
- ↑ Deborah Netburn (January 5, 2012). "Organ Trail, a zombie spoof of Oregon Trail, is going mobile". LA Times. Retrieved June 5, 2012.
- ↑ Brad Nicholson (June 17, 2012). "Hands-On With 'Organ Trail' - A Gruesome Post-Apocalyptic Take On 'Oregon Trail'". Touch Arcade. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
- ↑ Craig Pearson (January 11, 2013). "Travel Sickness: The Organ Trail: The Director's Cut". Rock Paper Shotgun. Retrieved February 15, 2013.