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[pronetoaccidents]

I had this vague memory of a horrifyingly fucked up game that was in that collection of old games the elementary school apple computers used to have. sure everyone remembers and talks about oregon trail but does anyone remember... Freedom??

All I remember was you had to follow the north star to escape and if you got caught they said you were going to get your legs cut off so you could never run again. it was brutal and horrirble and so much so i started thinking i made it up in my mind somehow and it couldn't have existed so today i had nothing to do and finally had to look it up and see...

low and behold...

"Freedom! was an educational computer game developed by MECC. The player assumed the role of a runaway slave in the Antebellum Period of American history who was trying to reach the North through the Underground Railroad. The game met a mixed reception; some educators found it valuable while others found it racially offensive due to its use of stereotyped speech by slave characters.

In 1993, a group of offended parents sued a school which had provided the game to students and MECC, the developer. The game was pulled off the market as a result."

"Gameplay
Players choose one of two characters. The male character was typically illiterate; written signs and notes appeared onscreen as indecipherable symbols. The male character receives a pass from his slavemaster in order to escape to the North. The female character is sometimes able to read and write, and is able to forge a pass in order to run, in addition to asking for a pass. Players attempt to avoid slavecatchers, who may or may not perceive their character's pass as legitimate."

[rabbit]

seems a lil heavy for elementary school kids (to put it mildly). never heard of it but am morbidly curious. anyone have any screenshots?

[AaronTheCabe]

holy shit i can't believe i played that when i was like 8 in elementary school. i didn't remember until i saw the screenshot on wikipedia and my eyes literally went wide. wow ...just wow.. i wonder how they described it to the producer "its like oregon trail but with black people". i can't see how anyone thought this would be a good idea for a game, slavery is nothing to make of levity

[skateandannoy]

That's terrifying. I was definitely too young for this. Before my time.

[pronetoaccidents]

for years and years when my friends and i got baked and did that "so you remember that thing from way back in the day and whatnot" the most obscure people got what was remmebering the amazon trail. but no.. i remembered FREEDOM. and i will make everyone remember. maybe it's a repressed childhood memory because it was so fucked up or something..

i mean liike literally, look at the game play... the males were illeterate and had to follow practically cave drawings. you were given a fake freedom pass and if the person who stopped you believed you went on your way. if not they cut  your legs off.

jesus. what else are we repressing from our fucked up generation? (i was born in 88 so came of age in the 90s...

this was something pretty ridificulous that slipped under the radar..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JwDB20T7Gus