And what a return it is, my God.
Thanks to the awesome Lingyan203 on YouTube, I have discovered more information about the Learning Voyage games!! He uploaded a video here (not embedding it because it's not my video), and INSTANTLY the nostalgia came back.
...Except of course, I was wrong about some things. This post is going to correct what I got wrong once and for all!
So, to start, the family's names. They are called the "DiscoverCraft Crew", because they are the crew of a floating museum called the DiscoverCraft. The dad is named Parsec, the mom is Nanosec, the son is Arno, and the daughter is ZZ. I didn't even know that when I made my original post(s) about these games.
Next, the lines I remembered from the intro. It turns out the museum was invaded by sand worms, not ants.
Parsec: The only way sand worms could have gotten into the engine room is through the back door, and we put worm traps by the back door!
Arno: Uh-oh. I thought you said, "Put trap doors back by the worms"!
And the clown dunking game. It was actually called the "Dunkolator", but there was no way I could have known that because A) I forgot, and B) the only information available was from Classwell's website. Once again they were guilty of "Cowboy Bebop At His Computer". As was I for trusting their information. Also, the puns I remembered from that game were "Here's an exhibit that's bound to make a big splash!" and "Do not try this at home; our clown is a drained professional!" I was pretty close, sure, but I didn't have the quotes exactly right.
Oh yeah, and the "exhibit" thing. The hub for both games (not just Swamped as I had thought before) is a museum lobby, because the DiscoverCraft is a museum. Each minigame is presented as an exhibit in the museum. Watch the video for more.
Last and most importantly, I have found out that the Learning Voyage games were eventually re-branded as part of Davidson's Learning Center Series. Sand Trapped was Davidson's Learning Center Series: 3rd Grade, and Swamped was Davidson's Learning Center Series: 4th Grade. Surprise of surprises. And you know what else? Those releases are actually fairly common! I've seen them at thrift stores many times, and I've also seen them on eBay for a few dollars each. I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for them next time I go to a thrift store.
So anyway, that's about it from me. Now I can finally shut up about these games, and instead continue to talk about ClassWorks. In fact, I've got a "History of ClassWorks Gold" video in the works right now. I will also begin to talk about some other games that were featured in ClassWorks, such as Math Sequences and The First "R".
In addition, I found a disk image of another Apple II game I played as a kid: Quilting Bee by MECC! I've got a lot of exciting stuff planned (well, exciting to me, at least). But for now, it's one huge mystery solved, and about a dozen more to go. Until next time, remember to keep on discovering your crafts.
...No? All right, I'll leave the humor to the clown.
-Johnny
