Is “Doc Possum” a lost Learning Company game?
After the end of Yaakov Kirschen’s partnership with the Gesher organization, he had an idea for a secular educational game for the Apple II, which he pitched to The Learning Company. Around the same time he also made a few independent demos and experimental software.
- “You and Doc Possum” (1984, 1985)
- “A hastily put together demo…” (June 3, 1984)
- “Dress Master” and “Stripper” (undated)
Keep reading for more background on Kirschen and The Learning Company, as well as details about each of these programs.
This is the second of five sets of curated disk images containing previously lost software developed by Kirschen. Stay tuned for more.
This software was rescued from 5.25″ floppy disks, sent to Josh Renaud by Sali Ariel, Kirschen’s wife. The disks were imaged by Keith Hacke in 2020, then curated by Renaud.
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Background
After helping develop four Jewish educational games for the Apple II with Gesher Educational Affiliates, Kirschen began to develop his own software independently, probably in late 1983.
He developed his first independent game, “You and Doc Possum,” with Danny Wiseburgh, a teenage computer wunderkind whose “Raster Master” graphics toolkit had been essential to creating the earlier Gesher games. “Doc Possum” was meant to be sold by The Learning Company.
Around the same time, Kirschen made several software demos for the Apple II. He says he doesn’t specifically remember why he created any of them. Given the date and content of “A hastily put together demo of work-in-progress and random thoughts,” it seems likely it was intended to be shown to prospective clients during Kirschen’s 1984 trip across the U.S.
The software
YOU AND DOC POSSUM
This is the first of Kirschen’s post-Gesher works, and it is a general education game, rather than a specifically Jewish work.
In this game, the player is a field mouse serving as a junior detective under the guidance of Doc Possum. Players investigate various nature mysteries by interviewing different animals in different habitats.
Kirschen consulted with biologist Dvora Ben Shaul of the Jerusalem Zoo during development of the game. According to Kirschen, he received up-front funding from The Learning Company to develop the game, and he delivered the finished game in mid-1984. But TLC seems not to have published it. Later the game was sold through ANTIC Publishing’s “The Catalog” in “II Computing” Magazine in 1987, where the game’s title gained an ellipsis.
Disk images:
There are three extant versions of Doc Possum. The first has The Learning Company logo and copyright text and is dated 1984. The second is copyrighted 1985 by ANTIC Publishing, and the physical label on the floppy disk says “2 Oct 1985.” The third version has no branding or copyright.
- 1984-you-and-doc-possum-tlc.dsk
- 1985-you-and-doc-possum-antic.dsk
- unk-you-and-doc-possum-unbranded.dsk
Credits shown in the game:
TLC version:
By Yaakov Kirschen and Danny Wiseburgh
(c) 1984, the learning company
ANTIC version:
YOU AND DOC POSSUM
(C) 1985 JUST FOR YOU INC.
IS PUBLISHED AND DISTRIBUTED BY
A N T I C PUBLISHING INC.
By Yaakov Kirschen and Danny Wiseburgh
A HASTILY PUT TOGETHER DEMO OF WORK-IN-PROGRESS AND RANDOM THOUGHTS
Kirschen created this demo to show his philosophy on what software should be like: warm and comfortable, valuable to advertisers, surprising, and magical.
The demo is assembled from new images and animations, as well as pieces reused from other projects. For example, the music and the band appear to be adapted from “The Georgia Variations.”
It seems probable Kirschen intended to show this demo during his trip across the U.S. in mid-1984. On this trip he delivered the finished “Doc Possum” to The Learning Company. Then he visited Jack Tramiel at Atari headquarters shortly after Tramiel took over the company in July.
There seems to be a bug in the programming which causes the demo to stop after the musical sequence. I’d love to hear from any Applesoft BASIC experts who can determine how to fix it.
Disk images:
Credits shown in the demo:
June 3, 1984
Yaakov Kirschen
DRESS MASTER / STRIPPER
Kirschen liked to try out ideas. In this case, he was experimenting with showing or hiding clothing on a model. From that core mechanic, he derived two similar, yet very different programs. The first, called “Dress Master” or “Dress Designer,” allowed users to add different types of clothing by varying the neckline, sleeve, waist, and skirt. The other program was called “Stripper,” and it allowed users to do the reverse.
These programs seem fairly unfinished and do not include any credits or dates.
Disk images:
- Dress Master: unk-dress-master.dsk
- Stripper: unk-stripper.dsk
Share your thoughts!