The Seven Cities of Gold
1984 · Strategy · Atari 8-bit
Overview
An early open-world exploration and colonisation game that tasked players with exploring the New World. Its ethical complexity — players could trade peacefully or exploit violently — was unusual for 1984.
Deep Dive
Designed by Danielle Berry at Ozark Softscape for Electronic Arts, The Seven Cities of Gold simulated the Spanish colonisation of the Americas with moral dimensions most contemporary games avoided.
Developer Story
The Seven Cities of Gold was designed by Danielle Bunten Berry (credited at the time as Dan Bunten) at Ozark Softscape and published by Electronic Arts in 1984. Players lead expeditions to a procedurally generated New World, trading with — or conquering — its peoples.
Did You Know?
- The game was one of the first to explicitly model ethical choices as game mechanics.
Sources & further reading
- The Seven Cities of Gold (video game) — Wikipedia
