Description of Rocky's Boots
Rocky's Boots is an excellent educational game that teaches kids the basics of logic circuits that computers are based on. A true predecessor of better-known Robot Odyssey, Rocky's Boots was aimed at a slightly younger audience, but is no less challenging and fun.
Here is how the designer himself, Warren Robinett, founder of The Learning Company, describes this forgotten classic: "[Rocky's Boots] won Software of the Year awards from Learning magazine (1983), Parent's Choice magazine (1983), and Infoworld magazine (1982, runner-up), and received the Gold Award (for selling 100,000 copies) from the Software Publishers Association.
It was one of the first educational software products for personal computers to successfully use an interactive graphical simulation as a learning environment. It was a precursor to later simulation products such as SimCity and The Incredible Machine.
Rocky's Boots was a visual simulation that made it possible for upper-grade-school students to design simple digital logic circuits, using a joystick to move around circuit symbols on the screen and plug them together. The circuit components were AND gates, OR gates, NOT gates, and flip-flops. The colors orange and white were used to show the logic states '1' and '0' of the components, so that as the circuit operated, the signals could be seen propagating through the circuits, as if the electricity was liquid orange fire flowing through transparent pipes."
With excellent in-game instructions and tutorials that set high standards for edutainment titles, intuitive user interface, and a great gameplay that teaches as well as entertains, Rocky's Boots is a must-have for everyone, child or not, who wants to learn about how computer logic works. Fans of Robot Odyssey and Gertrude's Secrets in particular will enjoy this classic for ours on end. Two thumbs up!
Review By HOTUD
External links
Captures and Snapshots
Comments and reviews
LuxSublima 2021-10-11 0 point Commodore 64 version
I played this on the Commodore 64 when I was six - it had such a huge positive impact on me. :-) What a wonderful little gem.
CenTexDem 2018-07-29 0 point
Warren Robinette one of the creators of Rocky's Boots was not only a very creative person but one of the most personable and fun people one has the privilege to make friends with in life. We became friends at Rice University where just for grins he took only one computer science course in graphics and the rest is history leading up to having his name mentioned in the current hit movie "Ready Player One". I wonder if he remembers the big feasting table and king's throne constructed of huge cedar poles taken near Fayetteville, Texas before that forest of ancient was destroyed by the waters of the LCRA's Fayette Power Project's cooling pond and then erected in a small house rented by Rice students in the Montrose area north of Rice?
danwat1234 2017-01-05 0 point DOS version
Here is Paul Schindler's review of this game, on the show Computer Chronicles, aired in 1985. https://youtu.be/BEm39YGLjNQ?t=25m33s
Cadence 2015-06-21 0 point DOS version
I had and have SO much love for the Apple ][ version of this!!
Justin 2015-05-04 0 point DOS version
I played this on my old Apple II as well! Gonna finish it as well also. :D
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DOS Version
90 KBCommodore 64 Version
- Year: 1984
- Publisher: Learning Co., Inc., The
- Developer: Learning Co., Inc., The
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