“Goldfields” is a simulation of a nineteenth century gold rush. It is designed to give students a “feel” for the social history of the gold rushes. As a player, you are a recent, penniless arrival to Suze Port. To succeed in the game, you must survive the long and dangerous walk to the gold fields and then you have to become wealthy within one year.
“Pieces of Eight” is designed as an individual or small-group manageable, language-based, educational courseware package. The program, when operating with a small group, promotes dynamic, collaborative interaction and co-operation. Using the software makes students apply a broad range of problem-solving techniques and logical-thinking skills.
“Raft-Away River” is an adventure simulation game for two to six players. It is designed to encourage the social skills of effective communication, co-operative behaviour, and problem solving as a group. It also stimulates reading, comprehension and the interpretation of pictorial information.
Bruce Mitchell had been an unhappy Vice-Principal in a primary school in Victoria when he submitted a simple project to Jacaranda Software for possible publication. Roseanne Gare liked it and they started corresponding. When Gare resigned from Jacaranda, she suggested Mitchell as a possible replacement.
Roseanne Gare recruited David Smith as one of several programmers with educational backgrounds to develop software titles for Jacaranda.
David Smith recruited Gerald Wluka to code Raft-Away River for the Apple. Gerald was a student at Melbourne Grammar School, in one of DLS’s maths classes (that is how David was known at MGS),. David learnt that Gerald was an Apple enthusiast and asked if he could do the work. Of course the answer was yes. The thoughts of a high schooler being paid for his hobby was too attractive – any hurdle could be overcome
A self-taught programmer, Luckett worked on several games including Goldfields, Vote 1, Zoopak, Bush Rescue, Kraken: A deep-sea quest , Crossing the Mountains, Maths Bingo, Clockwise: Time activities for the whole primary school, and Desert Quest.
Author of Goldfields, an education game. Also author of the education books. In the beginning: A perspective on traditional Aboriginal societies(1991) and co-author of Southland: The Maritime Exploration of Australia, Volumes 1-2 (1987) – both published by the Ministry of Education, WA.