My Gaming Audio History: MECC games: Number Munchers, Odell Lake, and Lemonade Stand (1986-1990?)

I've been a little unsure as to where to list several of MECC games.  By the time I'd remembered Lemonade Stand, and in the case of Odell Lake, figured out their name beyond "game where fish eat each other," I'd passed when several were first released chronologically.  In the case of Number Munchers, I played several different versions of the game.  All this is to say that this entry really could be dated as early as 1986 and as late as 1990.  I first remember playing these in the third grade, so that would correspond with the later end of these dates; however, I know that we had a version of Number Munchers at home with our Apple IIe that predates when I would've played it in school, so...  it's likely that I, like many American public school children my age, played numerous versions of these games.

Number Munchers:

Earlier versions of Number Munchers have more limited audio (sorry there's talking, but you can still hear what I mean in the cutscenes vs below).  However, this version of the game is one I played, probably the most advanced before I outgrew the game.  I love that there are some references to classical music.  The cutscene with the balloon/dart plays Fucik's Entry of the Gladiators and the cutscene with the bar-be-que grill plays Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words  Op 62 n 6.  Every person my age probably played a version of this and at the least heard the Muncher laugh at the Toggles repeatedly... unless, I suppose, you weren't good at math!

Odell Lake:

In third grade, we could earn bonus dollars (tiny white toy dollars) by doing good work, being on task, being kind, etc.  These could be turned in to get rewards: extra time at the playground, fun activities, or my personal favorite, time playing computer games.  I easily hoarded mine over the course of the year so that at the end of the school year, I basically had an entire day playing computer games.  This was the main game that we played on the classroom computer and I loved it.  Listening back to it, there's not much audio other than some sound effects (the bird swooping to kill you or the fish eating).  Some of the sound effects are remarkably similar (identical?) to Number Munchers... no surprise, though, since they're made by the same company around the same time.  Despite the small amount of audio in the game, here's a game I played and enjoyed a lot!

Lemonade Stand:

The final MECC game that I played in school, Lemonade Stand, taught some business principles.  I played this game the least of the three; I think it was hard for me to get my mind around spending on product versus spending on marketing as a young kid.  I remember really liking the weather aspect of the game.  Did I mention I was almost a meteorologist instead of a musician?  Listening back to Lemonade Stand, I'm struck that it really has the best music out of these three games.  Here are the ways that music is used in the game:

Depending on the weather report you might hear:

David/Bacharach: Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head
Rossini: The William Tell Overture (close to the middle of the piece, in this recording, starts around 5:19)
Gershwin: Summertime

If you do well in the game and make a profit, you hear The Gold Digger's Song (We're in the Money).  I wonder what might play if you lose money?  I can't find any video with a person losing.