This Microsoft-distributed CD-ROM was based on the CBS miniseries, hosted by Kevin Costner and directed by Jack Leustig. Produced by Mass Productions, under the aegis of Bill Morgan, the 500 Nations CD-ROM interactively tells the stories of America's native tribes. I had the good fortune to work with Bill and his wife, Alizabeth Foley, for over a year as the project's Line Producer.

With so many stories to tell, screens to design, video to compress, and machines crashing daily, problem solving was a tall order. I definitely earned my multimedia badge on this one.

The Welcome screen.

Users have four navigational paths they can choose from to learn about America's native history.

This is one of the Pathfinder's screens.

Kevin Costner sets the scene.

This is one of 8 pages that tell the story of the Cahokia tribe, based along the Mississippi delta.

The red text are hot spots that lead you to new branches of information.

Every major tribe in America has its story told in 500 Nations.

In addition, there is a complete cross- referenced index that lets the user look up all the historical facts.

The beautiful art direction was done by Andreas Kronenberg.

© Copyright Mass Productions / Microsoft, 1995.