History of Western role-playing video games

The earliest role-playing video games were created in the mid-to-late 1970s, as offshoots of early university mainframe text-based RPGs that were played on PDP-10, PLATO and Unix-based systems.

Rogue was later distributed as free software with the BSD operating system, and was followed by an entire genre of "roguelikes" that were inspired by and emulated the original game's mechanics, and by later titles such as Diablo.

[6][25] Unlike Ultima, which evolved with each installment, the Wizardry series retained and refined the same style and core mechanics over time, and improved only its graphics and level design as the years progressed.

[6][33] Strategic Simulations, Inc.'s series of "Gold Box" CRPGs, which began in 1988 with Pool of Radiance for the Apple II and Commodore 64,[35] was the first widely successful official video game adaptation of TSR's Advanced Dungeons & Dragons license and rules.

Its "hardcore" RPG Wizard's Crown (1985) presaged the Gold Box games' design, with eight-character parties, a skill-based experience system, highly detailed combat mechanics, dozens of commands, injuries and bleeding, and strengths and weaknesses versus individual weapon classes.

[39] Interplay Productions developed a string of hits in the form of The Bard's Tale (1985) and its sequels under publisher Electronic Arts, originally for the Apple II and Commodore 64.

[24] FTL Games' Dungeon Master (1987) for the Atari ST introduced several user-interface innovations, such as direct manipulation of objects and the environment using the mouse, and popularized mouse-driven interfaces for computer RPGs.

[43] Times of Lore, designed by Chris Roberts and released by Origin Systems in 1988, introduced the action-adventure and action role-playing game formula of console titles such as The Legend of Zelda to the American computer RPG market.

It served as a stylistic "mirror" to Japanese RPGs of the time, with brightly colored, cheerful graphics, a simple combat system borrowed from Dungeon Master, and a semi-linear story.

[60] They also faced competition from Japanese console RPGs, which were becoming increasingly dominant around that time,[61] for reasons such as more accessible, faster-paced action-adventure-oriented gameplay,[54][62] and a stronger emphasis on storytelling and character interactions.

[6][64][65] While not the first RPG to feature real-time combat,[Note 9] Diablo's effect on the market was significant, a reflection of the changes that took place in other genres following the release of the action titles, Doom and Dune II.

[68][69] The inclusion of any content beyond leveling up and killing enemies becomes a challenge in these "hack and slash" games, because the sheer number of items, locations and monsters makes it difficult to design an encounter that is unique and works regardless of how a character has been customized.

[78][Note 11] Like Diablo and Rogue before them, Torchlight, Din's Curse, Hellgate: London, Fate and Path of Exile used procedural generation to create new game levels dynamically.

Black Isle released the groundbreaking Fallout (1997) which, reminiscent of Interplay's earlier Wasteland, was set in an alternate history future America following a nuclear holocaust.

[85][86] One of the few successful late-1990 video game RPGs not set in a swords-and-sorcery environment, Fallout was notable for its open-ended and largely nonlinear gameplay and quest system, tongue-in-cheek humor, and pervasive sense of style.

One of the last CRPGs released before Interplay went defunct was the poorly-received Lionheart: Legacy of the Crusader (2003) by developer Reflexive Entertainment,[95] notable for using the SPECIAL system introduced by Fallout.

[97][98][99] BioWare produced Neverwinter Nights (2002) for Atari, the first CRPG to fuse the third-edition Dungeons & Dragons rules with a 3D display in which the user could vary the viewing angle and distance.

[103][104] During the production of Fallout 2, several of Black Isle's key members left the studio to form Troika Games, citing disagreements with the development team structure.

Obsidian Entertainment began development of a role-playing game based on the Alien film franchise in 2006, but it was canceled, along with an original title under the working name of Seven Dwarves.

[108][109][110] Obsidian's most recent RPGs are The Outer Worlds (2019),[111] a sci-fi game set in an alternate future, released for multiple platforms, and Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire (2018).

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (2006), released for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 as well as the PC, was an enhanced sequel that featured scripted NPC behaviors, significantly improved graphics, and the company's first foray into micro transactions, an emerging trend among Western RPG makers.

Oblivion's immediate successor, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, was released to wide critical acclaim[118] on November 11, 2011 and remains one of the bestselling video games to date,[119] with over 30 million sold copies.

[121][122] Problems cited included the number of lackluster additions to the series since the release of the original two games,[121] as well as a perceived track record on the part of Bethesda for simplifying and streamlining its own franchises in order to appeal to a wider audience (a.k.a.

[122] Nevertheless, Bethesda released Fallout 3 in North America on October 28, 2008 to wide acclaim and much fanfare,[123] and the game was quickly followed by five "content packs" and several additional sequels and spin-offs.

[141] According to video game historian and vlogger Matt Barton, "Successful CRPGs of modern times often seem more like action adventures or first-person shooters than anything ever released by Origin.

Like the movie industry, the "indie" (short for "independent") video game scene plays a crucial role in formulating new ideas and concepts that mainstream publishers and marketing departments, stuck in their rigid antiquated ways, might deem too unworkable or radical, but later adopt.

: Shadow of Chernobyl (2007);[158][159] Turkish developer TaleWorlds' hybrid series of RPG/medieval combat simulators, starting with Mount & Blade (2008);[160][161] and Toby Fox's very-hard-to-describe console game-inspired RPG, Undertale (2015).

Their latest title, Colony Ship: A Post-Earth Role Playing Game, a Fallout homage was released for early access on 6 April 2021 and is currently still in development.

[177][178] When Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance was cancelled, the company decided to reuse the code for their own video game, The Witcher, based on the works of Andrzej Sapkowski.

[186] After viewing a pre-release trailer, however, writer William Gibson, credited with pioneering the cyberpunk genre, remarked that the game seemed like "GTA skinned-over with a generic 80s retro-future",[187] although he later expressed an affinity toward the first gameplay demo.

Screenshot of dnd.
Simple overhead monochrome graphics of dnd on the PLATO mainframe system
Many games emulated both the visual and narrative style of the Ultima series. Pictured here is Blades of Exile (1997).
Many early RPGs, including avatar , moria and Wizardry , used a primitive form of first-person perspective, and games like Dungeons of Daggorath and Dungeon Master also featured real-time gameplay. Pictured here is Damnation of Gods , a Dungeon Master clone .
Predating the mod scene for games such as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim , RPG construction kits such as Forgotten Realms: Unlimited Adventures ( FRUA ) allowed users to create and share their own custom modules online. Pictured here is Dungeon Craft , a modern open source FRUA clone.
Blizzard Entertainment and Interplay Entertainment helped popularize the use of an overhead, isometric view in their CRPGs during the mid-to-late 1990s and onward. Pictured here is the open source isometric fantasy RPG Tales of Trolls & Treasures .
Starting in the mid-1990s with the advent of 3D graphics accelerators , real-time first- and third-person polygonal graphics became commonplace in CRPGs. Pictured here is Sintel The Game .
The Microsoft Xbox sixth-generation gaming console
Screenshot of Legend of Grimrock. In the center of image, a monster stands behind the metal bars of a dungeon. On the right, the inventory of a party member.
An in-game screenshot of Legend of Grimrock , a real-time, first person view, tile-based dungeon crawler in the style of Dungeon Master [ 149 ]