Not only do I like tabletop RPGs, but I also like computer RPGs. So I really enjoyed this article:
The evolution of the RPG
I played a number of these - the Ultimas, Wizardry, Fallout, Pool of Radiance, Diablo. Not all of them by any stretch. But it's interesting to see the development of the CRPG over time.
It builds from, and up to, a bit of a Dragon Age teaser. But that's fine, it's all tied together, from Adventure and the origins of Link and the way CRPGs have tuned the elements of RPGs as they went.
Very entertaining reading.
Automapping in CRPGs best break through ever.
ReplyDeleteDiablo and Baldurs Gate really changed everything. After that the map was almost always auto.
I remember sitting next to my cousin hand-mapping dungeons.
DeleteI also remember spending my hard-saved allowance money up to get complete maps of the Wizardry dungeons so I didn't have to go completely crazy trying to map them by hand myself.
Automap is awesome. It's one of the great additions to gaming. Mapping by hand was really tiresome in comparison and didn't add fun so much as offload work onto the gamer.