I hope you’re ready for some more history, because it’s time again to bend our minds to understanding where RPGs have come from, and possibly posit where they’re going.

When last we left off, we had just finished off the Western-end of the iconic year of 1997, so let us go back and see what was happening in the East in the meantime before we pick up the Western strands again.

Continue reading El33tonline’s editorial by guest writer Fayyaad, A complete history of role-playing videogames: Part 4.

Welcome to the third part of this RPG historical review. When last we left off, we had just finished off the Western decade of the 1980s, and were finding out about what happened to RPGs in the East in the early 1980s.

Let’s jump right back in!

Continue reading El33tonline’s editorial by guest writer Fayyaad, A complete history of role-playing videogames: Part 3.

When last we met, we’d been taking a peek under the duvet of history and marvelling at the influences that Western RPGs had on Eastern RPGs. This influence would continue for a while, and later on even be reciprocated, but for now let’s pick up the trail of this history back in the West, and see what followed in the footsteps of Wizardry, Ultima, Rogue-likes and Telengard.

Continue reading El33tonline’s editorial by guest writer Fayyaad, A complete history of role-playing videogames: Part 2.

Role-playing games have a fascinating history - one that stretches back much further than you might at first suppose. It’s a genre of videogame much beloved by its fans, and I daresay that few other genres have created as rabid or divided a fan base (with the possible exception of first-person shooter games, but that’s a history lesson for another day).

To best understand where RPGs are today and where they’re going, it’s best to take a look at where they’ve come from. The RPG equivalent of cro-magnon man and the eventual devolution to the ape, one might say.

Continue reading El33tonline’s editorial by guest writer Fayyaad, A complete history of role-playing videogames: Part 1.