Support NeoGAF

[Minsc]

Stumbled upon this browsing Moby Games, hope it isn't old!

The World of Western RPGs by Drunken Irishman
Introduction
Lexicon
Forefathers
From nerd to an artist – the 80's
The craftsmen - early 90's to mid-90's
The birth of new era - late 90's to modern age
Modern Age - 2002-2007
The indies
Conclusion

Covers (but not limited to):

Wizardry (series)
Ultima (series)
Bard's Tale (series)
Might and Magic (series)
Dungeon Master
Star Saga
Wasteland
Pool of Radiance (series)
Curse of the Azure Bonds
Magic Candle Games
Quest for Glory (series)
Ultima Adventures
The Gold Box series
Interplay's Lord of the Rings series
Eye of the Beholder series
Event Horizon games
Ultima Underworld series
Micropose RPGs
Realms of Arkania series
Lands of Lore (series)
Dark Sun series
Betrayal at Krondor
The Elder Scrolls (series)
Superhero League of Hoboken
Ravenloft series
World of Aden games
Albion
Anvil of Dawn and Stonekeep
Diablo (series)
Fallout I and II
Baldur's Gate (series)
Planescape: Torment
Deus Ex
Gothic (series)
Arcanum
Icewind Dale (series)
Anachronox
Neverwinter Nights series
Knights of the Old Republic
Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines
Countless Diablo clones (lol)
The Bard's Tale
Fable
Jade Empire
Mass Effect
The Witcher

It's very comprehensive as you can see and well worth a look for any one interested.

 

[Yottamole]

Ha, didn't know someone actually continued JazzOleg's Asian RPG article. His article actually covered a sub-genre of Eastern RPG that most Westerners don't know about: Chinese RPGs, which was a great read.

Anyway, this article is also great. A nice history lesson in the growth and development of a video game genre, that is!

 

[Deleted member 17706]

It looks to be a decent read. There is lots of nostalgia in there for anyone who has played computer RPGs.

 

[firehawk12]

Microprose RPGs.

Darklands is the best thing ever! I remember sinking so much time into that sucker.

 

[larvi]

Nice read, lots of good (and bad) memories there, I probably own most of the RPGs he talked about. Ah for the good old RPG days. My only criticism is that it's a pretty PC-centric article and should have done a little more research on the origins of some of the games. I.e. Rogue was a standard game on almost ever DEC Vax system long before the PC verison even existed. And Wizardry was a single player adaptation of the PLATO sytem multiplayer game Oubliette that was written years before SirTech was even formed.

 

[cartoon_soldier]

I want KOTOR3. Make it exactly like KOTOR1, some improvement, no change to combat style, ME style dialouges.

 

[Catchpenny]

One thing I miss are quality original WRPGs. Mass Effect was a mixed bag for me, and I'm waiting for the enchanced version before diving into The Witcher, so I haven't truly enjoyed an original WRPG IP since KOTOR.

Anyway, nice article. 1997-2001 was a great period for RPGs, western ones in particular.

 

[JoeMartin]

I want KOTOR3. Make it exactly like KOTOR1, some improvement, no change to combat style, ME style dialouges.

Well too bad. You're getting KOTOR the MMO.

 

[FieryBalrog]

I want Baldur's Gate 3

But too bad, I'm getting Dragon Age.

 

[Blackjack]

Okay, the reason why Ultima 9 sucked is because of the fans. Starting from Ultima 7, ORIGIN had this cool plot in mind involving a simple human against an interdimensional evil. Simple, but built through many games and layered with human drama. This plot would span many different games – U7, Ultima Underworld 2, Serpent Isle, U8 and finally U9. Unfortunately, many fans had not played an Ultima game since the 6th and thus they had no idea of this awesome plot that was going on. And they cried foul. They wanted Britannia and Dupre back, even though Dupre was dead. They were not impressed by this bizarre astral thingy that ORIGIN was doing. So they decided to bring Britannia back.

I...I'm not sure I can take them seriously. Ultima 9 sucked because of the FANS? Really?

 

[golem]

Microprose RPGs.

Darklands is the best thing ever! I remember sinking so much time into that sucker.

Darklands was awesome

 

[golem]

I...I'm not sure I can take them seriously. Ultima 9 sucked because of the FANS? Really?

nothing worse than a richard garriott apolgist. 8 sucked and 9 wasnt much better. and bs on the haven't played since 6 part, 7 was the most successful entry iirc.

 

[disappeared]

A lot of quality in that list.