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Role-playing video games for PC
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== Early mainframe computer RPG's (late 1970s–early 1980s) == {{See also|Chronology of roguelike video games}} [[File:Dnd8won.png|thumb|left|Simple overhead monochrome graphics of ''dnd'' on the PLATO mainframe system.|alt=Screenshot of dnd.]] The earliest [[role-playing video game]]s were created in the mid-to-late 1970s, as offshoots of early university [[Mainframe computer|mainframe]] text-based RPGs that were played on [[PDP-10]], [[PLATO system|PLATO]] and [[Unix]]-based systems. These included ''[[Dungeon (video game)|Dungeon]]'', written in 1975 or 1976, ''[[pedit5]]'', created in 1975,{{#tag:ref|Pedit5 was later deleted and lost to history.<ref name="barton_platofun"/>|group="Note"}} and ''[[dnd (video game)|dnd]]'', also from 1975.<ref>{{cite web|last=Martell|first=Carey|title=Interview with the creators of dnd (PLATO)|url=http://www.rpgfanatic.net/advanced_game_wiki_database.html?p=news&nrid=5049&game=dnd|date=2012-04-26|work=RPG Fanatic|publisher=Martell Brothers Studios, LLC|accessdate=2012-05-05}}</ref> These early games were inspired by pen-and-paper [[role-playing games]], particularly ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]'', which was published in 1974, and [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'' trilogy.<ref name="barton_3623_01">{{Harvnb|Barton|2007a|p=1|Ref=barton_3623}}</ref><ref name="1up_chasing" /> Some of the first graphical computer RPGs (CRPGs) after ''pedit5'' and ''dnd'' included ''orthanc'' (1978),<ref name="barton_ddesktops_a">{{Harvnb|Barton|2008|pp=33–34|Ref=barton_ddesktops}}</ref> which was named after Saruman's tower in ''Lord of the Rings'',<ref name="borlanddd_a" /> ''avathar'' (1979),<ref name="barton_platofun"/> later renamed ''[[Avatar (PLATO system video game)|avatar]]'', ''oubliette'' (1977),<ref name="oubliette">{{Cite book|last=Bartle|first=Richard|authorlink=Richard Bartle|title=[[Designing Virtual Worlds]]|work= New Riders|year=2003|isbn=0-13-101816-7|page=741|quote=Jim Schwaiger's 1977 game ''Oubliette'' (inspired by ''Dungeons & Dragons'' and Chuck Miller's earlier multiplayer game, ''Mines of Moria'') had a first-person point of view and used line graphics to render the scene ahead. [...] In late 1979, the first ever fully functional graphical virtual world was released: ''Avatar''. Written by a group of students to out-do ''Oubliette'', it was to become the most successful PLATO game ever—it accounted for 6% of all the hours spent on the system between September 1978 and May 1985.}}</ref> named after the French word for "dungeon",<ref name="borlanddd_a">{{Harvnb|King|Borland|2003|p=28|Ref=borlanddd}}</ref> ''[[Moria (PLATO)|moria]]'' (1975),<ref name="barton_platofun">{{cite web|first=Matt|last=Barton|url=http://www.armchairarcade.com/neo/node/1396|title=Fun with PLATO|work=Armchair Arcade|date=2007-07-03|accessdate=2010-09-08}}</ref> ''dungeons of degorath'', ''baradur'', ''emprise'', ''bnd'', ''sorcery'', and ''dndworld''.{{#tag:ref|Note the lower-case letters, as the PLATO mainframe's file system was case-insensitive.|group="Note"}} All of these were developed and became popular on the PLATO system during the late 1970s, in large part due to PLATO's speed, fast graphics, and large number of players with access to its nationwide network of terminals. PLATO was a mainframe system that supported multiple users and allowed them to play simultaneously, a feature not commonly available to owners of home personal computer systems at the time.<ref name="barton_ddesktops_b">{{Harvnb|Barton|2008|pp=37–38|Ref=barton_ddesktops}}</ref> These were followed by games on other platforms, such as ''[[Temple of Apshai]]'', written in 1979 for the [[TRS-80]] and followed by two add-ons; ''[[Akalabeth: World of Doom]]'' (1980), which gave rise to the well-known ''[[Ultima (series)|Ultima]]'' series;<ref name="barton_3623_02a">{{Harvnb|Barton|2007a|p=2|Ref=barton_3623}}</ref> ''[[Wizardry]]'' (1981), and ''[[Sword of Fargoal]]'' (1982). Games of this era were also influenced by [[interactive fiction|text adventures]] such as ''[[Colossal Cave Adventure]]'' (1976) and ''[[Zork]]'' (1976); early [[MUD]]s, tabletop [[Wargaming|wargames]] such as ''[[Chainmail (game)|Chainmail]]'' (1971), and sports games such as ''[[Strat-O-Matic]]''.<ref name="barton_ddesktops_c">{{Harvnb|Barton|2008|p=12|Ref=barton_ddesktops}}</ref>{{#tag:ref|''Chainmail'' was the official combat handbook for the first edition of ''Dungeons & Dragons''.<ref name="gama_20ess_01">{{Harvnb|Harris|2009|p=1|Ref=gama_20ess}}</ref>|group="Note"}} {{rquote|right|[[Gary Gygax]] [co-creator of ''Dungeons & Dragons''] was pivotal to the development of the gaming industry, and to my own career. (...) Millions upon millions of players around the world live and play in imaginary worlds built on the back of what Gary first conceived.|Richard Garriott|following Gygax's death, in 2008<ref name="1up_chasing" />}} The popular [[dungeon crawl]]er ''[[Rogue (video game)|Rogue]]'' was developed in 1980, for Unix-based systems, by two students at [[University of California, Berkeley|Berkeley]]. It used [[ASCII graphic]]s, and featured a deep system of gameplay and a multitude of randomly generated items and locations. ''Rogue'' was later distributed as [[free software]] with the [[BSD]] operating system, and was followed by an entire genre of "[[roguelike]]s" that were inspired by and emulated the original game's mechanics, and by later titles such as ''[[Diablo (video game)|Diablo]]''.<ref name="escapist_blizzard" /> Later examples of roguelikes include ''[[Angband (video game)|Angband]]'' (1990), ''[[Ancient Domains of Mystery]]'' (1993) and ''[[Linley's Dungeon Crawl]]'' (1997).<ref>{{cite web | last =Harris | first =John | title =COLUMN: @Play: Angband - At Last! | work =GameSetWatch | publisher =UBM TechWeb | date =2008-01-19 | url =http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2008/01/play_angband_at_last.php | accessdate = 2012-08-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last =Smith | first =Adam | title =Roguelike Resurrection: ADOM Seeks Funding | work =Rock, Paper, Shotgun | publisher =Rock Paper Shotgun Ltd. | date =2012-07-03 | url =http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/tag/adom/ | accessdate = 2012-08-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last =John | first =Harris | title =COLUMN: @Play: Crawlapalooza, Part 3: Beogh Liturgical School For Orcs | work =GameSetWatch | publisher =UBM TechWeb | date =2010-02-18 | url =http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2010/02/column_play_crawlapalooza_part_2.php | accessdate = 2012-08-04}}</ref> The keyboard was frequently the only input supported by these games, and their graphics were simple and often [[Monochrome|monochromatic]]. Some titles, like ''Rogue'', represented objects through text characters, such as '@' for the main character and 'Z' for zombies.{{#tag:ref|Certain games, such as ''avatar'', ''moria'', and ''oubliette'' experimented with a first-person view, while others, such as ''orthanc'' and ''Rogue'', featured an overhead view with branching corridors more reminiscent of table-top RPGs.<ref name="barton_ddesktops_a" />|group="Note"}} No single game featured all of the characteristics expected in a modern CRPG, such as exploration of subterranean dungeons, use of weapons and items, "[[Experience level|leveling up]]" and [[quest (video gaming)|quest completion]], but it is possible to see the evolution of these features during this era and that which followed.<ref name="barton_3623_05">{{Harvnb|Barton|2007a|p=5|Ref=barton_3623}}</ref>
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