Do you consider yourself a hardcore cRPG fanatic? Love stupid and pointless challenges? Have way too much time on your hands?
If you answered yes to all, some, or none of these questions then my cRPG challenge is for you! Keep in mind people, this wont be for the feint of heart, only the most hotpocket-filled, poopsockinest, neckbeardinest basement dwellers stand a chance at winning all the nuggets in this challenge.
THE CHALLENGE : To celebrate 35(more or less) years of computer roleplaying games by playing and completing one cRPG from each year since 1980, up until the great year of our lord two thousand and fifteen. Few shall try, most of them will quickly lose interest, but in the end..... there can be only ONE!!!! unless ofcourse someone else wins, then there will be more than one.
THE PRIZES!
First place - 12inch Stone Cold Steve Austin plushie(receipt only, plushie not included)
Second place - a sugar cube and a new pair of sneakers
Third place - Purell hand sanitizer, 2 free spools of respooled toilet paper.
May the Force be with you all.
Early on, the Ultimas. Ultima II was the game that inspired me to get into game development. Ultima 5 was probably my favorite. I played mostly AD&D before that, but it was so hard to get everyone together for an entire Saturday, oftentimes spending the first entire day just rolling your characters. That's one of the reasons computer RPGs got me so excited: the computer did a lot of the tedious stuff for you. And, as a fantasy fanatic, reading about these amazing worlds, I also saw that virtual worlds could be created that you didn't just read about, but you could become part of yourself.
Wizardry I never got as much into -- seemed less immersive to me -- great combat, but the Utlimas drew me more into the world.
Later, of course, the SSI and gold box games:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Strategic_Simulations,_Inc._games
Demon's Winter for some reason stands out as one of the earlier SSI games I really enjoyed, although there were many. Eternal Dagger. The later gold box games, of course.
Then came the big dearth (not death, mind you: dearth) of RPGs, and you would hear silly things like 'RPGs' are dead, that there was no demand or desire for them. The truth, of course, is that nobody really made a good RPG during that period. The people who wanted and played RPGs were still around though -- people don't just suddenly disappear (outside of alien abductions, of course), nor do their tastes in entertainment/gaming suddenly radically change. That's a myth some marketing folk still buy into, e.g. challenging group-oriented community MMOs that create worlds people call home and want to play for months or years? Nah, those people are all gone. Not. Sigh.
But I digress.
Then came the Diablos. A bit shallow, but sold very well, and it proved the above: the RPG players didn't disappear from the face of the Earth; rather, they were waiting for someone to develop a good RPG.
Then for me it was some of the better Bioware games, that had the right mix of storytelling (which Bioware really revolutionized) and character building/stats/items. Some were too story and not enough RPG for me, but that's just me.
For me, personally and chronologically, it was the early Ultimas (1-5), then the SSI games, and then I became too busy making games. Coded WarWizard 1 in 1989 or so, then moved to WarWizard 2. Then got sucked into MUDs from 1991-96 or so, when I got hired at SoE to make EQ. Since then I still play what I can, but I would rather, usually, create RPGs/MMOs than play them (although one certainly needs to keep playing and therefore learning lest one becomes a dinosaur).
Then today we see a resurgence of some of the older style RPGs, which is fantastic. And then also you have the revolution in MMOs, in which we plan on playing a significant part, and that's all about making 'old' style MMOs with modern graphics and modern features. Just like I stated above, the people who love games like EQ, VG, etc. did not suddenly disappear from the earth. Yes, many grew up and don't have 8 hours a day to raid, we know that, and are designing accordingly, but they are still there. Plus, there's the younger crowd who fiends on Dark Souls, etc., but who has never experienced a challenging true MMO.
Anyway, all hail to Tolkien, CS Lewis, then Gygax, then Lord British, for bringing me to the point in my life (junior high) where I knew what I wanted to do the rest of my life!
Nuff said.