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How D&D gave birth tothe modern video game industry
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<blockquote data-quote="Janx" data-source="post: 6183866" data-attributes="member: 8835"><p>In the concept of "video games like D&D" then you might be right. If you're not a programmer or well versed in the really old computer games, you might not familiar with how far the actual history goes.</p><p></p><p>But every programmer was a nerd. And every nerd played D&D (and took karate, and learned to play guitar). And every nerd that played D&D and programmed was inspired to write code BY D&D, even if they weren't writing D&D.</p><p></p><p>Adventure and and The Colossal Cave were inspired by D&D as text based adventure RPGs.</p><p></p><p>Zork were expansions on the genre.</p><p></p><p>Lord British (whose RPG game series earned him buttloads of money but I can't remember its name) also predates Baldur's Gate and the D&D gold boxes. One of his earliest game was a line-art First person dungeon crawl called Akalabeth. I have it on floppy for my Apple IIe. I assure you, it is very much inspired by D&D.</p><p></p><p>Wolfenstein 3d was the first FPS, and it was derived from the concept of those dungeons drawn on 1/4" graph paper. In many ways, it's an expansion on Akalabeth, with greatly enhanced freedom of movement (and graphics).</p><p></p><p>Doom was the next generation of FPS, from the Wolf3d guys (D&D players).</p><p></p><p>From Doom came the Doom clones, including the Elder Scrolls guys who definitely saw the FPS as a way to present a single player sandbox environment for D&D. The Elder Scrolls world is based on their campaign world.</p><p></p><p>Now certainly, there are games that don't trace as directly to D&D. These are usually puzzle games or out of the box thinking games where nobody has done anything like it before. Tetris or Lemmings for example.</p><p></p><p>Pretty much every RPG came from D&D. Every game involving exploring an environment or map (any FPS or large world game). Every game with a damage system (hit points, hearts, damage bar). Every game with stats for the characters that you can choose a different character or alter/build your own). Every game with an advancement system to improve your character. Every battlefield simulation game was inspired by D&D (and its predecessor war games).</p><p></p><p>Not every programmer has actually played D&D. But more programmers played D&D than almost any other professional demographic. And those early programmers were influenced by D&D and its ideas inspired them. So the guy who's writing Minecraft may have never played D&D. But his game was inspired by Dwarf Fortress and FPS games, which were inspired by D&D.</p><p></p><p>Therefore, there is a chain of influence from D&D to many (not all) of the modern games of today.</p><p></p><p>The problem (that the article attempts to rectify) is not everybody knows the history of video games, of gaming, of programming, to know what inspired what and why.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Janx, post: 6183866, member: 8835"] In the concept of "video games like D&D" then you might be right. If you're not a programmer or well versed in the really old computer games, you might not familiar with how far the actual history goes. But every programmer was a nerd. And every nerd played D&D (and took karate, and learned to play guitar). And every nerd that played D&D and programmed was inspired to write code BY D&D, even if they weren't writing D&D. Adventure and and The Colossal Cave were inspired by D&D as text based adventure RPGs. Zork were expansions on the genre. Lord British (whose RPG game series earned him buttloads of money but I can't remember its name) also predates Baldur's Gate and the D&D gold boxes. One of his earliest game was a line-art First person dungeon crawl called Akalabeth. I have it on floppy for my Apple IIe. I assure you, it is very much inspired by D&D. Wolfenstein 3d was the first FPS, and it was derived from the concept of those dungeons drawn on 1/4" graph paper. In many ways, it's an expansion on Akalabeth, with greatly enhanced freedom of movement (and graphics). Doom was the next generation of FPS, from the Wolf3d guys (D&D players). From Doom came the Doom clones, including the Elder Scrolls guys who definitely saw the FPS as a way to present a single player sandbox environment for D&D. The Elder Scrolls world is based on their campaign world. Now certainly, there are games that don't trace as directly to D&D. These are usually puzzle games or out of the box thinking games where nobody has done anything like it before. Tetris or Lemmings for example. Pretty much every RPG came from D&D. Every game involving exploring an environment or map (any FPS or large world game). Every game with a damage system (hit points, hearts, damage bar). Every game with stats for the characters that you can choose a different character or alter/build your own). Every game with an advancement system to improve your character. Every battlefield simulation game was inspired by D&D (and its predecessor war games). Not every programmer has actually played D&D. But more programmers played D&D than almost any other professional demographic. And those early programmers were influenced by D&D and its ideas inspired them. So the guy who's writing Minecraft may have never played D&D. But his game was inspired by Dwarf Fortress and FPS games, which were inspired by D&D. Therefore, there is a chain of influence from D&D to many (not all) of the modern games of today. The problem (that the article attempts to rectify) is not everybody knows the history of video games, of gaming, of programming, to know what inspired what and why. [/QUOTE]
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