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Message: <blockquote data-quote="jmartkdr2" data-source="post: 8194613" data-attributes="member: 7017304">A lot of people are noting that without DnD we would not have gotten a lot of the early computer rpgs that were so foundational to that medium, but I think there's another source that might have led to a similar idea: Choose-your-own-adventure books. <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choose_Your_Own_Adventure" target="_blank">Choose Your Own Adventure - Wikipedia</a>The first book in the genre was written in 1970 (and came out in 1976), so it's likely to have happened without DnD (there's no mention of rpg's in the origin story). And this genre has the same big advantage as turn-based rpgs had in early video game development: it's very easy to code. (Also, they would have taken off in Japan for much the same reason: it takes a lot less memory to store text as kanji than it does using the Latin alphabet, for the same amount of words.)If a well-written one had appeared early in the systems, a lot of imitators would have followed, since even a very novice coder could expect to finish a product. And as people iterated on the idea, it probably wouldn't be long before people make the decision trees a little more complex - they might randomize certain outcomes, add inventory which changes available choices, and so on (cf the Lone Wolf series of gamebooks). They might even switch to minigames as deciders if you succeed or fail at a task.And, of course, visuals. Pictures (at least) for every 'page', maybe animations as tech improves.This could lead to something very similar to the crpgs we got in the 80's, (but a bit more story-game-focused) with further progress from there. The biggest differences would be: it's unlikely that turn-based combat would be the go-to for resolving conflicts with other characters, and the focus on progression (ie leveling up) would be a lot softer, making that concept a lot less pervasive than it is real video games. But someone would have realized people like it when their character gets stronger, so that would have come eventually.</blockquote>

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