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The first RPG - summary
It seems like the discussion about the very first computer RPG, which I
initiated, has finally died out. Thus, it seems fitting that I also end it
by summing up what was written. First of all, here is my original question:
>I am wondering what the very first computer RPG was. I used to believe
>that it was Rogue (released in 1983, I think), but the other day I
>happened to take a look at my old Temple of Apshai box and found that it
>was copyrighted in 1983, so I suppose neither of these games were
>influenced by the other, in spite of many similarities.
>
>Were there other, even earlier, games that the above two were inspired
>by, or did they just happen upon the same concept at the same time?
In the following discussion, many games were suggested and there was also
quite some disagreement on the matter of what should be considered a RPG
and what should not. It seems that many people would include some kind of
character individualization in their definition of RPG. This would usually
be implemented by means of different kinds of stats and skills, forming the
basis for magic and combat systems. The character should also be able to
improve on his abilities with, for example, experience points. The
definition per se is not important to me, but this is basically what I
meant in my original question.
Another fraction also counts text adventures and many other games as RPG. I
do not in the list below.
This list consists of titles and years of release subdivided into
different categories:
Not quite RPG (according to someone's definition)
-------------
-Hunt the Wumpus (1978 or earlier)
-Adventure (about 1978-1979) [There were obviously two games by this title
for the Atari 2600, one from Atari and one from Sears. I have no idea
which of these the mentioning referred to.]
-The Wizard's Castle (1980)
Text adventures
---------------
-Adventure, by Willie Crowther and Don Woods (1977, it seems Crowther wrote
it even earlier, but Woods improved it and made it available on the ARPAnet
in '77)
-Zork, by Dave Lebling, Marc Blanc, Bruce Daniels and Tim Anderson (1977)
[This game was *not* originally titled "Dungeon", nor was it written by a
DEC engineer. It was rewritten in FORTRAN and renamed "Dungeon" by a DEC
engineer.]
-Adventureland, by Scott Adams (1978)
-Eamon (1980) [This is actually a RPG according to the above definition.]
RPG
---
-Rogue, by Michael Toy and Kenneth Arnold (mid 70's?, 1981 or earlier)
-Akalabeth, by Richard Garriot (1979?)
-Ultima I, by Richard Garriot (1979?)
-Dungeons of Mordor (1979)
-Wizardry, by Robert Woodhead and Andrew Greenberg (1981, although levels
were being created by 1977)
-Fracas
-Sorceror of Siva, by Epix
-Temple of Apshai (1980?)
-Telengard's Dungeon (1981 or earlier)
-Dragonstomper (1982)
-Demon's Winter, by SSI (1988)
Many question marks still to be straightened out:
What year was Rogue released? And was that before or after Akalabeth? Does
anyone know where to find Toy and Arnold today?
Akalabeth seems to have been released for the Apple II in -79, but some
people report even earlier versions on main-frames. When was this?
If Wizardry levels were created by 1977, then what was the inspiration for
those? Does anyone know more about this?
When *was* Temple of Apshai released? My box still says (c)1983. It's the
C64 version, but with Apple II screen-shots (so presumably the box is
identical). And what about Fracas and Sorceror of Siva? Not that I think
either of them was first, but when were they released?
Were RPGs (as defined in this document) inspired by (or a reaction against)
text adventures or were both types independent developments of traditional
paper-and-dice RPGs?
The only undeniable fact that has been established during the thread is
that there are many interesting ways to spell Akalabeth. Here are some
suggestions:
Akalbeth
Aklabeth
Alekbeth
Alkabaleth
Alkabeth
Alkalabeth
The name almost certainly originally comes from Tolkien's Akallab�th - the
fall of N�menor. Did Garriot, too, misspell it? Perhaps on purpose?
And as always, as soon as the discussion goes into the origins of fantasy
literature, someone misspells Tolkien's name. (It's *Tolkien*, not
Tolkein!)
The facts in this document have been taken from posts by the following
people, as well as some investigations of my own.
cshank@freenet.edmonton.ab.ca
edwards_davis@jpmorgan.com (Davis W. Edwards)
duaneg@iquest.net (Duane Guingrich)
harold.h@genie.com (Harold Hislop)
keniwasa@wam.umd.edu (Ken Iwasa)
lynnj@netcom.com (Lynn Johannesen)
fletcher@u.washington.edu (Brent Michael Krupp)
rwl@gymnet.com (Bob Luce)
lucier.1@postbox.acs.ohio-state.edu (Nathaniel Vincent Lucier)
tmatteo@epix.net (Thomas Matteo)
mwmaurer@mtu.edu (Mark W. Maurer)
Phil Priest <phil@blkbox.com>
David Putnam <dputnam@allencomm.com>
dan.rapp@stpete.honeywell.com (DLRapp)
rbs <rbs@vision.net.au>
hikaru@netaxs.com (Erik Schultz)
dat@thinkage.on.ca (David Adrien Tanguay)
Jason L Tibbitts III <tibbs@uh.edu>
Tom Zuchowski <71214.1670@CompuServe.COM>
/Fredrik Ekman