The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games - Michael J. Tresca [12]
In the late 1990s, I became a staff reviewer for All Game Guide. There were so many computer games that it was difficult to keep up. It gave me an appreciation for the wide range of games available for the PC.
By 1997, the MMORPG scene exploded with Ultima Online. Created by Richard Garriot, Starr Long, Rick Delashmit and later Raph Koster, Ultima Online took on the challenge of creating a fully realized universe outside the dungeon that could support an entire population of adventurers, villagers, and monsters. Ultima Online was an improvement over Neverwinter Nights with its three-quarters view from above. I played Ultima Online on a trial basis.
I was an active member of the MUD-Dev mailing list, on which MUD creators and MMORPG collaborators spoke as equals. During that time, the MMORPG coders shared the challenges they faced, challenges that MUD coders had been dealing with for years. I had several constructive conversations with some of the founders of MMORPGs, including Koster (2010). Despite the change in format, the issues bringing people together for a grand old fantasy adventure were still the same.
In 1999, EverQuest provided a three-dimensional graphical environment that went beyond tile-based representation (Glenday 2008: 170). Characters walked, ran, jumped, swam, and later rode mounts. EverQuest was rapidly followed by Asheron’s Call in 1999 and Dark Age of Camelot in 2001. I played the free three-month trial of Asheron’s Call.
The open game license (OGL) movement arrived in 2000. The OGL was an open content license published by Wizards of the Coast for role-playing games. The OGL movement, spearheaded by Ryan Dancey, gave hundreds of small businesses the chance to contribute rules and adventures to Dungeons & Dragons. It also gave struggling writers an opportunity to get published (Archer 2004:273). I authored several game accessories compatible with Dungeons & Dragons under the OGL, published by Alderac Entertainment Group, Goodman Games, Malladin’s Gate, MonkeyGod Enterprises, Otherworld Creations, Paradigm Concepts, Privateer Press, Reality Deviant Publications, RPG Objects, and Ronin Arts. I also wrote articles for a variety of periodicals, including D20 Filtered, Dragon Magazine, Pyramid, and the RPG Times. My ongoing love affair with Dungeons & Dragons continues to this day; I am an action horror columnist for RPG.net and the National RPG Examiner for Examiner.com (Tresca 2010).
I returned to the East Coast to co–DM a third edition Dungeons & Dragons campaign with Robert Taylor for Amber, Matt, Jeremy, George, two Joes, Melissa, and Mike. After my son was born, Jeremy, George, the same two Joes, and Bill now play a d20 Modern/Delta Green game once a month on Long Island.
D&D evolved as well, experiencing several revisions throughout the decades. Given that Dungeons & Dragons inspired the very first text-based adventure games, it was only a matter of time before parent met child. Dungeons & Dragons Online was launched in 2006 with the goal of bringing the Fellowship experience to the MMORPG. I played Dungeons & Dragons Online with Chris, Rob, Joe, Melissa, and Amber for about six months.
Every year at I-CON, I participate in seminars on both pen-and-paper and electronic gaming (I-CON Staff 2006). I’ve witnessed some enthralling conversations dealing with the differences across mediums and also spoken to audiences ranging from over sixty people to just one person. It’s this merging of electronic and print that encouraged me to write this book.
In 2007, the fourth edition of Dungeons & Dragons was announced. The latest version of the original pen-and-paper role-playing game promised a digital initiative