Gamasutra has completed its novella-sized history of computer RPGs.  If you have fond memories of the old CRPG classics, this series will give you a massive nostalgia buzz.
Part One covers 1980-1983, covering tabletop gaming, mainframe RPGs, and pioneers such as Akalabeth and Telengard.  Even Wizardry and Ultima started out back then.

I didn’t actually play any CRPGs until Part Two, covering the “golden age” of 1985-1993.  Here’s where we hit Bard’s Tale, and Gamasutra gives a solid overview of the series, well worth reading for the nostalgia hit if you played any of the titles.  We also get to the SSI gold box titles, Autoduel, Wasteland, Eye of the Beholder, Might and Magic, and plenty of other fantastic RPGs.  The golden age, indeed.

Part Three catches us all the way up… to 2004.  This episode is a bit grimmer.  After giving Baldur’s Gate II its propers as one of the best single player CRPGs of all time, the author despairs:

At the end of the platinum age, the Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game, or the MMORPG, dominated the scene, and, at least to this critic, the future of the CRPG is grimmer than anything ever dreamed up by Lord British.

Still, the time period does hit on some classics such as Ultima 7: the Black Gate and Fallout, and 3D RPGs from Ultima Underworld to Morrowind.  The author lauds Planescape: Torment, and even goes so far as to describes Bioware as “the new SSI”.

It’s a long read, but if you’re an RPG junkie you’ll find yourself devouring it (even if you skim a bit).  Check it out.

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