RPG syllabus - the big list
April 14, 2008
I'm creating a syllabus for a college course on the history of role-playing games. You can find out more about this project here, here, and here.
After a brief and bumpy Resident Evil 5 detour, I'm back with an update on my RPG syllabus. Having compiled all your suggestions, I now have a list of 66 games to consider. That's right, sixty-six. Well, I did ask for help, didn't I? ;-)
While it might be fun to teach a 6-semester course on the history of electronic RPGs, in reality I have one semester to get the job done. So it's time to make a cut.
I could approach this in a variety of ways, but the one that makes the most sense to me is to divide the games chronologically, so that's what I've done. A couple of notes:
- Many of these games were released on multiple platforms. I have listed what I consider to be the main version, which was usually released first.
- All games were released in North America. I did not include Japan-only titles.
- I relied on a fairly wide definition of "RPG" in response to suggestions from many of you.
- The bibliography and reading list will be posted later. I'm working on that separately.
| 1976-88 Colossal Cave Adventure - PC 1976 Rogue - PC 1980 Zork - PC 1980 Wizardry - PC 1981 King's Quest - PC 1984 Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy - PC 1984 Ultima IV - PC 1985 A Bard's Tale - PC 1985 A Mind Forevor Voyaging - PC 1985 Space Quest - PC 1986 Shadowgate - Mac/PC 1987 Nethack - PC 1987 Sid Meier's Pirates! - C64/PC 1987 Wasteland - C64/PC 1988 Phantasy Star - Sega Master System 1988 |
1989-96 Final Fantasy IV - SNES 1991 Dragon Quest III - NES 1991 Actraiser - SNES 1991 Ultima VII - PC 1992 Secret of Mana - SNES 1993 Betrayal at Krondor - PC 1993 Syndicate - PC/SNES 1993 X-Com - PC 1993 Earthbound - SNES 1995 Chrono Trigger - SNES 1995 Ogre Battle - SNES 1995 Secret of Evermore - SNES 1995 Super Mario RPG - SNES 1996 Quest for Glory - PC 1989 Dragon Warrior - NES 1989 |
| 1997-2000 Final Fantasy VII - PS1 1997 Ultima Online - PC 1997 Wild Arms - PS1 1997 Fallout - PC 1997 Harvest Moon - SNES 1997 Tactics Ogre - PS1 1998 Final Fantasy Tactics - PS1 1998 Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time - N64 1998 Baldur's Gate - PC 1998 Legend of Legaia - PS1 1999 Planescape: Torment - PC 1999 Everquest - PC 1999 Fallout 2 - PC 1999 Suikoden II - PS1 1999 Diablo 2 - PC 2000 Deus Ex - PC 2000 Grandia II - Dreamcast 2000 Skies of Arcadia - Dreamcast 2000 Breath of Fire IV - PS1 2000 |
2001-2008 Dark Cloud - PS2 2001 Neverwinter Nights - PC 2002 Elder Scrolls: Morrowind - PC 2002 Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire - GBA 2003 Knights of the Old Republic - Xbox 2003 Disgaea - PS2 2003 Fire Emblem - GBA 2003 World of Warcraft - PC 2004 Dragon Quest VIII - PS2 2005 Final Fantasy XII - PS2 2006 Elder Scrolls: Oblivion - PC 2006 Mass Effect - Xbox 360 2007 Persona 3 - PS2 2007 Lord of the Rings Online - PC 2007 Etrian Odyssey - DS 2007 Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden PC 2008 Shiren the Wanderer - DS 2008 Grand Theft Auto 4 - PS3 2008 Metal Gear Solid 3 - PS3 2008 |
Quite a list, eh? Now I'm asking for your help again, hoping you'll bring your experience and opinions to bear on the process of cutting this list down to a manageable number. If you're interested, here's what I'd like you to do:
- Choose 3 or 4 titles from each group. Post a comment letting me know your choices.
- Short on time? - choose 1 from each category. Short on experience? - skip the years you missed.
- Feel too hemmed in by these categories? - mix and match as you see fit, but try not to choose too many games from one category.
Ultimately, I must reduce this list to a final total of 15 games that provide an historical overview of the RPG genre of electronic games. Your responses will help move me closer to that goal. As before, I'm terribly grateful for your help, and I will continue to update here until the final draft of the syllabus is complete.
Update: You can see the results of all your responses in a more recent post here.