Forgotten Ruins: The Roots of CRPGs
Forgotten Ruins: The Roots of CRPGs
Editorial - posted by VentilatorOfDoom on Tue 7 December 2010, 10:31:50
Tags: Reggie Carolipio; Strategic Simulations, Inc.Bitmob started a new series of retrospectives covering the last 30 years in CRPGs. Here's part one.
SSI: The Midas Touch
1979 - 2001
The very first impression that I had of Strategic Simulations, Inc. was that they made games for old people. At the time, I had no idea why I should care about the Fulda Gap or superpowers colliding, only that it didn't seem all that exciting. That is until I saw their CRPGs. Those boxes looked a lot more interesting.
What I didn't know then was that they were one of the de facto masters of tabletop-styled simulations on PCs. Looking at their catalog (and wishing they did more CRPGs), it seemed as if they did everything from the Civil War to the Cold War with some football and baseball thrown in between just for giggles. From fighting along the Eastern Front on the Apple to the beaches of the Commodore 64, they were there.
They were also one of the most prolific developers and publishers in PC gaming history with a catalog of well over a hundred and fifty titles stamped with their logo. If you think the WW2 genre is saturated with shooters, you should have seen their catalog during the eighties when it came to turn-based strategy. Yet no one complained.
Spotted at: GB
SSI: The Midas Touch
1979 - 2001
The very first impression that I had of Strategic Simulations, Inc. was that they made games for old people. At the time, I had no idea why I should care about the Fulda Gap or superpowers colliding, only that it didn't seem all that exciting. That is until I saw their CRPGs. Those boxes looked a lot more interesting.
What I didn't know then was that they were one of the de facto masters of tabletop-styled simulations on PCs. Looking at their catalog (and wishing they did more CRPGs), it seemed as if they did everything from the Civil War to the Cold War with some football and baseball thrown in between just for giggles. From fighting along the Eastern Front on the Apple to the beaches of the Commodore 64, they were there.
They were also one of the most prolific developers and publishers in PC gaming history with a catalog of well over a hundred and fifty titles stamped with their logo. If you think the WW2 genre is saturated with shooters, you should have seen their catalog during the eighties when it came to turn-based strategy. Yet no one complained.
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