https://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinm...nt-love-letter-to-computer-rpgs/#489ec1c2296f
The 'CRPG Book Project' Is A Magnificent Love Letter To Computer RPGs
Partial map from 'Might and Magic IV: Clouds of Xeen' by Michael Winterbauer.
The CRPG Book Project: Sharing the History of Computer Role-Playing Games is a labor of love and a valentine to everyone who ever loved a computer role playing game. More than 400 game reviews form the heart of the book but there are also essays, articles, guides, “best of” lists and more. I’d be willing to haul a treasure out of a dungeon to pay for the CRPG Book Project, but I didn’t have to. The book is available for free as a PDF, or it can be read in a browser at Scribd.
The reviews are presented chronologically beginning with Beneath Apple Manor published in 1978 and ending with 2015’s Pillars of Eternity. Each game receives a one or two page spread with screenshots and sidebars that cover everything from historical tidbits and developer quotes to links where you can download the game for free or find utilities that make it easier to play on modern hardware. The reviews focus on why a game is innovative, enjoyable or unique while also pointing out weaknesses and features that might take some getting used to for people who are unfamiliar with the mechanics of older RPGs. There are recommendations for games that are especially good for easing new players into older-style games.
Partial page from the review of 'Baldur's Gate'.
As massive as the CRPG Book Project is, it covers less than half the CRPGs released since 1978 and doesn’t include RPGs that only appeared on consoles. In an email exchange, I asked Felipe Pepe, the man behind the CRPG Book Project, how he decided which games to include and which to leave out. He said he was looking for games “that were historically important, popular, hidden gems or simply very interesting”.
Some games didn't make it into the book either because Pepe couldn't get them to run on his computers, or couldn't find a volunteer who could play the game and was willing to write a review. Spellforce 3 fell victim to both of these problems.
Finding dependable volunteers was one of the biggest hurdles Pepe had to overcome in completing the Project. Sometimes he would find a person who was willing and able to cover an obscure game who would then quit or disappear after several months. The Project also almost died when Pepe moved from Brazil to Japan in 2016 and was faced with adapting to a very different culture, learning to speak Japanese, and finding a job. This is a man who does not shy away from a challenge.
In the end, 115 volunteers contributed reviews to the CRPG Book Project. You might expect amateur writing skills in a project like this, but I have yet to find any. The book is very well written.
Comparison of 'Defender of the Crown' running on different platforms.
One of the striking features of the CRPG Book Project is how good it looks. The book is so well designed, and the pages so beautifully laid out I asked Pepe if he has professional experience in book publishing. He has a 10-year background in video editing, but book publishing was a new thing for him which makes the high quality of the CRPG Book Project even more remarkable.
The beauty of the book begs the question of whether a hardbound copy is in the works. Pepe has received several proposals from publishers and is considering how best to proceed. The CRPG Book Project is a non-profit undertaking and Pepe wants to devote the revenue from a physical publication to charity.
Given all the time and effort that went into creating the CRPG Book Project, I asked the obvious question of why he’s giving it away for free. Here’s Pepe’s answer.
I find it amusing how people are used to getting excellent roguelikes and massive game mods for free, but think a book like this should be sold. Truth is, I believe something like this can ONLY be made as a free project. Just imagine how many copies I would have to sell to pay over 100 writers, including famous developers like Chris Avellone and Tim Cain. Even if I wrote it all by myself (a massive decline in quality) and sold 1,000 physical copies (a decent number for this kind of book) at a $10 profit, I would only be paid about 200 dollars per month of work.
Now, meeting hundreds of people from all over the world, spreading my hobby, getting over 100,000 downloads in the first week and even helping charity - that's a much more valuable and interesting reward.
'Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord' released in 1981.
When Pepe started the Project he thought it would take 8 to 10 months to complete. It took four years. I had my own microscopic version of the same experience writing this article. I thought it would take a few hours and it took a several days. Every time I went back to the book to check something out, I ended up getting lost for hours remembering old favorites, reminding myself of games I’d wanted to play and never got to, discovering new games that sounded like something I’d really like to play, and reluctantly talking myself out of actually playing the games because I don’t know where I’d find the time.
If you have any interest in RPGs at all, check out the CRPG Book Project. It’s the sort of thing that would be a fitting treasure found in the final chest after defeating the Biggest Bad in the deepest level of the darkest dungeon. The CRPG Book Project is a magnificent achievement.
If you're interested in the CRPG Book Project, here's another article you might enjoy.
Kevin Murnane covers science, technology and video games for Forbes. His blogs are The Info Monkey & Tuned In To Cycling and he's The Info Monkey on Facebook & @TheInfoMonkey on Twitter.
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