I've been looking forward to this book for a long time. I look forward to spending hours upon hours reading through it.
I've always been disappointed by the lack of appreciation for gaming history. Professional critics and journalist in the industry are by and large focused on recent releases. Publishers and critics often directly criticize past works to promote new ones. And most players don't even have an interest in checking out early entries in long-running franchises they adore. We really need to see more efforts like this one, and a general appreciation for older games and the design lesson they can continue to teach.
Thank you felipepepe for this tremendous work.
The CRPG Book released! It's also free!
Four years ago I began a journey.
On Feb 5 2014 I posted the results of the RPG Codex's Top 70 poll, in which we elected the best CRPGs of all time. But I felt that a simple list was too dry… more than the ranking, I was interested in WHY these games were good. From there came the idea of asking people to write a short paragraph talking about each title.
This became a updated version of the Codex's Top 70, now with screenshots and brief descriptions of each game. That's my favorite piece of content I ever made, but I still wanted more – more games, more screenshots, longer reviews, tips on mods, fan-made patches, etc. So I made a list of all the RPGs I wanted to cover and began recruiting volunteers for the "CRPG Book Project".
Having done the Top 70 list in 3 months, I thought I could do 300 games in about 10 months or so. Ha, it took me four years… but it is done!
Across its 528 pages you'll find information about over 400 RPGs, from the early PLATO games to modern AAA releases, as well as hidden gems, curiosities and even fan-translations. The reviews were written by a team of 112 volunteers from all around the globe – fans, modders, journalists, critics, indies and AAA developers.
Above all, this book is a passion project. Free, non-commercial, created by people who wanted to share their hobby and help others have fun. I'm very proud of what we achieved, and I would like to thank everyone who helped me on this journey.
I've always been disappointed by the lack of appreciation for gaming history. Professional critics and journalist in the industry are by and large focused on recent releases. Publishers and critics often directly criticize past works to promote new ones. And most players don't even have an interest in checking out early entries in long-running franchises they adore. We really need to see more efforts like this one, and a general appreciation for older games and the design lesson they can continue to teach.
Thank you felipepepe for this tremendous work.
The CRPG Book released! It's also free!
***
Four years ago I began a journey.
On Feb 5 2014 I posted the results of the RPG Codex's Top 70 poll, in which we elected the best CRPGs of all time. But I felt that a simple list was too dry… more than the ranking, I was interested in WHY these games were good. From there came the idea of asking people to write a short paragraph talking about each title.
This became a updated version of the Codex's Top 70, now with screenshots and brief descriptions of each game. That's my favorite piece of content I ever made, but I still wanted more – more games, more screenshots, longer reviews, tips on mods, fan-made patches, etc. So I made a list of all the RPGs I wanted to cover and began recruiting volunteers for the "CRPG Book Project".
Having done the Top 70 list in 3 months, I thought I could do 300 games in about 10 months or so. Ha, it took me four years… but it is done!
Across its 528 pages you'll find information about over 400 RPGs, from the early PLATO games to modern AAA releases, as well as hidden gems, curiosities and even fan-translations. The reviews were written by a team of 112 volunteers from all around the globe – fans, modders, journalists, critics, indies and AAA developers.
Above all, this book is a passion project. Free, non-commercial, created by people who wanted to share their hobby and help others have fun. I'm very proud of what we achieved, and I would like to thank everyone who helped me on this journey.
***
Last edited:
