It all started back in 1974.
Or rather, it all began January 3, 1892, date of Birth of JRR Tolkien. Like after that date, because the works of professor of medieval history at Oxford heavily influenced the work that would eventually developed the pioneers of RPGs. It is no coincidence that the genre is built on locations of medieval / fantasy. Tolkien gave birth to a real parallel world, meticulously detailed and consistent in every detail, from the creatures who lived the history that has seen him star. He gave no ground on the specific concept of RPGs, but it was a great starting point for developing one of the fundamental aspects of the environment. Ironically, Tolkien died in 1973, the year before the birth of the genre.
In the 60s start to develop what are called Wargames , or games where you simulate a battle between two sides. Usually relied on proposing on a board (usually with hexagonal board, but not only) their own troops, usually represented by thumbnails of various types, and then move on it following a scheme of precise rules, even here, not a case with reference to medieval historical periods and often with great features. Several of the rules of these games will be made first and then fill in RPG products.
In this world move two people in particular: Gary Gygax and Dave Anderson, milestones of this world. We are in 1970, Gygax developed the wargames Chainmail , while Anderson creates Castle Blackmoor, the game where some characters had to go into a castle to open the gates to a besieging army. But more importantly, in recent years begin to develop Greyhawk, the first historical setting of D & D, which will feed most of the work they have done over the years.
We are in fact the decisive turning point: TSR Gygax founded in 1973 (as a result of his unpublished work) and in 1974 the first version of Dungeons & Dragons . The game is in itself revolutionary in many ways, has many aspects and terminology taken for granted today: attack rolls, hit points, armor class, saving throws, character level, the character sheet ... all game mechanics developed in those years and then merged into D & D. Another fundamental aspect is the advent of the Master, known as the narrator of RPGs, a figure that after a few approaches in some games here becomes essential for the development of the game. It was also the first to be built using its mechanical dice game, became a virtual symbol of the game.
should be made to note the considerable influence that the wargames will have on the game, you needed to be played (or were strongly recommended) of miniatures, and the game was very focused on fighting and fighting. But despite this, D & D is the real starting point for role-playing games. All those who follow it are rifaranno to propose, and the great success of the genre will grow and spread.
What follows then is a continuous expansion and spread of the genre. First with the creation of several games that are inspired by D & D, some environment "original" (Rolemaster, Call of Cthulhu, Vampire, Exalted, RuneQuest, Lex Arcana, Chivalry & Sorcery, Druid and many others) and others explicitly inspired books and movies (such as games of Star Trek and Star Wars). Following the genre expands contaminating other kinds of entertainment. We go from the literature, where if Tolkien with his books has been a pioneer, finally explodes the fantasy genre in this period, to move to the card game (Magic is just the tip of the iceberg of this huge world) to the world of video games (first with the creation of the RPG genre and then with the contamination of many other genres with elements of RPG), even in the film world.
Gary Gygax and Dave Anderson (Gygax, in particular) are rightly considered the fathers of Role Playing Games, their work was essential for the birth and development of the genre, which now contaminates many aspects of leisure and entertainment. Irony saddle fate, Gygax died in 2008, when the Wizards of the Coast began marketing the fourth edition of D & D, which I think stands out in several respects from what is the intrinsic meaning of Games role.
Tribute to Gary Gygax comics by Order of the Stick , online comics
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/ oots0536.html
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