Computer Game Evolution

The decade ends with big hits, bigger hits, and the biggest of them all. Not even gods are safe now. Support the show

The middle of the decade brings the first RPGs to reach a million sales, demon summoning, and caving for a cake. Support the show

In the first few years of the scene, Japan experiments with imitating Ultima and Wizardry using poorly suited hardware, and develops a strange fascination with dragons and princesses. Support the show

We go to the wrong island, where we're met by horses farting fire, small but vicious dogs, and countless herbs. Support the show

We've reached the point when most notable games are some flavour of Dungeon Master, and only tabletop influences inspire to buck the trend. Support the show

An off-script rambling on modern games about… convincing people? Support the show

Are we really allowed to have a year without numbered sequels, and full of games doing something few had done before or since? What's the catch? Do they all fail horribly? Support the show

Ubiquitous ninjas, millions of XP, and a famous licence help CRPGs sell hundreds of thousands of copies. Following his own path, as always, Richard Garriott argues in favour of child murder, and wins. Support the show

Three years of no Wizardry are met by a shrug, as Ultima IV attempts to introduce role-playing into RPGs, SSI keeps making tactical wargames by accident, while Ghostbusters and Might and Magic bring sex back on the menu. Watching this, the French can't help but join the fun with the strangest games around. Support the show

"It's not that kind of dungeon," say people inspired by Dungeons & Dragons to make games where you get picked up by wenches, or mate with your spouse for the glory of mankind. Support the show

Jim Dunnigan's ruling out gay incest aside, what else was happening in the early years of RPGs? Support the show

Book reviews. It has come to this. EuroWarGames, Cardboard Ghosts, and Wargames According to Mark – which ones are good, and which ones are worth buying? Support the show

Mathematicians keep suggesting games so infuriating that other people rebel against numbers. Support the show

If you've written a novel or two, writing a few pages of rules should be easy… right? Support the show

As the Cold War takes a turn, computer wargames transform into strategy games, where a president does whatever the last person to see him told him to, dudes multiply in castles, and officers ask Napoleon to speak proper English. Support the show

The Cold War continues to terrify and inspire, so say hello to orbital laser strikes, new games of power politics, and the start of a long-running Japanese series. The British are still weird. Support the show

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Is a paper Call of Duty possible? Can Sid Meier design a good wargame? What's the punishment for being horny in Camelot? Would you kill if you had to? Support the show

Is the Canadian PM good in a fight? What are the best places to summon demons in Armenia? How to overthrow the US Government in 2020? Jim Dunnigan could tell you all of that, but not how to run his own company. Support the show

In the dark days before everyone had a microprocessor, some people just didn't care. They simulated current events, politics, and fantasy epics with paper. Support the show

It turns out that lasers, mines, and various bombs can be used for more than just pure mindless action. Also, sliding blocks – you need lots of sliding blocks. Support the show

These games looked so good… and failed so hard. Support the show

Why are arcade joysticks so tiny? Who let Peter Molyneux into the industry? Both answers are somehow related to a game where robots call the player "chicken." Support the show

More action, more adventure, a 3D engine, a physics engine and a whole lot of other great ideas are arriving year by year. Support the show

Action-adventuring comes to  busy city streets and schools, heaven and hell, Wonderland and Scotland. Also, Nintendo makes an OK game. Support the show