Technology website Tom’s Hardware has posted a pictoral history of the history of computer RPGs in its software section, which offers a brief analysis of the evolution of the CRPG. Three Ultima titles are mentioned: Ultima 1, Ultima 7, and Ultima Underworld.

Even before Ultima I, there were games like Akalabeth: World of Doom and Dunjonquest: Temple of Apshai. For many people, though, Ultima I marks the starting point of the genre, probably due to its wide availability and being the first in the Ultima series, which is still seen by many as the most genre-defining computer role-playing series, bar none. The Ultima series had a total of nine installments (one more of which is in this story), the spin-off Ultima Underworld (also in this story), and, finally, Ultima Online, the first major MMORPG (which is not in this story since we are not covering MMORPGs). For the time, Ultima I had revolutionary graphics, as it was the first game to use tiles. It featured a large game world, with players ending up all the way in outer space.

…Ultima VII moved the popular Ultima franchise to real-time game play. It also no longer used the same fully tile-based engine of the previous games, making for much better graphics. Ultima VII built on some of the elements introduced in previous Ultima games (a huge game world) and Ultima VI (highly interactive environments, the ability to do nonessential things, and NPC schedules). The resulting game is considered by many to be the first “world simulator,” providing more immersion than anything before it. It was also one of the first computer RPGs to be fully designed for use with the mouse. The game kept the isometric (top-down view) perspective, unlike Ultima Underworld, which was also published in 1992, and is discussed next.

…Ultima Underworld was the first computer role-playing game to let the player move fluidly (not from square to square) around the game world. Whereas Ultima VII provided a new level of immersion due to its world, Ultima Underworld did the same due to its graphics. Many players will never forget the first time they started the game and were able to move around “just like in the real world.” Story-wise, the game was not part of the Ultima series, but presented a stand-alone adventure by the same protagonist (the “Avatar”), set in the same world. It had one sequel, Ultima Underworld II: Labyrinth of Worlds, released in 1993.

It’s not a perfect look at the history of CRPGs, to be sure — at only sixteen entries, how could it be? — but it covers many important points in the evolution of the genre. Wizardry, Quest for Glory, Might and Magic, The Elder Scrolls: Arena and Wasteland all merit mention, as do their modern-day successors: Fallout, Skyrim and Dragon Age. However, the presentation jumps ahead quite pronouncedly at the end, and in a rather glaring omission fails to mention Gothic and Risen (among other worthy titles).

(Via: GameBanshee)