Matt Barton

A rocky first chapter but then pure bliss for the long term gamer. I cut my teeth on a 2600 and I'm still gaming today so most of the games in this book I'd played or seen in action but the history behind them and their influence on other games are the two most interesting aspects of this book. I'm also a long time lurker at Armchair Arcade http://www.armchairarcade.com/neo/node/2214 at this link you can read nine additional chapters that wouldn't fit into the book. If you enjoy these chapters then you'll like the book itself, give them a read if you are a gamer or want to understand more about how games got to where they are today.… (más)

I sometimes fancy myself as a geek/nerd/dork/whatever. But having read Dungeons and Desktops by Matt Barton, I realize what an amateur I am. This book chronicles just about every imaginable game that's come out in this genre. From Akallabeth to Zork to the Ultima series to WoW, it's all here. I thought I'd played or was at least familiar with most of the games that came out during the history of this type of game. Boy was I wrong. He goes all the way back to what he calls the "Dark Ages" when games existed on PLATO mainframes and when many of said games were deleted from their servers. The book's a walk down memory lane and his description of games such as "Questron" and "The Bard's Tale" are spot on.

If you're not a computer role-playing game fan, then this book is not for you. Even if you are, this text can be a bit of a slog. Matt Barton has put together a comprehensive history of the genre and as such, it's as good a book as you're going to find on the topic. Barton has a very clear bias in the book and he's not all that into such games as Diablo or Wow. He considers them rather lightweight and too focused on action rather than reflection and strategy. He much prefer the SSI Gold Box games and the early BioWare games. I don't necessarily disagree with him, but the newer games have a lot to offer as well. His main concern is that the more thoughtful games have all but disappeared. There's a bit too much sentimentality here for me - I remember that some of the games he loved were rather ho-hum for me (not Gold Box and BioWare, though, I'm with him on that). Still, his points are legitimate and his concerns warrant concern for serious gamers.
If you have an interest in this sort of thing, there's not much like it on the market, so I recommend you pick it up before it goes out of print.… (más)