Looking to the future of interactive computer programs in 1962, students from MIT developed Spacewar! Futuristic both in its theme and in its foresight, it is often considered the first video game, paving the way for what has become one of the most dominant sectors in the entertainment industry. The video game industry developed rapidly due to major commercial successes, which ranged from the arcade game Pong to the home gaming cartridge system Atari 2600, inspiring many developers to move into this new space. While it might seem intuitive for the gaming industry, being part of the technology sector, to take its source of inspiration from technological developments and therefore to look to the future, a major motif counter to these developments reared its head early on.

 

1975 marked a break from futuristic themes as the only major trope for expression in video games. The game Dungeon as well as dnd were among the earliest games to feature medieval themes. Concurrent with the adoption of medieval-based themes was an increase in the interest of how players interact with the video game. A new level of engagement with video games was developed in Dungeon and dnd, which were among the first (if not the first), role-playing video games. Although it would seem coincidental that two of the first medieval-based video games, which also happened to be the earliest role-playing video games, emerged in the same year, this development was instead the direct result of a lineage in the medieval fantasy genre. Dungeon and dnd were both direct interpretations of the fantasy role-playing tabletop game Dungeons & Dragons. Dungeons & Dragons, created by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson and released in 1974, became the first commercially successful tabletop role-playing game, and it is still inspires many games today. The Dungeon Master’s Guide is a necessary instructional book for directing the gameplay in Dungeons & Dragons. It also has a set of appendices, with Appendix N enumerating the literary sources which inspired the development of Dungeons & Dragons. The literature listed in Appendix N is a collection of medieval-inspired novels of the fantasy genre. A primary source of inspiration was J.R.R. Tolkien’s 1937 novel, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, published between 1954 and 1955. It is important to note that J.R.R. Tolkien, like many medieval fantasy authors, looked back to epic poetry of the Middle Ages including Beowulf and Prose Edda, both of which created between the eighth and eleventh centuries. These sources provided a foundation for engaging in fantasy as a role-player, and they positioned Dungeons & Dragons in relation to the fantasy genre lineage.

 

Emerging out of a lineage with roots going back to the Middle Ages are two distinct genres of medieval role-playing video games. The first is “historical” medieval fantasy, which is characterized by an integration of historical references into the gameplay to create the illusion of engaging with a probable enactment of a historical past. The second is medieval fantasy, characterized by an adoption of magic, monsters, and fictional worlds inspired by mythology. In both cases the theme of the video game retains a tenuous link to a historical past, yet at the same time it is this link which inspires the immersive role-play enacted by the player. The signifiers of a link to a historical past often include weaponry, armor, and architecture, objects which function in a utilitarian manner in the game and symbolically for the player.

 

The origins of the medieval and medievalisms in role-playing video games and their ongoing impact in contemporary role-playing video game development indicate that the Middle Ages continue to be relevant today. Role-play and immersion in the medieval elicits an interpretation of the Middle Ages as living history. The position of the medieval within fantasy performs a critique on contemporary culture. The paradoxical return to materialism and the gaining of a sense of agency through video games situate the medieval as a romanticized, imagined Middle Ages, which serves as a relief from the anxieties of contemporary life.