RPG Syllabus: The Data

[GameBanshee News]

We apparently failed to report on this earlier, but it's still worth mentioning that Brainy Gamer's Michael Abbott is putting together a college course on the History of RPGs. Released earlier were notes on the syllabus and a resource list of books and journals.

The project is advancing and Michael Abbot has now presented a list of RPGs suggested by readers as absolutely essential in a history course. It's kind of an unacademic but democratic approach to making such a list, and here's those that received more than 10 votes.

Chrono Trigger 35
Earthbound 31
Final Fantasy VII 31
World of Warcraft 26
Ultima IV 24
Elder Scrolls: Oblivion 22
Planescape: Torment 22
Fallout 21
Knights of the Old Republic 21
Diablo II 19
Secret of Mana 19
Elder Scrolls: Morrowind 17
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 17
Mass Effect 16
Zork 16
Dragon Warrior 15
Final Fantasy IV 15
King's Quest 14
Deus Ex 14
Rogue 13
Baldur's Gate 12
X-Com 12
Neverwinter Nights 11
Persona 3 11
Betrayal at Krondor 10
Fallout 2 10
Final Fantasy Tactics 10

While it seems to have a nice historical spread, it actually doesn't even mention Akalabeth - which is kind of too weird for words in a historical survey of RPGs - and skips seminal RPGs such as Darklands or Realms of Arkania. Perhaps an opportunity for GameBanshee readership to mix their 2 cents into the feedback?

Spotted on Kotaku.

[Xandax]

Those numbers are not based on anything but popularity. Nothing about their importance to the genre, which you'd expect with a "History of RPGs".
It would be the largest problem with that approach.

[swcarter]

I'm not so surprised that some of the older RPGs aren't on the list. What seems odd to me is that Zork (an adventure) and X-COM: UFO Defense (a tactical strategy game) made the cut, but Baldur's Gate II, the best RPG of all time, didn't.

There are also some storied franchises that didn't make it: Wizardry, Might & Magic, the gold box games, and probably more. I wonder how this guy is going to pick and choose what to cover.

SWC

[brainygamer]

Thanks very much for linking to my post. I've long enjoyed GameBanshee and the community surrounding it.

Just a quick clarification: The list I posted is merely a tally of suggestions I received from people who responded to my call for recommendations. I thought my readers might be interested to see the data I collected.

While it's interesting for me to consider how many people recommend game X over game Y, ultimately the project isn't an RPG popularity contest, and I must choose a collection of games that best serve my pedagogical goals (which are outlined in my original post). I'm grateful for the suggestions, but I don't feel obliged to follow them.

Some games that received very few votes may reflect more on the age and experiences of the recommenders than on the historical value of the games.