Dungeons & Desktops: The history of RPGs
In a recent article at Crispy Gamer, the topic is Matt Barton's book Dungeon & Desktops: The History of Computer Role-Playing Games. Crispy Gamer's prognosis for this book is not good, and it's their opinion that it is "a victim of poor editing, poor organization, and a frustrating inconsistency, as the book veers from true history to trite encyclopedia, as if Barton isn't quite sure what kind of book he is writing." According to this review, the MMO chapter is also lacking greatly, with Ultima Online and EverQuest not getting enough time in the spotlight.
This might sound harsh, but they go on to talk about the good parts of the book eventually. The review acknowledges the fact that there was a real need for an offline encyclopedia for role-playing games, and this book delivers in that regard. After all of this, it seems to us that a book focused entirely on the history of the MMOG is what we need, instead of the topic cohabitating in a chapter here and there across general gaming books.
