Dungeons & Dreamers

Dungeons & Dreamers traces the history of computer gaming from its roots in tabletop Dungeons & Dragons through the rise of massively multiplayer online games. The narrative follows key figures like Richard Garriott, who helped establish core principles of computer role-playing games that would influence decades of game development. The book documents the evolution of gaming communities, from early university computer labs to the first online services and eventually modern virtual worlds. Through interviews and research, the authors reconstruct pivotal moments in gaming history, including the creation of Ultima Online and the emergence of social gaming networks. The authors explore how gaming moved from a niche hobby to a mainstream cultural force, examining both technological advances and changing social attitudes. The focus remains on the human stories behind the games, profiling developers, players, and communities that shaped the industry. At its core, this is a book about how technology enables new forms of human connection and creativity. The authors present gaming as a fundamentally social activity that has created meaningful communities and relationships across physical boundaries.

Readers appreciate the book's focus on Gary Gygax and Richard Garriott's roles in gaming history, though some note it favors Garriott's story more heavily. Several reviews mention the book captures the early days of role-playing games and their evolution into digital formats. Liked: - Clear writing style and pacing - Personal stories and anecdotes about key figures - Coverage of early gaming culture Disliked: - Limited scope beyond Gygax and Garriott - Lacks depth on broader gaming industry impacts - Some factual errors noted by longtime gamers - Abrupt ending One reader noted: "It reads more like a biography of Richard Garriott than a comprehensive history of computer gaming." Ratings: Goodreads: 3.6/5 (127 ratings) Amazon: 3.7/5 (21 ratings) The 2014 second edition received slightly higher ratings than the 2003 original, with readers noting improved coverage of modern gaming developments.

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🎮 Richard Garriott, a key figure in the book, created the influential game "Ultima" while still in high school, coding it in BASIC on an Apple II computer. 🎲 The book traces the evolution of social gaming from tabletop Dungeons & Dragons through early computer games to modern MMORPGs, showing how fantasy role-playing shaped modern gaming culture. 💻 Author Brad King spent time as a reporter for Wired News and MIT's Technology Review, bringing deep tech journalism experience to the narrative. 🌟 The book details how id Software's breakthrough game DOOM was originally inspired by their D&D campaigns and a desire to recreate that immersive experience digitally. 🤝 Many early online gaming communities featured in the book, like MUDs (Multi-User Dungeons), were run entirely by volunteers who created vast virtual worlds simply for the love of gaming.