Summary
- Elite set the standard for modern open-world space sims, influencing games like No Man's Sky and Star Citizen. (111 characters)
- Rogue's gameplay mechanics, like permadeath and procedural generation, shaped modern games like Hades and Spelunky. (121 characters)
- The Sims revolutionized simulation gaming by making mundane tasks monumental, appealing to diverse audiences. (113 characters)
From arcade machines to mobile apps, video games have different associations with gamers today, depending on their age and preferred play style. However, from the depths of college computer science labs to modder's bedrooms, PC gaming has always been at the spear's tip of innovation, both in technology, design, and pure ambition.
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From dungeon crawlers and open-world space sims to survival horror and god games, these early PC titles lay the groundwork for entire genres, control schemes, player-driven storytelling, and online play. Without any one of these classic PC games, the entire cultural and industrial landscape of video games would look unrecognizable today.
Elite (1984)
Blasting Into A Galaxy Of Possibility
Elite
- Released
- September 20, 1984
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Sci-Fi, Simulation
When it comes to video games letting gamers' imaginations run wild, there are few genres more potent than the space sim, and Elite started it all. Elite dropped players into a procedurally generated galaxy and let them trade, fight, and explore as they saw fit.
It was the prototype for the open-world space sim, a genre that includes No Man’s Sky, EVE Online, and Star Citizen, but also set the bar for what gamers might expect their virtual universes to render for them in the future.
Rogue (1980)
Infinite Worlds Of Patterns And Emergent Play
Rogue
- Released
- 1980
- ESRB
- nr
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Roguelike
The "Roguelike" or "Roguelite" may not dominate the modern gaming scene quite like open world or survival horror games do, but the influence that Rogue had with its gameplay mechanics, from randomly generated levels to permadeath and turn-based, top-down dungeon crawling, cannot be overstated.
Any game that resets the player after besting them with brutal difficulty, from Hades to Spelunky, or a world that is in part or whole built on some form of procedural generation owes a great debt to Rogue.
The Oregon Trail (1971 / 1985)
A Lesson In History, Survival, And Dysentery
The Oregon Trail
- Released
- 1985
- ESRB
- e
- Developer(s)
- MECC
- Genre(s)
- Strategy
There are two versions of The Oregon Trail, and both had a sizeable impact on gaming. The first was a text adventure from 1971, and the second is a 1985 full-color, fully-visualized reimagining that produced the now-ancient "You have died of dysentery" meme on the early pages of the internet. Both games "pioneered" video games by introducing them into an educational environment.
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For a game intended for school kids, The Oregon Trail's gameplay is hardcore, presenting players with gruesome outcomes for even the slightest mistakes on the trail, which likely helped manifest an audience hungry for games in the survival management sim genre in gaming's boom era.
Deus Ex (2000)
The Rise Of Player-Directed Experiences
Deus Ex
- Released
- June 23, 2000
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Blood, Violence
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG, FPS, Stealth
Open-ended games with skill trees, wide build viability, and an emphasis on player freedom, like Fallout: New Vegas and Baldur's Gate 3, are some of the most celebrated works today, but the innovator perhaps most responsible for the initiative is Deus Ex.
Part RPG, part FPS, part immersive sim, Deus Ex strived to do it all (stealth, action, dialogue, and more) by offering players branching paths, multiple playstyles, and a mature, conspiracy-laced narrative that helped birth the modern immersive sim genre. Games like BioShock, Dishonored, Prey, and any number of open-world games with RPG elements stand in its shadow.
Diablo (1997)
Loot, Levels, And Long-Lasting Addiction
Diablo
- Released
- January 3, 1997
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ // Animated Blood and Gore, Animated Violence
- Genre(s)
- Action RPG
Before the arrival of Diablo, many gamers would consider RPGs to be in the "slow" camp of games, where dice-roll oriented action was clunky, thoughtful, and tactical. Diablo took the action-RPG concept and turned it into a mouse-clicking addiction loop.
Randomized loot, real-time combat, co-op multiplayer, and an edgy gothic style created a formula that would influence games for decades. Many games in its kin (especially for the gear-based progression and addictive gameplay loop) came after, including Path of Exile, Borderlands, and Destiny.
Half-Life (1998)
The Smarter Sharp Shooter With Fully-Bodied Action
Half-Life
- Released
- November 19, 1998
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Language
- Genre(s)
- Shooter
Before Half-Life, most FPS games delivered story either through brief text screens or tongue-in-cheek interludes that had little to do with gameplay. Players were dropped into levels, handed weapons, and left to blast through enemies. Half-Life flipped that formula on its head. From the moment players step into Gordon Freeman’s shoes and ride the Black Mesa tram, the game never breaks immersion.
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Cutscenes were replaced with scripted in-game events, environmental storytelling, and real-time NPC interactions. Half-Life also supercharged modding culture, with fan-made projects like Counter-Strik e and Team Fortress Classic evolving into industry juggernauts, and also helped popularize digital distribution through Sierra's early efforts, eventually paving the way for Steam.
Ultima 1: The First Age Of Darkness
The Genesis Of The Open-World RPG
Ultima I: The First Age of Darkness
- Released
- 1981-06
- ESRB
- n/a
- Developer(s)
- Origin Systems
- Genre(s)
- RPG
The Ultima series, created by Richard Garriott, was a revolution in progress. From the early days of top-down dungeon crawling to expansive, open-ended fantasy worlds, Ultima 1: The First Age Of Darkness, while basic-looking by today's standards, laid the foundation for nearly every Western RPG that followed, with no blueprint or example to follow. Its innovations included morality systems, expansive dialogue trees, persistent worlds, and an early commitment to player agency.
From Skyrim to Baldur’s Gate 3, and countless other single-player epics with social, immersive, and open virtual worlds, the DNA of Ultima runs deep. Later entries, especially Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar, challenged players not to simply win, but to act ethically, introducing role-playing ideas that far transcended hit points and loot. Meanwhile, Ultima Online essentially birthed the MMORPG genre, paving the way for EverQuest, World of Warcraft, and every online sandbox that followed.
Wizardry: Proving Grounds Of The Mad Overlord (1981)
The Hardcore Dungeon Crawling Experience That Fought Its Way Across Oceans
Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord
- Released
- September 15, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- t
- Genre(s)
- RPG
Loosely adapted from games and concepts of the then-emerging tabletop wargaming scene, Wizardry offered a tighter, party-based, turn-based combat system that became the gold standard for early dungeon crawlers. Its hardcore difficulty, first-person maze navigation, and emphasis on careful planning and character progression made it a brutal but rewarding experience that many developers took notice of.
While this game and long-running series may not be very well-known in North America, this may be one of the most influential games in Japanese developers during the '80s and '90s, and its legacy is still felt in many JRPGs and dungeon crawlers from any side of the planet today, perhaps most notibly the Soulsborne genre. A remake of the original is now available to play for the daring or nostalgic.
The Sims (2000)
A Household Name With Household Gameplay
The Sims
- Released
- February 4, 2000
- ESRB
- t
- Genre(s)
- Life Simulation
The Sims turned the mundane into the monumental, letting players manage daily routines, relationships, and architectural dreams. Despite baffling the publishers who were funding the game and facing numerous threats of cancellation all the way through its development, it shattered sales records upon release, brought more women and casual players into gaming, and blurred the line between simulation and storytelling.
Its open-ended, goal-less design showed the world that not every game needed a win condition to captivate millions. The Sims opened the way to quirky, low-key, slice-of-life games, from big-name publishers to the indie scene, such as Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing.
Doom (1993)
Blazing A Hellish Trail
Doom (1993)
- Released
- December 10, 1993
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language
- Genre(s)
- First-Person Shooter
Ultra-violent, ultra-sleek, and one of the most iconic games ever made. With its fast-paced, ultra-violent action and groundbreaking use of 3D graphics, Doom became the definitive shooter in the 90s and beyond by solidifying the genre's core mechanics in terms of movement, weapon variety, enemy AI, and level design.
The technology behind Doom not only made it ultra-slick and run on most hardware (allowing wide distribution) but also modular, creating a scene of enthusiasts that lives on to this day. Its modding community helped establish the modern idea of user-generated content, while its LAN multiplayer laid the foundation for online deathmatches. Future hits like Quake and Half-Life owe their existence to the trail Doom blazed.
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