A Short History of Role-Playing Games

De: Jamin Warren, The Great Courses

Narrado por: Jamin Warren

People have likely played games for as long as humanity has existed. Whether it’s games of chance, games of strategy, games of skill—or likely a little bit of each—we’re always up for a little friendly competition. But what about games of imagination? Though relatively new when compared to the vast history of activities like chess, backgammon, or cards, role-playing games (RPGs) offer a unique intersection of performance, play, and creativity that has made them increasingly popular ever since they first emerged in the 20th century.

In the six lectures of A Short History of Role-Playing Games, gaming consultant and avid gamer Jamin Warren will take you on a whirlwind tour of role-playing games, tracing a fascinating story of community-building, technical innovation, and, occasionally, cultural backlash. While Dungeons & Dragons is perhaps the best-known RPG of the last few decades, it is only one of a vast repository of games that range from dice-rolling tabletop adventures to cutting-edge digital games and live-action formats. As you trace the history and development of RPGs, you’ll see why these experiences that fuse storytelling, theater, and gameplay have developed an immense fanbase while having a significant impact on pop culture, especially in television and film.

From its roots in Noh drama of Japan to the rise of tabletop gaming communities in the 1970s and 80s to massively multiplayer online games like World of Warcraft, role-playing games have become both a genre and an industry. Whether you’re interested in playing RPGs or just fascinated by their sudden pop-culture presence, this course is the perfect introduction to the ever-expanding realm of role-playing games.

©2025 Audible Originals, LLC (P)2025 Audible Originals, LLC.

Unmerited criticism

On the positive side, 5 of the 6 lectures are mostly balanced descriptive of the past, present and future of RPGs. In this, the author's enthusiasm and expertise shines through of the game genre as he explores the evolution from pen-paper to MMOs.
However, in the 5th lecture the author switches into a normative mode seeking to build on progressive tropes, having already praised Satre and Berecht, and hand-wringing about the genre's supposed sexism and racist past. He mirrors academic fads by finding RPG links to Tolkien as problematic given what the author percieves as the lack of diversity in the Lord of the Rings.

Overall, given it is free and one can skip lecture 5, a tentative recommendation.

Not bad

Enjoyable, rapid little overview, from ancient improvisational theatrical traditions to wargaming to TTRPGs to computer RPGs, JRPGs, MMORPGS and LARPing.

This is a Joke, Right?

Supposedly, this is a 3 hour history of role playing games. You would think that given the brevity, it would focus like a laser beam on the actual subject matter, but no, it devotes a shocking amount of time to theater and politics. I question whether Warren really cares much for role playing games considering his constant diversions away from the topic. The first lecture is about theater. That's right, THEATER, Even if you are a theater goer I doubt very much you would like what Warren has to say about it.

Warren makes you wonder if the subject of role playing games is just a convenient cover to mention things like theater, racism, sexism, and war. I cannot begin to understand why Warren feels the need to mention Vietnam and the US killing innocent people.

You could get a lot more information and enjoyment from watching a short YouTube video about the history of role playing games than you will by listening to this audio book, and it would include visuals. Honestly, I really don't understand why Great Courses would publish something like this. They have hit a new low.

I understand the desire to be polite, but the point of a review is to help potential buyers know what they would be getting as far as content, and for the investment of their time. Saying something is okay because it is free or ignoring problems does a disservice to the very people you are supposed to be helping when you write a review.

Misleading title for an unfortunate read

This lecture series does not provide a short history of role-playing games, nor does it provide a succinct academic perspective it seemingly aspires to present. This is unfortunate as the material provided is done so with an excellent performance.