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Each of these tomes is beautifully designed, and can be used to fend off burglars, so thick are they with glorious information and imagery. This book, in particular, took me a lot longer than usual to review purely because I was poring over each page, devouring the words and constantly getting side-tracked in marking where I was and then watching YouTube videos on the releases covered therein, because the passion of the text drew me in so much that I yearned to find out as much as I could about the games covered.
I’d had my eye on the CRPG Book since a reprint was announced several months ago, and I vividly recall spending a few moments on the Bitmap Books website genuinely getting lost in the cover art alone.
I’ve said this before, I’m not a student of art, and the visual arts are very much not my forte, so when something grabs me in that aspect, I really enjoy the sensation, a sensation which was spiked upon seeing the cover of this book. The richness of the illustration here absolutely captures the feeling of RPG gaming, where the imagination takes over and boundaries between game and gamer bleed into each other, the sense of dynamism and kineticism in the characters bursting forth from the screen is ‘framed-poster-worthy’ (definitely a term, don’t look it up) in how it almost hypnotises the reader into opening the book and getting lost in the pages. Awesome stuff, thank you Jan Pospíšil!
Before continuing, I have to high-five author Felipe Pepe for his work here, not only in kindly donating his profits to charity but to thank him for the incredible knowledge and wit he brings to the project. Since reading the book, I have been following him on Twitter (@felipepepe), and I highly recommend doing the same, as his comments and insights on the CRPG genre are a gift to us all.
"Britt opened the book at this page and his trousers flew off"
Upon opening the book, there are several introductory pages covering the goals, the project itself, and the contributors – it’s a great way to kick off the proceedings as the character of the contributors comes through in their brief descriptions and adds a sense of camaraderie and lightness to something that could have come across as dry and dense in other hands.
Following these pages, there are further sections that explain and break down the CRPG genre itself, letting the reader know why the games included were chosen and even how to get certain games running on modern PCs with suggested emulators and the like, this is a book that does everything in its power to get us to play and enjoy CRPGs in an open and accessible way, which it very much succeeds at, as I’ve very clearly spent the last couple of weeks picking up and reviewing far more games in the CRPG genre that I have in the past, on a high from the enthusiasm and knowledge that comes from discovering this book.
"The power contained within this tome is considerably too hot to handle!"
The meat of the book comes from the reviews and coverage of the stars of the show – CRPGs throughout the decades. These are broken down chronologically into key evolutions up until the modern generation, which is then followed by the ‘expanded’ section of the book, which deals with games from countries such as France, Korea and Russia, as well as MMORPGs, browser games and fan translations etc. this all adds up to an incredible extra 150+ pages of content for your perusal.
As is the norm for Bitmap Books, the thick, glossy pages and crisp screenshots are entirely on the money, and the tight, eagle-eyed editing ensures that maximum impact is achieved, with each game either getting a full-page or double-page spread - depending on the impact it had on the industry - as well as its importance from a technological or societal standpoint. I was a big fan of the factoids and titbits that peppered the pages giving further insight and points of interest about game specifics, it’s a book packed with information, and as already stated – such a great way to learn about the genre from folks that really know their stuff.
Bitmap Books – The CRPG Book: A Guide to Role-Playing Games will very much be discussed again in my end-of-year article for GF. This is a masterpiece that pulses throughout with a sense of true community and camaraderie alongside a bewildering scope of information and first-hand understanding and love for an incredibly expansive genre of video games.
"Red Devil blokes carrying a mystical purple is egg is as CRPG as it can get"
SUMMARY
It’s not only perfect for long-time fans of the CRPG genre, but its accessible approach is a great primer for people who just want to dive in and get to know more - and if you’re like me, it will be the start of a revitalising chapter in your CRPG odyssey, just don’t forget to keep an eye on your mana bar.
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From the Bitmap Books Website:
Spread over 684 pages, The CRPG Book: A Guide to Computer Role-Playing Games (Expanded Edition) reviews over 450 games from 1975 to 2019, covering the role-playing classics we all know and love, such as Ultima, Wizardry, Fallout and Mass Effect – all brought to life with vibrant and engaging in-game images.
The CRPG Book: A Guide to Computer Role-Playing Games (Expanded Edition) includes articles on the genre, and each game entry also shares mod suggestions and hints on how to run the games on modern hardware. The book was written entirely by fans, AAA developers, indies, journalists, modders and industry personalities, such as Chris Avellone, Ian Frazier, Scorpia, Ferhegón, Richard Cobbett, Brian ‘Psychochild’ Green, Durante, George Weidman and Tim Cain, to name but a few.
The CRPG Book: A Guide to Computer Role-Playing Games (Expanded Edition) comes as a hardback as standard, produced using thread-sewn binding for extra durability, then shrink-wrapped. The cover features specially created artwork by fantasy artist Jan Pospíšil.
The project also aims to help the wider world: all of author Felipe Pepe’s profit will be donated to the Vocação charity in Brazil, his homeland. Vocação helps kids and teenagers from poor areas to get an education and employment, enabling them in turn to help others around them to do the same, changing the community for the better.
This Expanded Edition brings 156 pages extra pages, 65 new game reviews, revised content, a cover art gallery, and several articles on the history of the genre and some particular scenes, such as French, Korean and Chinese RPGs, MMORPGs, BBS games, browser games, RPG Maker games and fan-translations.
"The cards mention that you are about to go and purchase a very large and beautiful book....and the cards don't lie!"
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