50 Years of Text Games
50 Years of Text Games is a collection of essays by Aaron A. Reed, originally published for free on Substack approximately once a week throughout 2021, and subsequently revised, expanded, and collected into a Kickstarter-funded physical book and ebook, published in 2023.
Content
Main series and book
The main series of fifty articles was the core of the book 50 Years of Text Games: From Oregon Trail to AI Dungeon:
- Hardcover ISBN 979-8-9859661-3-8
- Paperback ISBN 979-8-9859661-4-5
- E-book ISBN 979-8-9859661-2-1
Featured works:
- 1971: The Oregon Trail
- 1972: ROCKET
- 1973: Hunt the Wumpus
- 1974: Super Star Trek
- 1975: dnd
- 1976: Adventure
- 1977: Zork
- 1978: Pirate Adventure
- 1979: The Cave of Time (Choose Your Own Adventure #1)
- 1980: MUD
- 1981: His Majesty's Ship “Impetuous”
- 1982: The Hobbit
- 1983: Suspended
- 1984: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
- 1985: A Mind Forever Voyaging (sample book chapter)
- 1986: Uncle Roger
- 1987: Plundered Hearts
- 1988: P.R.E.S.T.A.V.B.A.
- 1989: Monster Island
- 1990: LambdaMOO
- 1991: Trade Wars 2002 (sample book chapter)
- 1992: Silverwolf
- 1993: Curses
- 1994: The Playground
- 1995: Patchwork Girl
- 1996: So Far
- 1997: Achaea
- 1998: Photopia
- 1999: King of Dragon Pass
- 2000: Galatea
- 2001: The Beast
- 2002: Screen
- 2003: The Kingdom of Loathing
- 2004: The Fire Tower
- 2005: Shades of Doom
- 2006: Dwarf Fortress
- 2007: Lieux Communs and El Museo de las Consciencias
- 2008: Violet
- 2009: Fallen London
- 2010: Digital: A Love Story
- 2011: Nested
- 2012: howling dogs
- 2013: Versu: A Family Supper
- 2014: 80 Days
- 2015: Lifeline
- 2016: The Freshman
- 2017: Universal Paperclips
- 2018: Weyrwood
- 2019: AI Dungeon
- 2020: Scents & Semiosis
Material from the following online posts is also included in the book's introduction (some of which can be read in this sample):
- Christopher Strachey and the Dawn of Interactive Text
- HUTSPIEL and Dr. Dorothy Clark
- Business Wargames: Early Complex Text Games
Further Explorations
Further Explorations: A Companion to 50 Years of Text Games is a backer-exclusive supplement of bonus material.
- Softcover ISBN 979-8-9859661-5-2
- Ebook ISBN 979-8-9859661-6-9
As well as general chapters on wordplay, one-room games, visual novels, and hacking sims, and a timeline of text game history, it covers these works:
Ultimate Collector's Edition feelies
Kickstarter backers at the Ultimate Collector's Edition level received a box of feelies including paper tape, a replica Adventureland cassette, a 3.5" floppy disc, and a custom-produced hint book.
Online-only articles
- Amnesia (June 2022)
- The Antagonists, and type-in games (July 2023; commissioned by Chris Charla)
Reviews
Links
- Project website, including errata and current info on playing the featured works
- Ebook sales on itch.io, including sample chapters
- Original Substack blog/newsletter, with free access to the 2021 versions of the essays (and some bonus ones)
- Discussion of articles as they were published, on the intfiction forum.
- Kickstarter (2022)