A strange little side quest
Even a quick game like ASR's RPG Adventure sits on top of decades — and sometimes centuries — of ideas. In 18th-century America, upper-class men as well as women wore make-up, a reminder that beauty customs have never been as fixed as they can seem. The timeline takes another interesting turn: Early computer role-playing games helped turn rules, inventories, exploration and character progression into systems that could support long-form digital adventures. It is a good reminder that simple game mechanics can carry a surprising amount of history.
