A strange little side quest
Before the next round of BrowserQuest, here is a piece of the bigger picture. M.U.L.E. arrived in 1983 with multiplayer competition built around gathering resources and keeping a colony alive, an early example of resource-driven strategy play. The broader history adds one more wrinkle. 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.
