A strange little side quest
A small trivia drop for The Metro Anomaly: Arthur Wynne published a diamond-shaped 'Word-Cross' in the New York World on December 21, 1913; the name later shifted to 'Cross-Word' and then 'crossword'. The surprising part is how quickly the next milestone followed. Early computer role-playing games helped turn rules, inventories, exploration and character progression into systems that could support long-form digital adventures. That history is one reason familiar mechanics can still feel new when they are recombined well.
