A strange little side quest
If Vampire: No Survivors sends you down a curiosity rabbit hole, start here. Early computer role-playing games helped turn rules, inventories, exploration and character progression into systems that could support long-form digital adventures. There is another connection worth keeping in the same mental pocket: Games resembling checkers were being played thousands of years ago; evidence of related games reaches back to around 1600 BC. The details change, but the appeal of learning a system and trying again is remarkably persistent.