Role-playing video game

Lore & Background

Role-playing video games have their origins in tabletop role-playing games and use much of the same terminology, settings, and game mechanics. Other major similarities with pen-and-paper games include developed story-telling and narrative elements, player-character development, and elaborately designed fantasy worlds. The electronic medium takes the place of the gamemaster, resolving combat on its own and determining the game's response to different player actions. RPGs have evolved from simple text-based console-window games into visually rich 3D experiences.

The first RPGs date to the mid-1970s, when developers attempted to implement systems like Dungeons & Dragons on university mainframe computers. While initially niche, RPGs would soon become mainstream on consoles like the NES with franchises such as Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy. Western RPGs for home computers became popular through series such as Fallout, The Elder Scrolls and Baldur's Gate. Today, RPGs enjoy significant popularity both as mainstream AAA games and as niche titles aimed towards dedicated audiences. More recently, independent developers have found success, with games such as OFF, Undertale, and Omori achieving both critical and commercial success.

Role-playing video games typically rely on a highly developed story and setting, and characters are typically designed by the player. They also typically attempt to offer more complex and dynamic character interaction than what is found in other video game genres. This usually involves additional focus on the artificial intelligence and scripted behavior of computer-controlled non-player characters. Exploring the world is an important aspect of many RPGs, with players walking through, talking to non-player characters, picking up objects, and avoiding traps.

Reader's Guide

Role-playing video games have had a significant impact on the broader video game industry, influencing many other genres by incorporating role-playing elements such as character advancement and quests. The genre's emphasis on story and character development has made it a staple of both mainstream AAA gaming and niche independent titles. The experience system, inherited from pen-and-paper role-playing games, remains the most common method of character progression, though training and skill-point systems also exist. The genre's legacy includes the popularization of turn-based and action-based combat systems, as well as the roguelike subgenre, named after the 1980 video game Rogue, which features randomly generated dungeons and permadeath. Role-playing video games have also demonstrated that non-violent forms of conflict resolution are possible, with some games eschewing combat altogether. The genre continues to evolve, with independent developers achieving critical and commercial success alongside established franchises.

Did You Know?

• Three different systems of rewarding player characters exist: the experience system, the training system, and the skill-point system.
• Roguelikes are role-playing games where players complete quests by exploring randomly generated dungeons and which include permadeath.

From Dreamlands Supplement to a Genre-Defining Game

Sandy Petersen's path to creating Call of Cthulhu was not a straightforward one. He initially reached out to Chaosium with a proposal to write a supplement for their well-known fantasy game RuneQuest, one that would be set within Lovecraft's Dreamlands. The project evolved into something far more ambitious. The original concept had been a game called Dark Worlds, commissioned by Chaosium but ultimately never published. Petersen stepped in to take over the writing of what would become Call of Cthulhu, and the finished product hit shelves in 1981. He remained at the helm through the first four editions, making only minor adjustments to the underlying system. After his departure, Lynn Willis took the reins and was credited as co-author on the fifth and sixth editions. Following Willis's passing, Mike Mason assumed the role of line editor in 2013, partnering with Paul Fricker to deliver the most substantial rules overhaul the game had ever seen, culminating in the seventh edition's 2014 release. This succession of creative voices has kept the title alive and evolving for over four decades.

Ordinary People in an Unforgiving World

What set Call of Cthulhu apart when it arrived in 1981 was its radical departure from the combat-driven, heroic-adventure conventions that dominated tabletop gaming at the time. Players do not control warriors or mages growing ever more powerful through levels and hit points. Instead, they inhabit the roles of ordinary individuals—detectives, scholars, artists, criminals, war veterans—drawn into mysteries they cannot fully comprehend. The underlying Basic Role-Playing system, originally developed for RuneQuest, is skill-based and uses percentile dice, meaning every action carries a genuine probability of failure. Characters grow marginally better at their skills through practice, but they never become significantly harder to kill. Perhaps most distinctive is the Sanity Points mechanic: as investigators uncover the true scale of cosmic horrors and their own irrelevance, their mental stability erodes irreversibly. Encountering eldritch beings triggers automatic sanity loss, and seeking the magical knowledge needed to combat them can exact further psychological cost. The game openly acknowledges that triumph is not guaranteed; player characters frequently die in gruesome circumstances or are committed to mental institutions.

A Shifting Canvas of Time and Place

The default era for Call of Cthulhu is the 1920s, mirroring the period in which much of Lovecraft's fiction was set, but the game's setting is far more fluid than that single decade. The foundational premise draws on Lovecraft's own essay "Supernatural Horror in Literature," which identified fear of the unknown as humanity's oldest and most powerful emotion. Over the years, supplements have stretched the timeline in every direction: Cthulhu by Gaslight transplants the occult investigation into 1890s England with a Holmesian flavor, while Cthulhu Now and Delta Green push the action into the modern and 1980s eras, dealing with conspiracies. Cthulhu: Dark Ages jumps to 1000 AD, Cthulhu Invictus to Ancient Rome, and Cthulhu Rising to the 23rd century. Beyond Earth itself, investigators can venture into the Dreamlands, Carcosa, other planets, or the voids of space. The terminology reinforces the Lovecraftian atmosphere: the gamemaster is the Keeper of Arcane Lore, and player characters are Investigators of the Unknown. Importantly, the system is not locked to the Cthulhu Mythos; it also supports folk horror, other authors' settings, horror-film scenarios, and entirely custom worlds.

A Pioneering Legacy Across Media

Call of Cthulhu is widely regarded as a pioneering work in the horror role-playing genre. At its 1981 debut, its emphasis on psychological dread, methodical investigation, and the genuine vulnerability of player characters was a striking contrast to the combat-heavy, heroic-adventure conventions of most contemporary tabletop games. That distinctive identity helped establish horror as a major and enduring category within the broader RPG landscape, influencing numerous later titles. The game has also demonstrated remarkable longevity, remaining one of the longest-running tabletop role-playing games still in active publication, now in its seventh edition with licensed foreign language editions available worldwide. Beyond the table, the Call of Cthulhu brand has been adapted across multiple media formats. Notable examples include the card game Call of Cthulhu: The Card Game, the board game Arkham Horror, and two video game adaptations: Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth and the 2018 title Call of Cthulhu. Published by Chaosium, the franchise continues to expand its reach while retaining the core Lovecraftian sensibility that defined it over four decades ago.