In 1981, Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord brought Dungeons & Dragons-inspired adventuring to the Apple II and helped define the computer RPG. We trace how Robert Woodhead and Andrew C. Greenberg, both college students and tabletop enthusiasts, turned their love of D&D into code. The episode explores the history of wargaming that led to role-playing games, from Kriegsspiel to Chainmail to Dungeons & Dragons itself, and how Wizardry introduced first-person dungeon crawling, party creation, and spell-based combat to home computers. Our conversation covers critic and fan reactions praising its complexity and difficulty, as well as its influence on Ultima, Dragon Quest, and Final Fantasy. Join us as we map mazes and battle Werdna in Wizardry on today’s trip down Memory Card Lane.
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A Trip Down Memory Card Lane