Designers & Dragons: The 80s
A History of the Roleplaying Game Industry
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Designers & Dragons: The 80s
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Narrated by:
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Colby Elliott
About this listen
Part two of a four-volume set!
Everything you've wanted to know about the origins of roleplaying games...
Designers & Dragons: The '80s is a comprehensive picture of the growth of the RPG industry. This second edition expands the original single book into a series of four, and we’ve added over 10,000 new words to this volume alone. Take an in-depth look at ’80s style gaming courtesy of companies like Steve Jackson Games and West End Games, plus an intro to the small (but mighty!) presses of the decade. Regardless of your gaming background, Shannon Appelcline’s meticulously researched history won’t disappoint.
In this volume, you’ll find:
- A foreword by Mike Pondsmith, founder of R. Talsorian and creator of Cyberpunk
- Profiles for 23 1980s gaming companies including Steve Jackson Games, Palladium Books, and Mayfair Games
- The inside scoop behind games like GURPS, Champions, and Battletech
- 10 things you might not know about roleplaying in the ’80s
- An extensive bibliography and index
Meet the characters behind the characters and the gamers behind the games in Designers & Dragons: The ’80s!
Download the accompanying reference guide.©2014 Shannon Appelcline (P)2021 Last Word AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Designers & Dragons: The '70s
- A History of the Roleplaying Game Industry
- By: Shannon Appelcline
- Narrated by: Colby Elliott
- Length: 14 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 60
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 48
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 48
Designers & Dragons: The ’70s is a comprehensive picture of the beginnings of the RPG industry. This second edition expands the original single book into a series of four, and we’ve added over 50,000 new words to this volume alone. Learn about the colorful history of TSR and the wave of D&D inspired games (and gaming companies) to follow, and dip your toes into war gaming trivia. Regardless of your gaming background, Shannon Appelcline’s meticulously researched history won’t disappoint.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
the forgotten realm of where RPGs arize
- By RAW-ATX on 01-02-22
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- The Epic Battle for Dungeons & Dragons
- By: Jon Peterson
- Narrated by: Chris Andrew Ciulla
- Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 91
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 80
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 80
When Dungeons & Dragons was first released to a small hobby community, it hardly seemed destined for mainstream success—and yet this arcane tabletop role-playing game became an unlikely pop culture phenomenon. In Game Wizards, Jon Peterson chronicles the rise of Dungeons & Dragons from hobbyist pastime to mass market sensation, from the initial collaboration to the later feud of its creators, Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
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5 out of 5 stars
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- Unabridged
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Story5 out of 5 stars 292
The original Dungeons & Dragons released by TSR (Tactical Studies Rules) in 1974 created a radical new medium: the role-playing game. For the next two decades, TSR rocketed to success. But by 1997, a series of ruinous choices and failed projects brought TSR to the edge of doom—only to be saved by their fiercest competitor, Wizards of the Coast. Unearthed from Ben Riggs’s own adventurous campaign of in-depth research, interviews with major players, and acquisitions of secret documents, Slaying the Dragon reveals the true story of the rise and fall of TSR.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 214
In The Monsters Know What They're Doing, Keith Ammann lightens the DM's burden by helping you understand your monsters' abilities and develop battle plans before your fifth edition D&D game session begins. Just as soldiers don't whip out their field manuals for the first time when they're already under fire, a DM shouldn't wait until the PCs have just encountered a dozen bullywugs to figure out how they advance, fight, and retreat.
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You love Dungeons and Dragons. As an experienced dungeon master, you've run dozens, if not hundreds of games. You put a lot of work into making your games great. What if there's another way to look at how you prepare your game? What if it turned out you could spend less time and less energy and have a better game as a result? It's time to unleash the Lazy Dungeon Master.
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Designers & Dragons: The '70s
- A History of the Roleplaying Game Industry
- By: Shannon Appelcline
- Narrated by: Colby Elliott
- Length: 14 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 60
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 48
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 48
Designers & Dragons: The ’70s is a comprehensive picture of the beginnings of the RPG industry. This second edition expands the original single book into a series of four, and we’ve added over 50,000 new words to this volume alone. Learn about the colorful history of TSR and the wave of D&D inspired games (and gaming companies) to follow, and dip your toes into war gaming trivia. Regardless of your gaming background, Shannon Appelcline’s meticulously researched history won’t disappoint.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
the forgotten realm of where RPGs arize
- By RAW-ATX on 01-02-22
-
Game Wizards
- The Epic Battle for Dungeons & Dragons
- By: Jon Peterson
- Narrated by: Chris Andrew Ciulla
- Length: 13 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 91
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 80
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 80
When Dungeons & Dragons was first released to a small hobby community, it hardly seemed destined for mainstream success—and yet this arcane tabletop role-playing game became an unlikely pop culture phenomenon. In Game Wizards, Jon Peterson chronicles the rise of Dungeons & Dragons from hobbyist pastime to mass market sensation, from the initial collaboration to the later feud of its creators, Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Nice and grounded
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By: Jon Peterson
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Slaying the Dragon
- A Secret History of Dungeons & Dragons
- By: Ben Riggs
- Narrated by: Sean Patrick Hopkins
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 336
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 293
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 292
The original Dungeons & Dragons released by TSR (Tactical Studies Rules) in 1974 created a radical new medium: the role-playing game. For the next two decades, TSR rocketed to success. But by 1997, a series of ruinous choices and failed projects brought TSR to the edge of doom—only to be saved by their fiercest competitor, Wizards of the Coast. Unearthed from Ben Riggs’s own adventurous campaign of in-depth research, interviews with major players, and acquisitions of secret documents, Slaying the Dragon reveals the true story of the rise and fall of TSR.
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The Monsters Know What They’re Doing: Combat Tactics for Dungeon Masters
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- Length: 25 hrs and 21 mins
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In The Monsters Know What They're Doing, Keith Ammann lightens the DM's burden by helping you understand your monsters' abilities and develop battle plans before your fifth edition D&D game session begins. Just as soldiers don't whip out their field manuals for the first time when they're already under fire, a DM shouldn't wait until the PCs have just encountered a dozen bullywugs to figure out how they advance, fight, and retreat.
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You love Dungeons and Dragons. As an experienced dungeon master, you've run dozens, if not hundreds of games. You put a lot of work into making your games great. What if there's another way to look at how you prepare your game? What if it turned out you could spend less time and less energy and have a better game as a result? It's time to unleash the Lazy Dungeon Master.
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There’s a reason it’s called a tabletop roleplaying game. Taking on the personae of different characters in the story brings a richness and depth to the experience and can make your game sessions exciting and memorable. But how can the poor, harried Game Master wrangle a whole slew of unique personalities on top of all the other work that goes into preparing each week? The Kobold Guide to Roleplaying has the answers you seek.
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From the author of The Monsters Know What They’re Doing comes a follow-up strategy guide with MOAR! monster tactics for Dungeon Masters playing fifth edition Dungeons & Dragons.
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Inside this audiobook, you will find advice and suggestions for enhancing your RPG experience at the table and away from it. This is an insider's look at everything that isn't part of the game rules - building chemistry for a gaming group that really clicks, making a character you will love and remember forever, running engaging and exciting games your players will always look forward to, creating thrilling adventures, finding all the right ideas, hosting memorable game nights...and that's just for starters.
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Has your game got the blahs? Are your players spending more time thumbing through your book collection than hunting down clues, more energy heckling one another than in crushing their cruel foes? Never fear, o beleaguered Game Masters, for Robin D. Laws, noted game designer (Feng Shui, Hero Wars, Dying Earth, Rune) and columnist for Dragon magazine is here to help. Know your players! Analyze your system! Build your campaign! Design adventures! Prepare to be spontaneous, and improvise like a fiend!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 8
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 8
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Roleplaying games have come a long way since the 1970s. Possessed of this second edition of XDM: X-Treme Dungeon Mastery, you can become and x-treme dungeon master, and as an XDM you'll stand ready for the next 50 years of RPGs.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Skip if you want value
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 255
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Story5 out of 5 stars 255
Doom Guy: Life in First Person is the long-awaited autobiography of gaming’s original rock star and the cocreator of DOOM, Quake, and Wolfenstein—some of the most recognizable and important titles in video game history. Credited with the invention of the first-person shooter, a genre that continues to dominate the market today, he is gaming royalty. Told in remarkable detail, a byproduct of his hyperthymesia, Romero recounts his storied career.
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How can we create and market creative works that achieve longevity? Holiday explores this mystery by drawing on his extensive experience working with businesses and creators such as Google, American Apparel, and the author John Grisham as well as his interviews with the minds behind some of the greatest perennial sellers of our time.
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Another Holiday marketing success, ironically .
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Long Live Mortal Kombat, Round 1
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To politicians and parents, Mortal Kombat was a menace to society. To gamers, it was a way of life. From dedicated hustlers who put thousands of miles on their odometers driving coast to coast to challenge the top players in arcades, to fans who devote their free time to collecting action figures, setting world records, and plumbing the depths of its lore, the Mortal Kombat franchise has topped sales charts for thirty years, and its popularity shows no signs of waning. But before Mortal Kombat offended politicians and sold over 12 million units, executives at Midway saw it as filler.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 20
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In Electronic Dreams, Tom Lean tells the story of how computers invaded British homes for the first time, as people set aside their worries of electronic brains and Big Brother and embraced the wonder technology of the 1980s. This book charts the history of the rise and fall of the home computer, the family of futuristic and quirky machines that took computing from the realm of science and science fiction to being a user-friendly domestic technology.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 206
New Edition! More content, images, and corrected text and facts. Monochrome edition. Starting with its humble beginnings in the 1950s and ending with its swan-song, the Dreamcast, in the early 2000s, this is the complete history of Sega as a console maker. Before home computers and video game consoles, before the Internet and social networking, and before motion controls and smartphones, there was Sega.
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4 out of 5 stars
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The Story of the Fall of Sega
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- By: Ben Fritz
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- Unabridged
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 373
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 372
In the past decade, Hollywood has endured a cataclysm on a par with the end of silent film and the demise of the studio system. Stars and directors have seen their power dwindle, while writers and producers lift their best techniques from TV, comic books, and the toy biz. The future of Hollywood is being written by powerful corporate brands like Marvel, Amazon, Netflix, and Lego, as well as censors in China. Ben Fritz chronicles this dramatic shakeup with unmatched skill, bringing equal fluency to both the financial and entertainment aspects of Hollywood.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Who is overseeing the audio part of this project?
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By: Ben Fritz
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Comic Shop
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 47
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 41
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 41
The early 1970s saw the birth of the modern comic book shop. Its rise was due in large part to a dynamic entrepreneur, Phil Seuling. His direct market model allowed shops to get comics straight from the publishers, bypassing middlemen. Stores could better customize their offerings and independent publishers could now access national distribution. In this way, shops opened up a space for quirky ideas to gain an audience and helped transform small-press series, from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to Bone, into media giants.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A good listen.
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By: Dan Gearino
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Blockbusters
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- By: Anita Elberse
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 88
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Story4 out of 5 stars 88
What's behind the phenomenal success of entertainment businesses such as Warner Bros., Marvel Entertainment, and the NFL — along with such stars as Jay-Z, Lady Gaga, and LeBron James? Which strategies give leaders in film, television, music, publishing, and sports an edge over their rivals? Anita Elberse, Harvard Business School's expert on the entertainment industry, has done pioneering research on the worlds of media and sports for more than a decade. Now, in this groundbreaking audiobook, she explains a powerful truth about the fiercely competitive world of entertainment.
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5 out of 5 stars
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I love the autobook the only thing I have
- By brycesp on 03-31-17
By: Anita Elberse
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The Click Moment
- Seizing Opportunity in an Unpredictable World
- By: Frans Johansson
- Narrated by: Erik Synnestvedt
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 63
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 52
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 52
On the one hand we aren’t surprised by the uncertainty of everyday life, but on the other we believe that success can be analyzed and planned for. It is a revealing paradox. The implications are explosive and they obliterate every common-sense notion we have about strategy and planning. The Click Moment is about two very simple but highly provocative ideas.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Outstanding book!
- By Anilyn Karel on 08-26-24
By: Frans Johansson
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Electronic Dreams
- How 1980s Britain Learned to Love the Computer
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 22
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 20
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Story5 out of 5 stars 20
In Electronic Dreams, Tom Lean tells the story of how computers invaded British homes for the first time, as people set aside their worries of electronic brains and Big Brother and embraced the wonder technology of the 1980s. This book charts the history of the rise and fall of the home computer, the family of futuristic and quirky machines that took computing from the realm of science and science fiction to being a user-friendly domestic technology.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Awesome outline of electronic history
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By: Tom Lean
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Of Dice and Men
- The Story of Dungeons & Dragons and the People Who Play It
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- Narrated by: David M. Ewalt, Mikael Naramore
- Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,242
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,131
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,127
In Of Dice and Men, David Ewalt recounts the development of Dungeons & Dragons from the game’s roots on the battlefields of ancient Europe, through the hysteria that linked it to satanic rituals and teen suicides, to its apotheosis as father of the modern video-game industry. As he chronicles the surprising history of the game’s origins (a history largely unknown even to hardcore players) and examines D&D’s profound impact, Ewalt weaves laser-sharp subculture analysis with his own present-day gaming experiences.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Interesting Topic, but Terrible Execution.
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By: David M. Ewalt
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Printer's Error
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 84
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 74
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 76
Since the Gutenberg Bible first went on sale in 1455, printing has been viewed as one of the highest achievements of human innovation. But the march of progress hasn't been smooth; downright bizarre is more like it. Printer's Error chronicles some of the strangest and most humorous episodes in the history of Western printing. Take, for example, the Gutenberg Bible. While the book is regarded as the first printed work in the Western world, Gutenberg's name doesn't appear anywhere on it.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Porn for Ye Old Bibliophiles
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Dream Year
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 322
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 281
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Story4 out of 5 stars 277
What if someone could guide you, step-by-step, as you identify, plan, and launch your dream career - in just one year. That's what Ben Arment does in his transformative coaching class, which has helped hundreds of people reinvent their lives to enjoy greater enthusiasm and fulfillment while also making a living. Now he's sharing his best insights, advice, and inspiring true stories in Dream Year. You'll find out how people just like you are discovering (or rediscovering) what they were truly born to do, then following a proven process to make it real.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Motivational!
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By: Ben Arment
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The Stephen King Companion
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- By: George Beahm
- Narrated by: Fleet Cooper, Claire Christie
- Length: 24 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 77
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 67
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 66
The Stephen King Companion is an authoritative look at horror author King's personal life and professional career, from Carrie to The Bazaar of Bad Dreams. King expert George Beahm, who has published extensively about Maine's main author, is your seasoned guide to the imaginative world of Stephen King, covering his varied and prodigious output: juvenalia, short fiction, limited edition books, best-selling novels, and film adaptations.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Kingopedia: Books, Movies, Bio and Art
- By tru britty on 02-28-16
By: George Beahm
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Sly Flourish's The Lazy Dungeon Master
- By: Michael E. Shea
- Narrated by: Colby Elliott
- Length: 2 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 586
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 501
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 487
You love Dungeons and Dragons. As an experienced dungeon master, you've run dozens, if not hundreds of games. You put a lot of work into making your games great. What if there's another way to look at how you prepare your game? What if it turned out you could spend less time and less energy and have a better game as a result? It's time to unleash the Lazy Dungeon Master.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Helpful tips for Dungeon Masters
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By: Michael E. Shea
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Death of the Territories
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 329
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 285
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 280
By creating WrestleMania, jumping into the pay-per-view field, and expanding across North America, Vince McMahon changed professional wrestling forever.
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4 out of 5 stars
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An Enjoyable Listen
- By Casey on 03-21-19
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The Starfish and the Spider
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,079
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 806
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 805
If you cut off a spider's leg, it's crippled; if you cut off its head, it dies. But if you cut off a starfish's leg it grows a new one, and the old leg can grow into an entirely new starfish. The Starfish and the Spider argues that organizations fall into two categories: "spiders", which have a rigid hierarchy, and "starfish", which rely on the power of peer relationships.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Centralized and decentralized models
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Trade-Off
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 52
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 30
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 30
In Trade-Off, Kevin Maney shows how these conflicting forces determine the success, or failure, of new products and services in the marketplace. He shows that almost every decision we make as consumers involves a trade-off between fidelity and convenience between the products we love and the products we need.
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4 out of 5 stars
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No Trade-Offs for Reading Trade-Off
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Group Genius
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- By: Keith Sawyer
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 80
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 47
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 48
In this authoritative and fascinating new audiobook, Keith Sawyer, a psychologist at Washington University, tears down some of the most popular myths about creativity and erects new principles in their place. He reveals that creativity is always collaborative: even when you're alone. Sawyer's audiobook is filled with compelling stories about the inventions that changed our world.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Worth reading
- By Glenn on 12-29-10
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Alibaba
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 3,117
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,675
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Story4 out of 5 stars 2,667
In just a decade and a half, Jack Ma, a man from modest beginnings who started out as an English teacher, founded Alibaba and built it into one of the world's largest companies, an e-commerce empire on which hundreds of millions of Chinese consumers depend. Alibaba's $25 billion IPO in 2014 was the largest global IPO ever. A Rockefeller of his age who is courted by CEOs and presidents around the world, Jack is an icon for China's booming private sector.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Strange: Best part of story happens "off-screen"
- By Tristan on 09-02-16
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The Strategist
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 119
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 99
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Story4 out of 5 stars 98
Based on an acclaimed professor's legendary strategy course at Harvard Business School, The Strategist offers a radically new perspective on a leader's most vital role. "Are you a strategist?" That's the first question Cynthia Montgomery asks the business owners and senior executives from all over the world who participate in her highly regarded executive education course. It's not a question they anticipate, but by the time the program ends, they cannot imagine leading their companies to success without being - and living the role of - a strategist.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Slow going with an odd narrative tone
- By Benson Bumpkin on 08-06-12
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What listeners say about Designers & Dragons: The 80s
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Rev. Zombie
- 03-30-21
Not For Everyone, But Perfect For What It Is
This second volume in Appelcline's Designers & Dragons gives us an in-depth and incredibly well-researched look at those companies that appeared during the Golden Age of the RPG Industry. Tabletop gamers who want a peek at what actually transpired at the time, why some games and companies failed, where they ended up, the people behind it, the lawsuits, the mismanagement, bad luck, and what trends steered the exploding 80's gaming market should pick this up. It's a must for any gamer who wants the history of the hobby.
I look forward to the release of the 3rd book. I only wish Audible listed this as a series. As of now, it appears like "The 70's" and "The 80's" are two separate books and not Books 1 and 2 of the Designers & Dragons Series.
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