A computer game where participants assume the role of some character in a fantasy environment, which is often in a medieval or futuristic setting. Players can move freely throughout the venue, and like many video games, can migrate to new levels with more capabilities.
In the 1970s, Dungeons was the first role-playing game (RPG), modeled after the table top Dungeons and Dragons. Such games were played as text only on a mainframe or Unix machine, although the PLATO system offered some graphical alternatives. Today's RPGs exploit the high-speed graphics capabilities of modern computers to the fullest. See
MMORPG.