The Mad Overlord speaks on episode 162

The history of one of the most influential of RPGs ever, as told by its co-creator.

Like last month's Ultima conversation and interview with Richard Garriott, this week's episode ties in with the monthly RPG evolution series I'm currently writing for USgamer. The second chapter of that saga concerns the influential dungeon-crawler Wizardry, a game whose influence lives on not only through the various contemporary "official" Wizardry spinoffs being published in Japan but also in the likes of Etrian Odyssey and Shin Megami Tensei: Strange Journey Redux. Wizardry directly inspired Dragon Quest. It is, quite simply, one of the most important and inspirational games ever made. 

And this week's episode consists entirely of an interview with one of the two men responsible for its creation: Robert Woodhead, also sometimes known as Trebor the Mad Overlord.

There's no studio segment this time, as Robert was kind enough to sit down for a full recording session and share anecdotes and memories about the origins of Wizardry. No doubt this material old hat to him, but for myself (and I'm sure many others!), it's a fascinating look at the earliest days of computing and a tribute to the importance of PLATO, a networked computing platform that shaped the careers of many game designers. 

So: Enjoy! And huge thanks to Robert for taking the time to participate in this episode.

Retronauts Episode 162
Wizardry: Podcast Chat of the Mad Overlord
MP3, 50.4 MB | 1:45:04

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Episode description: Jeremy talks to Wizardry programmer Robert Woodhead about the history and inspirations behind his influential all-time role-playing classic.