We do link the lovely folks at Armchair Arcade here on GSW sometimes, and thanks to a deal with AA's Matt Barton, we've published 'The History of Computer Role-Playing Games Part 2: The Golden Age (1985-1993)' over on Gamasutra.

Barton particularly notes: "Nowadays, it's all too easy to look at games like The Bard's Tale, Quest of the Avatar, Bane of the Cosmic Forge, The Pool of Radiance, Wasteland, or even Dungeon Master and wonder what all the fuss was about. Nevertheless, these are the games that led directly to the modern CRPG, and no one who enjoys the latest Elder Scrolls, Diablo, or Dungeon Siege should fail to doff his cap to Wizard's Crown and Alternate Reality."

Honestly, I think that Barton knows more about this subject matter than almost anyone out there - we also reprinted Part 1, about CRPGs from 1980 to 1983, which originally ran on Armchair Arcade, and we're planning to publish at least one more article from him in the near future, on the "Platinum Age," which "...will cover all classics I promised above and many more like Baldur's Gate and The Elder Scrolls, as well as Diablo and Planescape: Torment."