GoG has brought back MANY blasts from the past for me and as I build my library, I've noticed how different genres have evolved differently over the years.

Playing older strategy games, I realize they had the easiest start because many early video games were just digital translations of existing combat systems. I've sunk quite a few hours into Sid Meir's Alpha Centauri lately, though I doubt I'll ever match the hours I spent on it back in the day. It holds up quite well, the largest improvements needed to be modernized are graphical.

Shooters, on the other hand, have made enormous strides in gameplay in the last thirty years. I tend to favor RPGish shooters like Bioshocks, (System Shock 2 honorable mention!!) and Farcries but I enjoyed the Battlefield 1 campaign. Doom and System Shock would just be nostalgic headaches. Literally.

D&D was a natural fit for PC games, with a premade system of most everything, ready to be coded.

Anyway, what are your thoughts on how videogame genres have evolved and what might make some interesting blends or crossovers between different genres.

Personally, I'd love to see a football game that played like one of the infinity games. Build different squads on each team to handle different situations. Have the option to input a play and tweak player instructions then run the play or you can pause and give orders before resuming.

i'm still waiting for a good 'commander' evolution in terms of tactical engagements in what/ever large scaled tactics or strategic title

Examples are 'Total War Rome 2', where you could put parts or even your whole force under AI control with simple orders. Defend this/Attack that

Another example might be how forces in 'CoH' would look for cover without you having to order them.

A grand example of how this might work out is 'Command Ops 2' though i imagine a simpler UI then that game has to offer.

All in all, strategy titles up to this day seem to include too much 'interference' that take too much away from a 'pure' tactical player commander experience

Another approach might be such as you can find in "Gratuitous Space Battles." It would be nice to design a fleet armada armed with a set of specific orders that can be adjusted to handle a variety of encounters. Different parts with different area's of interest and that would be able to hold cohesion in a dynamic environment ....

but that might be a tad to much

though, when i was experimenting in 'Distant Worlds 2' .... boy ... did it come close some times .. but again, to much personal control

I'm most interested in the evolution of CRPGs (which I take to include both JRPGs and WRPGs, along with what I call proto-RPGs).

* In some early CRPGs, you see some blatant copying of AD&D. For instance, the healing spells in Wizardry are basically taken almost verbatim from AD&D, resulting in what I call the healing discontinuity to be copied. (MADI is so much more powerful than the rather weak healing spell just one level lower, and there's those two consecutive spell levels earlier with no upgrades to the pathetically weak healing spell you stat with.) Or Final Fantasy 1, with spells that resemble AD&D spells (SABR resembles Tenser's Transformation, while BLND resembles Power Word, Blind; neither spell is particularly useful (aside from Saber via Giant's Glove in remakes).

* The early Ultimas are examples of what I consider proto-RPGs; many of the mechanics people have come to expect in RPGs aren't present there. Leveling up does nothimg (except Ultima 1 requiring it for main quest progression), stat growth is done through unusual methods, and even HP doesn't work the same way; you buy HP from the king (or are awarded it for leaving a dungeon), and there's no separate max HP, meaning no healing in the usual sense.

* The original Dragon Quest is not a typical JRPG; I'd actually consider it a proto-RPG, albeit with more of the genre's core mechanics (like max HP and XP-based leveling) established. Thing is, the game has some elements, like locked doors opened by consumable keys and dark dungeons you need a torch or light spell to light up, that are more typical of early WRPGs. Furthermore, the game is a non-linear open-world game, with the only thing preventing you from going almost anywhere right away is the strength of the monsters that your level 1 character has no chance (barring RNG manipulation) of getting past. (Only other JRPG with consumable keys I know if is Final Fantasy 3, and even then you can bypass the need for them with a thief.)

* To my understanding, RPGs didn't really focus on dialog prior to Ultima 4's release.

* The subgenres diverged even further in the mid to late 1990s, though both in ways I don't like. With Final Fantasy 7, you get an extremely linear game with tons of cutscenes and flashy (but long) summon animations. With Baldur's Gate, you see WRPGs basically abandoning turn-based combat until the release of Divinity: Original Sin much later; rare exceptions are Wizardry 8 and Temple of Elemental Evil.