1997 shows two genres growing outward in different directions — one toward broader mainstream appeal, one toward deeper narrative ambition.
Age of Empires Brings History to Real-Time Strategy
Ensemble Studios' Age of Empires took the real-time strategy formula popularized by Command & Conquer and Warcraft and grounded it in actual human history, letting players advance a civilization through recognizable ages rather than a fictional war. That familiarity — real civilizations, real technological progression — broadened the genre's appeal well beyond players already invested in sci-fi or fantasy settings.
Fallout Proves Consequences Can Be the Point
Interplay's Fallout took the CRPG in a different direction: a post-apocalyptic setting where dialogue choices and skill builds could meaningfully change how situations resolved, sometimes allowing entire quests to be avoided, talked through or violently ended depending on player choice. It argued that a role-playing game's core pleasure could be consequence and reactivity, not just combat and loot.
Two Forms of Ambition
Age of Empires expanded who real-time strategy could appeal to. Fallout expanded what a role-playing game's story could actually do. Neither approach is "bigger" than the other — they represent genre growth in two entirely different directions during the same twelve months.
1997's Place in the Archive
Browse the full 1997 catalogue by year, and see Best 90s PC RPGs for how Fallout's choice-driven design compares to other role-playing games of the decade.
