The world of role-playing games began in the 1970s. The game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) was a further adaptation of Gary Gygax's earlier medieval war game Chainmail. D&D added role-playing; players were now free to imagine the settings, characters, and events that were happening. The trend for role-playing games boomed in the 1980s and '90s, and, most importantly, began to influence computer game design as well. Game designers quickly learned that computers were ideal platforms for role-playing games and many of the classics can now be played as part of a MMORPG--a Massively Multiplayer On-Line Role Playing Game. Role-playing games, and Dungeons & Dragons in particular, drew criticism from some who misunderstood the fantasy concept. But these games changed the nature of play for older children and adults and pave the way for many computer games that followed.