RPG legend Ken Rolston retires
by Alan Rose 
{ May 25th 2006 at 12:20PM }
If you're an RPG gamer, there's a good chance Ken Rolston has had an impact on the many nights you and your buddies have spent engrossed in tabletop and online adventures. From pen and paper classics such as Dungeons & Dragons, Stormbringer, and Warhammer to that copy of Oblivion you're enjoying today, Rolston's contributions to the role-playing genre have been monumental. Rolston's most recent work has been at Bethesda Softworks, where he acted as lead designer on Morrowind, and played a significant part in the development of Oblivion. The latter will end up making an appropriate swan song, as he's decided to call it quits after decades of leveling up through the industry. Read [H] Consumer's interview with Ken to find out what his fondest achievement is, as well as his thoughts on the evolution of RPGs. You'll be missed, Ken!
[via TeamXbox]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Fods @ May 25th 2006 12:33PM
We salut you Ken Rolston! i know i have and many of my friends have enjoyed the work you've contributed too!
Enjoy retirement!
Cloud @ May 25th 2006 12:34PM
Hmmm... Do I retire this year or next year? *rolls a di* ehh... i'm tired of rolling dices, il just retire already.
Nintendo Kiddy @ May 25th 2006 12:46PM
Good riddence I say! This bum never made a nintendo game like the great myamoto. And we all know nintendo is the only company that makes great games that all my friends play after school. No one but old people play pc anymore.
Nintendo for teh wiin.
rpg_man @ May 25th 2006 1:10PM
You're a typical Nintendo fanboy, Nintendo Kiddy.
"Wiiii, look at me! I'm playing with my friends Kirby, Mario, Princess Peach, and Pikachu!" How old are you?
Drizzt would kick Link's ass and carve him into a million pieces. That's why Nintendo is in dead last place where they will remain.
Jouten Za @ May 25th 2006 1:20PM
3. Good riddence I say! This bum never made a nintendo game like the great myamoto. And we all know nintendo is the only company that makes great games that all my friends play after school. No one but old people play pc anymore.
Nintendo for teh wiin.
Posted at 12:46PM on May 25th 2006 by Nintendo Kiddy 0 stars
And he still has zero stars...
Yeah, it's the bad apples like Nintendo Kiddy that make fanboys look really bad, really.
Mr. Rolston, thank you for your contribution to gaming and for the legacy you shall leave behind. Way to go!
Tony @ May 25th 2006 1:28PM
Good job Ken Rolston good game to go out on oblivion is. To Nintendo Kiddy Im a huce nintendo fan yet I own 3 games desined by Ken Rolston. So STFU
Saxon @ May 25th 2006 1:42PM
And he still has zero stars...
Posted at 1:20PM on May 25th 2006 by Jouten Za -1 stars
Not that I disagree with you, Jouten, but who's knocking who about stars? :)
Nintendo Kiddy @ May 25th 2006 1:50PM
Ha listen to all the old people chiming in about their crappy pc games. Everyone knows nintendo is the best for gaming of all time. Just look at DS sales. You cant fit a pc in your pocket and none of my friends want to play this dead guy's crappy games. Everyone wants to play mario.
Nintendo for teh wiin.
Nintendo Kiddy @ May 25th 2006 2:26PM
Now shigeru is a real genius. He's going to get a nobel prize for all the great games he made and changed peoples lives. Not like this bum who is already forgotten.
Nintendo = teh wiin.
rpg_man @ May 25th 2006 2:35PM
Hey kiddy, your response just goes to show how ignorant you are (and incapable of basic reading comprehension). Rolston's not dead, he's just retired.
If you're into portable gaming, the DS is fine, but for RPGs, Nintendo flat out sucks. PC, Xbox, and PS2 is where it's at in that genre. Come to think of it, Nintendon't is void of any decent racing, fighting, sports, or shooter games. Guess you're stuck with your little fairies, Mario and Link.
Dirk Dorkelson @ May 25th 2006 2:41PM
Man, Paranoia was a super fun RPG. I think I only played it once (I discovered it near the end of my run as a pen-and-paper gamer). But I used to occasionally buy the products because they were even fun to just read. I'd never have guessed that the guy behind that was also the guy behind Morrowind.
Actually, Paranoia would make a great MMORPG:
"Set in a future underground city ruled by an insane Computer, PARANOIA casts players as Troubleshooters charged to hunt traitorous mutants and members of secret societies -- but each player is, himself, secretly a mutant and a secret society member. The game turned traditional roleplaying on its head by motivating players to betray each other at every opportunity. Ken established a sardonic, high-spirited tone for PARANOIA that made it a huge bestseller throughout the 1980s."
Also omitted from there is that everyone is required to be happy at all times, and if you're not, you can be executed. Wikipedia has a good entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranoia_%28role-playing_game%29
Nintendo Kiddy @ May 25th 2006 2:46PM
#10, dont be stupid. This guy is dead to the world just like he always was. You have to make great franchises like donkey kong and mario to be great. And nintendo has the best rpg ever called zelda you tit.
Nintendo = teh wiin.
mmik @ May 25th 2006 2:58PM
have none of you strategic thinkers figured out that nintendo kiddy is not a fanboy, he's a troll?
leveled_up @ May 25th 2006 3:29PM
Hey Nintendo kiddy idiot,
PC/PS/Xbox = Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Icewind Dale, Elder Scrolls, Thief, Dark Alliance, Champions of Norrath, Final Fantasy, Assassin's Creed, etc., etc.
Your crappy Nintendo console = Link (whoa!)
I rest my case.
John H. @ May 25th 2006 4:34PM
On fanboyism: #3 is bad. But #4 is worse.
Ken Rolston sticks out in my mind as one of those names at the top of the cover my beloved Second Edition Paranoia manual. The man should be eligable for sainthood upon his untimely death, for that alone.
darko82 @ May 25th 2006 5:40PM
Do you people know how to read? The guy isn't dead!! He retired. Sheesh.
Ibere @ May 25th 2006 5:54PM
I can't believe people are taking Nintendo Kiddy seriously, he's obvisouly a caricature of a Nintendo Fanboy!
It says a lot about fanboys, when people can't differentiate a person pretending to be a fanboy and a real one.
Unlike Me @ May 25th 2006 6:34PM
God, what is this nintendo kid doing dissing a great man? He helped create of the best franchises ever (Elder Scrolls)
And to the person that said ''Link = woah'', I agree, although Ocarina of Time was amazing, the other games mostly sucked, okay, afew Gameboy games were good too, but from the huge uproar and massive dissapointment of Wind Waker (I think it sold less that 1m), I don't tink Twilights gonna be a big hit, unless it doesn't suck and rapes like Ocarina of time.
Yoshiboi @ May 25th 2006 6:45PM
Great, I now feel ashamed to be a Nintendo Fanboy. Nintendo Kiddy, can you please stop acting like a persistant 9 year old? You're contributing nothing for Nintendo and you're making the Nintendo Fanboys look bad, please stop, now.
Ken was an awesome man, I enjoy playing Oblivion alot, thanks Ken!
Mark Fiorillo @ Jun 9th 2006 12:21PM
Ken Rolston will always be remembered to Dungeons & Dragons players for the most mind melting adventure ever written, "The Lost Island Of Castanamir." Anyone who has ever played it still wakes up in the middle of the night with cold sweats.
Thank you Ken Rolston for giving me something to discuss with my psychiatrist.