When you play video games, what types of games do you play? Do you enjoy creative, imaginative games like Minecraft? Or are sports or racing games more your style? 

Another popular kind of video game is the role-playing game (RPG). Although RPGs may combine many elements from other types of games, the key aspect of an RPG is that, as a player, you assume the role of a specific character. Whether you're in a fantasy, historical or modern-day setting, you interact with the game's imaginary world as if you were the character you play.

Fascinating as modern role-playing video games are, they all have a very low-technology origin: the pen and paper tabletop (桌面) game Dungeons and Dragons (D&D). Created by Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax in 1974, D&D was the first RPG. Even though it wasn't electronic, it had all the characteristics that RPGs have become known for: interesting characters, classes, abilities, races, and experience points. D&D players used pencils, paper, books and dice (骰子). They used their imagination to create attractive storylines (故事情节) and, perhaps most importantly, had a lot of real, face-to-face social interaction with their friends. D&D set the stage for all the RPGs that would follow. Now, high-tech RPGs have become the choice of most young people. However, D&D is still played today by many despite the prevalence of the high-tech video games.

Players of RPGs usually focus on how much fun they have playing the game. However, besides all that fun, they are also learning a variety of skills that will help them in school and their future careers. RPGs require a lot of reading, so they definitely help improve reading skills. Developing imaginative storylines for characters requires a high level of creativity. As players develop their storytelling skills, they also learn how to think critically and solve problems as part of a team. Face-to-face interaction with friends also improves social skills.