Akalabeth: World of Doom, Richard Garriott’s predecessor to the modern RPG, will be among GOG.com’s permanent collection of free games beginning December 24 (10am CET).

Akalabeth: World of Doom was the blueprint for epic fantasies and role-playing classics to come, both in gameplay mechanics and backstory. As either a fighter or mage, you set out to explore the once-peaceful lands polluted by foul beasts roaming the deep, dark dungeons. When exploring the grid-based underworld the view switches to first-person, fighting more powerful monsters and collecting better loot the deeper you go.

The game was created 35 years ago by Richard Garriot - now known to the gaming world as Lord British - for the Apple II personal computer. Originally, the creator wrote Akalabeth for his own entertainment but was persuaded by a friend at a local computer store to try selling it. Garriot proceeded to copy the disks and put them into resealable bags with instruction sheets. It was cutting edge tech for the time, as Lord British’s previous excursions into game development required an acoustic modem and paper tape punch/reader.

To celebrate the impact of this historic title the DRM-free digital distributor is putting the entire Ultima saga on sale at up to 80% off. The promotion lasts until Friday, December 26, at 9:59am CET.