Editing GURPS (section)

== Development and publication ==
[[File:Steve jackson at lucca games 2006.jpg|thumb|''GURPS'' creator [[Steve Jackson (American game designer)|Steve Jackson]] in 2006|left]]

The immediate mechanical antecedents of ''GURPS'' were Steve Jackson's microgames ''[[Melee (game)|Melee]]'' and ''[[Wizard (board game)|Wizard]]'', both published by [[Metagaming Concepts]], which eventually combined them along with another Jackson game, ''[[In The Labyrinth (supplement)|In the Labyrinth]]'', to form ''[[The Fantasy Trip]]'' (''TFT''), an early role-playing game.<ref name="dragon" /> Several of the core concepts of ''GURPS'' first appeared in ''TFT'', including the inclusion of Strength, Dexterity and Intelligence as the core abilities scores of each character.

By April 1984, the core rules for ''GURPS'' (at that point referred to as the "Great Unnamed Universal Role-Playing System") was being playtested in preparation for a GURPS question-and-answer seminar at Origins 1984 in Dallas.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Jackson |first=Steve |date=April–May 1984 |title=GURPS Update |magazine=Fantasy Gamer |issue=5 |page=32 |issn=0740-3429}}</ref> The combat system for GURPS was published in 1985 as ''[[Steve Jackson's Man to Man|Man to Man: Fantasy Combat from GURPS]]'' to meet the deadline for Origins 1985<ref name="designers">{{Cite book |last=Appelcline |first=Shannon |title=Designers & Dragons |publisher=Mongoose Publishing |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-907702-58-7}}</ref> and was followed up later that year by the adventure supplement ''Orcslayer''.[[file:Gurps1.jpg|thumb|upright|''GURPS'' first edition box set]]

The ''Basic GURPS'' set was published in 1986 and 1987 and included two booklets, one for developing characters and one for Adventuring.

In 1990 ''GURPS'' intersected part of the [[hacker (computer security)|hacker]] subculture<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sterling |first=Bruce |url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/101 |title=The Hacker Crackdown |date=November 1, 1993 |publisher=[[Bantam Books]] |author-link=Bruce Sterling}}</ref> when the company's [[Austin, Texas|Austin]], Texas, offices were [[SJ Games vs. The Secret Service|raided]] by the [[United States Secret Service|Secret Service]]. The target was the author of ''[[GURPS Cyberpunk]]'' in relation to [[E911]] Emergency Response system documents stolen from [[Bell South]].<ref name="ssincident">{{Cite web |title=SJ Games vs. the Secret Service |url=http://www.sjgames.com/SS/}}</ref> The incident was a direct contributor to the founding of the [[Electronic Frontier Foundation]]. A common misconception holds that this raid was part of [[Operation Sundevil]] and carried out by the [[FBI]]. Operation: Sundevil was in action at the same time, but it was completely separate.<ref name="sundevil">{{Cite web |title=The top ten media errors about the SJ Games raid (#6) |url=http://www.sjgames.com/SS/topten.html}}</ref> See ''[[Steve Jackson Games, Inc. v. United States Secret Service]]''.

The 1995 supplement ''[[GURPS Illuminati University]]'' introduced [[Agatha Heterodyne]], the character who would go on to star in the popular comic series ''[[Girl Genius]]'' in 2001.

A free [[PDF]] version of the ''GURPS'' rules was released in 1998 as ''[[GURPS Lite]]''. This limited ruleset was also included with various books such as ''[[GURPS Discworld]]'' and ''[[Transhuman Space]]''.

Steve Jackson Games released ''GURPS Fourth Edition'' at the first day of [[Gen Con]] on August 19, 2004. It promised to simplify and streamline most areas of play and character creation. The changes include modification of the attribute point adjustments, an edited and rationalized skill list, clarification of the differences between abilities from experience and from inborn talent, more detailed language rules, and revised technology levels. Designed by [[Sean Punch]], the Fourth Edition is sold as two full-color hardcover books as well as in the PDF format.<ref name="rpgnet1">{{Cite web |last=Muadib |first=Rob |date=November 22, 2004 |title=GURPS Fourth Edition Characters & Campaigns Review |url=http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/10/10852.phtml |access-date=2008-12-08 |website=website |publisher=RPGNet.com |type=review}}</ref>