groby

If game programming is your interest, you might want to also look at Scott Bilas presentation for a "data-driven object system": http://www.drizzle.com/~scottb/gdc/game-objects.ppt

They implemented pretty much what Steve is describing for Dungeon Siege. (Presentation was in 2002, so they started on it probably around 2000. Take that for "no earlier references", Steve ;)

I vaguely recall that Thief used a similar system, too. There's also at least on "NextGen" game that uses that system that I'm aware of. It's pretty powerful (and makes it incredibly easy to shoot yourself in the foot)

As for the "Chieftain" example - it's usually solved by providing multiple prototypes for an object. With all the ensuing uglyness.