I'm probably one of the rare one's here that played D&D when it first came out and for many years after. Gary put such a mark on RP gaming that it will be felt for a long, long time. And certainly MMO's might either not be around or would be very different if it wasn't for his influence. Rest well Gary.
ary Gygax, one of the co-creators of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, died Tuesday morning at his home in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, according to Stephen Chenault, CEO of Troll Lord Games.
Gygax designed the original D&D game with Dave Arneson in 1974, and went on to create the Dangerous Journeys and Lejendary Adventure RPGs, as well as a number of board games. He also wrote several fantasy novels.
"I don't think I've really grokked it yet," said Mike Mearls, the lead developer of the upcoming 4th edition of Dungeons and Dragons. "He was like the cool uncle that every gamer had. He shaped an entire generation of gamers."
Gygax was not directly involved with Dungeons & Dragons after 1985, and his relationship with his former company, TSR Inc., was not friendly at first. The company sued him over his competing game Dangerous Journeys, and in a 2004 interview with GameSpy he stated that he was "pleased to say" that he thought the cost of the suit and settlement drove TSR to sell the rights to the game.
While reportedly unimpressed with the current edition of the Dungeons and Dragons game, he created adventures and settings that could be used with it, which were published by Troll Lord Games.
Gygax went well beyond the role of game developer and became an icon to gamers, appearing as himself in episodes of Futurama and Code Monkeys and participating in discussions on roleplaying-related message boards.
Gygax had been in poor health for some time, according to his wife Gail. Chenault says he will publish more information, including funeral arrangements, on the Troll Lord message board as it becomes available.
source: http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/03/report-gary-gyg.html
I was really bummed to hear this yesterday. I spent many an hours playing D&D. My favorite RPG memories are almost all from D&D.
RIP Gary.
Duffster
Some of my best friends I still have today were met in college where we played D&D together 2-3 nights a week. I still have a copy of the original Unearthed Arcana signed by Gary Gygax. Sad news.
(http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2008/20080304.jpg)
That's a very cool picture. Very nice tribute.
It's from the guys at Penny Arcade, I liked it alot.