This could conceivably go in Other Games, but since it was D&D that got me into RPG games, which in turn lead me to computer gaming, I thought I'd note it here.
Please join me in raising a flagon of dwarven mead to the man's memory.
QuoteMILWAUKEE - Gary Gygax, who co-created the fantasy game Dungeons & Dragons and helped start the role-playing phenomenon, died Tuesday morning at his home in Lake Geneva. He was 69.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080304/ap_en_ot/obit_gygax (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080304/ap_en_ot/obit_gygax)
I've often said that my many years as a DM (or GM depending on your point of view; my group called it DM even for non-D&D games) was the best, most fulfilling thing I have ever done. It still is, despite my numerous other creative accomplishments. If I could have made a living just thinking up and running RPG sessions I would have.
*takes up his harp and sings a lay to guide Mr. Gygax to his rest in a mound beyond the farthest reaches of the horizon*
She is far from the land, where her young hero sleeps,
And lovers are round her, sighing;
But coldly she turns from their gaze, and weeps,
For her heart in his grave is lying!
She sings the wild song of her dear native plains,
Every note which he lov'd awaking --
Ah! little they think, who delight in her strains,
How the heart of the Minstrel is breaking!
He had lov'd for his love, for his country he died,
They were all that to life had entwin'd him, --
Nor soon shall the tears of his country be dried,
Nor long will his love stay behind him.
O! make her a grave, where the sun-beams rest,
When they promise a glorious morrow;
They'll shine o'er her sleep, like a smile from the West,
From her own lov'd Island of Sorrow!
ow_tiobe_sb
Phantom Bunburyist and Fop o' th' Morning
I know very little of the man himself, but have spent more than a few pleasant evenings playing some derivation of his D+D stuff, (despite an initial prejudice against it).
So yeah, this is sad news.
RIP, Gary Gygax.
As a tribute to this co-creator of D&D, I shall share a story a friend of mine told.
Said friend of mine met Gary Gygax at a Renaissance Fair convention. Now, this friend of mine also enjoyed playing D&D, and also thoroughly enjoyed participating in the combat tournaments held at such events.
The friend of mine had a friendly bone to pick with Mr. Gygax on the topic of polearms. You see, the various D&D rulebooks had an inordinate amount of detail dedicated to the varied and sundry polearms, but universally stated that polearms, being long reach weapons, could not be used against someone who got within their reach with a shorter weapon.
My friend disputed this claim. Mr. Gygax, fancying himself a Ren-fair weapons tournament fighter, gladly accepted. Weapons were chosen - a polearm for my friend, and a close-range melee weapon for Mr. Gygax. Mr. Gygax quickly darted in close to my friend, thinking to end the duel quickly.
Whereupon my friend took the shaft of the weapon lengthwise and rammed it into the face of Mr. Gygax, giving him a nose most bloody.
Mr. Gygax was agreeably chastened by this lesson in polearm tactics. But he still never changed the polearm rules while he had any say in the matter.
I think pretty much everyone underestimates the influence Gary Gygax has had. D&D was the forerunner of all the pnp rpgs any of us are likely to have played, and ultimately all the computer rpgs, as well. Freedom Froce would never have existed without Mr. Gygax. The world would have been a noticeably different place- these games, while played by a relatively small subset of the total population, have had a huge impact on fantasy, sci-fi, and other genres.
Gary Gygax was/is the father of all of us geeks posting here . period.
Sad news indeed =( he shall be missed.
I agree, B A D. There was a time when I had more publications authored by Gary Gygax on my shelves than by anyone else, not counting periodicals. He's probably still in the top ten.
BTW, good Moore pick ow_tiobe_sb. Gygax may now be far from the land, but maybe he's closer to Greyhawk.
---
AL GORE: To my left, you'll recognize Gary Gygax, inventor of Dungeons and Dragons.
GYGAX: Greetings! It's a ... <short pause while GYGAX rolls dice and looks at result> ... pleasure to meet you!
Futurama, "Anthology of Interest"
Quote from: Alaric on March 04, 2008, 03:22:23 PM
I think pretty much everyone underestimates the influence Gary Gygax has had. D&D was the forerunner of all the pnp rpgs any of us are likely to have played, and ultimately all the computer rpgs, as well. Freedom Froce would never have existed without Mr. Gygax. The world would have been a noticeably different place- these games, while played by a relatively small subset of the total population, have had a huge impact on fantasy, sci-fi, and other genres.
So what you're saying is, he lured millions of children over to the devil.
Gotcha.
Yeah - every geek who's ever played an RPG of any color or stripe owes a hearty thanks to this man! Sad news . . .
I've kind of been expecting it really but I don't know why. The other board I hang out at is the Troll Lord forum where Mister Gygax was a regular under the name of Col Playdoh. I never had correspondence with him outside of one or two postings but he seemed like a very nice man. There's a lot of stuff by other gamers here: http://www.freeyabb.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=4373&mforum=trolllordgames
You can also read many posts by him on the website.
A sad day indeed.
Something to think about: unlike, say, video games which required the invention of a particular technology before they could exist, D&D uses nothing but dice, paper, and imagination. As such it could have been invented anytime in the last 100, or even 500 years. But nobody did invent it until Gygax & co. came along. That's the mark of real innovation--not just exploiting some tiny technical innovation, but instead uncovering something that was possible all along and saying, "Hey, why don't you do this?"
I'm sorry to hear that, the man was a true pioneer.
R.I.P. - He brought a lot of happiness for us geeks.
Bummer, man. Truely a sad day.
Having played my share of role playing games, i'd like to pay my respects to Gygax as well.
Truly a sad day :(
In tribute to the great and pioneering system of medieval life...
I'm searching his body.
Quote from: Protomorph on March 04, 2008, 10:12:31 PM
Truly a sad day :(
In tribute to the great and pioneering system of medieval life...
I'm searching his body.
:roll: :roll: :roll:
I guess I'll check under the bed. :P
Quote from: Protomorph on March 04, 2008, 10:12:31 PM
I'm searching his body.
To use a "Raise dead "?
yes, he shall be missed.
Yeah, but he'd lose a level, and so he'd lose all those DM-ing skill points.
Oh, please. you just KNOW everything on him is either gonna be cursed or trapped....
http://ccinsider.comedycentral.com/cc_insider/2008/03/rip-gary-gygax.html
D&D influenced not only standard RPGs, but the entire computer RPG genre. Without Gygax's work, CRPGs and MMOs may not have been spawned.
I met many of my best friends through RPG related stuff. It feels like he died too young.
Between my previous D&D fixation and my ongoing interest in RPG computer games, he's definitely made an impact. Sad to hear it.
Descansa en paz compadre.
(http://suitablyflip.blogs.com/suitably_flip/files/vpar.jpg)
the action rangers have lost a loyal member RIP
I had a toast to this last night with the only guy in the bar who could understand.
Stephen Colbert did a little tribute to him at the end of the show. It was funny. That's a funny show.
This is pretty sad. I don't RP much, but without DnD, we might not have millions of other games like MTG, and then I'd not be able to play MTG as much as I do.
Some fun tributes I found in the online comics I read
http://xkcd.com/393/
http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0536.html
(for those who don't read OTS: the guy in blue is currently dead and in the celestial plane until someone can resurrect his body. He knows he's an RPG character and is aware of rules and such)
Quote from: Volsung on March 05, 2008, 01:27:08 AM
Quote from: Protomorph on March 04, 2008, 10:12:31 PM
I'm searching his body.
To use a "Raise dead "?
yes, he shall be missed.
At the risk of being overly uber-geeky....I think a "resurrect" spell would be a better choice if you have someone that is a high enough level to cast it. A "raise dead" spell does not alleviate decay of the body (as I recall...pee-ewwwwwwww!!!). LOL!!!
*agreeing with everyone else* He was a pioneer and he will be missed!