The father of roleplaying, Gary Gygax, dead at 69
Category: Industry, Posted: 03/04/2008 at 02:07PM CST by Brendon Lindsey, Editor-in-Chief
Anyone who has ever played an RPG game owes Gary Gygax a debt of gratitude. A co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons (and several later roleplaying games), Gygax helped establish roleplaying games long before videogames existed.
These days, it's hard to find an RPG that hasn't taken something from D&D; and there's no questioning the genre was initially formed based upon mimicking the D&D game in computer form.
Earlier this morning, reports came out that Gary Gygax had passed away. It comes as no surprise given the state of his health-in 2004 he suffered two strokes, in 2006 he almost had a heart attack, and he was diagnosed with an inoperable abdominal aortic aneurysm-but it's still a sad day for gaming.
Much like many of the early pioneers who helped bring gaming mainstream, Gygax is widely unknown by today's gamers. With people like Miyamoto and Kojima being praised for their creations in the videogame arena, those who led the way for the videogame burst of the late 70s and 80s are often forgotten.
So for those of you who love roleplaying games, or for those of you who have ever played any game which uses the D&D system, take a moment of you time today and remember the man who made them possible, and imagine what gaming would be lacking without his influence.
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Wow, I remember playing D&D in middle school. Rest in peace, Gary. You won't be needing these any more. (Takes mithril armor and dragon sword. Strength bonus +4) It's the way he would have wanted it.
My buddy first introduced me to D&D after school one day. I though it was kind of ridiculous playing with these little figures and dice. He was the dungeon master of the game. But an hour or two later, I was still playing.
I never could have imagined that Gygax's game would have had such a big influence on my gaming future. As these old pioneers of gaming start to fade away, it is sad that they haven't gotten the acclaim and acknowledgments for what they have contributed to the game industry. But regardless, I am indebted to Gygax for getting me into RPGs.
Damn... :'-(
I love the Penny Arcade tribute comic. Rest in peace Gary.
R.I.P, the man i became aware of becase he appeared in Futurama.
R.I.P, my condolences to relatives
:'-(
Good thing I have my Wand of Resurrection....
*start menacing laughter as army of the undead rises behind with Gary as their general*
All these years, I've only really known of Gygax through Futurama, and the thank-you-for-purchase letter printed into the front of my D&D Basic Rulebook (first edition w00t!)
Sad passing. Just think, if he had never spawned D&D in the first place, the world of RPGs would be a very sparse and uninteresting world.
I've played my share of CRPGs influenced by D&D too, RIP Mr. Gygax.
Doh not 1st edition, 2nd edition. I could only dream of having the first edition set. The 2nd edition isn't really any less rare, tho.
this is sad news
rest in peace my friend
May he always roll 20's in the hereafter.