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copyed from 1up http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3166798
Gary Gygax -- the godfather of the pen-and-paper RPG and the man largely responsible for giving the world a little something called Dungeons & Dragons -- is dead. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Gygax died at his home in Lake Geneva early on Tuesday morning after struggling with health problems for several years. He was 69 years old. For more than three decades Gary's name was absolutely synonymous with the core DNA of the modern RPG. Even the term "roleplaying game" as we understand it today is derived directly from the early designs of Gygax and friend Dave Arneson, who co-created the original D&D First Edition rulebook back in 1974.
For the last 30 years gamers have seen RPG-dom move from an underground cult phenomenon to a global hobby enjoyed by kids and adults alike. If you've ever built a character, rolled 'to-hit', gone to a game convention, or even just enjoyed the sensation of building a party and rampaging around somewhere killing monsters and scoring lewt in fantastic, imaginative settings, you owe Gary respect. His influence on the foundations of modern-day gaming is incalculable.
Newbie D&D fans just sitting down to absorb some 4th Edition (due to be officially released on June 6th, 2008) probably are not aware of how things were back in the late '70s and early '80s when Gygax and his company TSR ("Tactical Studies Rules") were trying hard to popularize a hobby which the public at large seemed intent on branding weird, scary, morally threatening to children and generally unhealthy for civilized society. Sound familiar?
Gygax's wife spoke to reporters at their home this morning, saying that even up until January (when his illness became too pronounced to continue) Gary enjoyed hosting weekly D&D sessions at his home. Over the years, it was one of his great pleasures to meet fans who told him that fooling around with characters, persona and dice ultimately helped them decide to becoming a doctor, a lawyer, a policeman, or whatever else. "He really enjoyed that."
Gary Gygax -- the godfather of the pen-and-paper RPG and the man largely responsible for giving the world a little something called Dungeons & Dragons -- is dead. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Gygax died at his home in Lake Geneva early on Tuesday morning after struggling with health problems for several years. He was 69 years old. For more than three decades Gary's name was absolutely synonymous with the core DNA of the modern RPG. Even the term "roleplaying game" as we understand it today is derived directly from the early designs of Gygax and friend Dave Arneson, who co-created the original D&D First Edition rulebook back in 1974.
For the last 30 years gamers have seen RPG-dom move from an underground cult phenomenon to a global hobby enjoyed by kids and adults alike. If you've ever built a character, rolled 'to-hit', gone to a game convention, or even just enjoyed the sensation of building a party and rampaging around somewhere killing monsters and scoring lewt in fantastic, imaginative settings, you owe Gary respect. His influence on the foundations of modern-day gaming is incalculable.
Newbie D&D fans just sitting down to absorb some 4th Edition (due to be officially released on June 6th, 2008) probably are not aware of how things were back in the late '70s and early '80s when Gygax and his company TSR ("Tactical Studies Rules") were trying hard to popularize a hobby which the public at large seemed intent on branding weird, scary, morally threatening to children and generally unhealthy for civilized society. Sound familiar?
Gygax's wife spoke to reporters at their home this morning, saying that even up until January (when his illness became too pronounced to continue) Gary enjoyed hosting weekly D&D sessions at his home. Over the years, it was one of his great pleasures to meet fans who told him that fooling around with characters, persona and dice ultimately helped them decide to becoming a doctor, a lawyer, a policeman, or whatever else. "He really enjoyed that."
