RIP Gary Gygax

Djaughe · March 5th, 2008, 10:45 AM

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March 5, 2008

Gary Gygax, Game Pioneer, Dies at 69

By SETH SCHIESEL
Gary Gygax, a pioneer of the imagination who transported a fantasy realm of wizards, goblins and elves onto millions of kitchen tables around the world through the game he helped create, Dungeons & Dragons, died Tuesday at his home in Lake Geneva, Wis. He was 69.

His death was confirmed by his wife, Gail Gygax, who said he had been ailing and had recently suffered an abdominal aneurysm, The Associated Press reported.

As co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, the seminal role-playing game introduced in 1974, Mr. Gygax wielded a cultural influence far broader than his relatively narrow fame among hard-core game enthusiasts.

Before Dungeons & Dragons, a fantasy world was something to be merely read about in the works of authors like J. R. R. Tolkien and Robert Howard. But with Dungeons & Dragons, Mr. Gygax and his collaborator, Dave Arneson, created the first fantasy universe that could actually be inhabited. In that sense, Dungeons & Dragons formed a bridge between the noninteractive world of books and films and the exploding interactive video game industry. It also became a commercial phenomenon, selling an estimated $1 billion in books and equipment. More than 20 million people are estimated to have played the game.

While Dungeons & Dragons became famous for its voluminous rules, Mr. Gygax was always adamant that the game’s most important rule was to have fun and to enjoy the social experience of creating collaborative entertainment. In Dungeons & Dragons, players create an alternate persona, like a dwarven thief or a noble paladin, and go off on imagined adventures under the adjudication of another player called the Dungeon Master.

“The essence of a role-playing game is that it is a group, cooperative experience,” Mr. Gygax said in a telephone interview in 2006. “There is no winning or losing, but rather the value is in the experience of imagining yourself as a character in whatever genre you’re involved in, whether it’s a fantasy game, the Wild West, secret agents or whatever else. You get to sort of vicariously experience those things.”

When Mr. Gygax (pronounced GUY-gax) first published Dungeons & Dragons under the banner of his company, Tactical Studies Rules, the game appealed mostly to college-age players. But many of those early adopters continued to play into middle age, even as the game also trickled down to a younger audience.

“It initially went to the college-age group, and then it worked its way backward into the high schools and junior high schools as the college-age siblings brought the game home and the younger ones picked it up,” Mr. Gygax said.

Mr. Gygax’s company, renamed TSR, was acquired in 1997 by Wizards of the Coast, which was later acquired by Hasbro, which now publishes the game.

In addition to his wife, Mr. Gygax is survived by six children: three sons, Ernest G. Jr., Lucion Paul and Alexander; and three daughters, Mary Elise, Heidi Jo and Cindy Lee.

These days, pen-and-paper role-playing games have largely been supplanted by online computer games. Dungeons & Dragons itself has been translated into electronic games, including Dungeons & Dragons Online. Mr. Gygax recognized the shift, but he never fully approved. To him, all of the graphics of a computer dulled what he considered one of the major human faculties: the imagination.
“There is no intimacy; it’s not live,” he said of online games. “It’s being translated through a computer, and your imagination is not there the same way it is when you’re actually together with a group of people. It reminds me of one time where I saw some children talking about whether they liked radio or television, and I asked one little boy why he preferred radio, and he said, ‘Because the pictures are so much better.’ ”

Cardinals.Ken · March 5th, 2008, 10:52 AM

Anyone who has enjoyed a Role-Playing Game in one measure or another owes a lot to E. Gary Gygax!

RIP Papa G!

Mulli · March 5th, 2008, 10:57 AM

RIP. Ran out of hit points, I guess.

Lake Geneva, WI rules!!

dreamcastrocks · March 5th, 2008, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mulli

RIP. Ran out of hit points, I guess.

Lake Geneva, WI rules!!

I was going to say the same thing. I guess he ran out of HP.

Mulli · March 5th, 2008, 11:04 AM

Old gamers never die. They just run out of hit points.

That would have worked better.

abomb · March 5th, 2008, 11:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mulli

RIP. Ran out of hit points, I guess.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dreamcastrocks

I was going to say the same thing. I guess he ran out of HP.

Yeah, I made that joke to Donald last night too.

Pariah · March 5th, 2008, 12:19 PM

He was only 69. I guess his constitution wasn't very high.

dreamcastrocks · March 5th, 2008, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pariah

He was only 69. I guess his constitution wasn't very high.

I guess he ran out of Luck.

dreamcastrocks · March 5th, 2008, 12:29 PM

If he only had more Stamina....

Linderbee · March 5th, 2008, 12:43 PM

I would bet he'd have appreciated all of these jokes, too.

AzCards21 · March 5th, 2008, 12:58 PM

His healer ran out of mana.

AzCards21 · March 5th, 2008, 12:59 PM

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Originally Posted by Linderbee

I would bet he'd have appreciated all of these jokes, too.

I would bet so too.

Pariah · March 5th, 2008, 01:27 PM

DM: Uh-oh, Gary. I rolled a 20 when checking your health. You have an abdominal aneurysm. Here, roll this 8 sided die to see if you can recover.

:Gary rolls a 2:

DM: Sorry, man.

Mulli · March 5th, 2008, 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pariah

DM: Uh-oh, Gary. I rolled a 20 when checking your health. You have an abdominal aneurysm. Here, roll this 8 sided die to see if you can recover.

:Gary rolls a 2:

DM: Sorry, man.

Darth Llama · March 6th, 2008, 04:01 AM

Sad to hear. He must have rolled a 1 on his save vs. death, it happens to the best of us eventually.

Seriously though, guy was a genius, I have nothing but respect for him, and wish the best for his family in this tough time. Rest in Peace Gary, you were a great man and you'll be missed.