Gary Gygax 1938-2008

I waited  to confirm the news, but it's no hoax: Gary Gygax, the father of role-playing games, is dead.  It's a shock- for some reason, I thought he'd always be around, he seemed so fundamental.

It's hard for me to say what he did meant for me, just as it is hard to describe the huge effect he had on hobbies, video games, fantasy literature, and pop culture in general.  His team created the idea of RPGs, and borrowed concepts from a huge range of sources; ideas from Tolkein, Lieber, Anderson, Howard, Vance, and Moorcock all went into the creative stew that turned into D&D.   It was a mish-mash that shouldn't have worked, but it did, and s a result, there isn't a tabletop rpg, crpg, or mmorpg that doesn't owe it's existence to Gary Gygax and his crew.

As for me?  D&D and the other games the hobby has spawned have been an important part of my life for over thirty years now, and probably will be for another thirty.  It's brought me together with many new friends, entertained me, and inspired a lot of dreaming.  And for that reason I think Gary for everything he's done.

For those who wish to give the family of Gary Gygax their sympathies or commemorations, there is this link: InMemoryOfGaryGygax@gmail.com