Gary Gygax is dead

O

octotron

First time out of the vault
An AP report says Mr. Gygax died this morning at his home. He was 69. You should know who he was, but if not, the creator of D&D and really p&p RPG's in general. We all know what that led to.

Dungeons & Dragons players create fictional characters and carry out their adventures with the help of complicated rules. The quintessential geek pastime, it spawned a wealth of copycat games and later inspired a whole genre of computer games that's still growing in popularity.
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http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/03/04/obit.gygax.ap/index.html

No mention of our game, but we'll let that go.

Farewell, Gary. Thanks man.
 
well, pinning it all on one guy is probably a bit much, octotron...

also, 6 kids? not bad for nerd! ;)
 
Without Gary Gygax, TSR and D&D, it would have been highly unlikely our favorite game would have been made. At least half the team were involved in some sort of RPG campaign at work. But going even farther back, without D&D, there is no Bard's Tale. Without Bard's Tale, no Wasteland.

The only reason I was hired at Interplay was because of a D&D game.

RIP, Mr. Gygax, RIP.
 
What I posted at the blog:

Gary Gygax passed away at age 69. I agree with Alec Meer:

Gary Gygax, the co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, has passed away, aged just 69. He had been seriously ill for some time.

Would we ever have had PC RPGs without Gygax’s laying down of roleplaying foundations back in 1974? Oh, probably - in some form, anyway. But would we have had Ultima, Fallout, Diablo, World of Warcraft, even Deus Ex? Probably not. Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights and Planescape Torment? Definitely not.

This man gave a great deal to gaming. Bow your heads.

Have a great time on the Higher Planes Dungeon Master!
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Guy creates one of the beloved games in the last 50 years, a game that spawns off both pen and paper and computer copycats, and CNN writes

The quintessential geek pastime,
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Here's another obit-

Gary Gygax, 1938-2008: Rest in peace, Dungeon Master
Posted by Will Greenwald | 7 comments

Gary Gygax at Gen Con 2007
(Credit: Wikimedia)

Gary Gygax, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons and one of the fathers of tabletop role-playing games, died on Tuesday at the age of 69. He had suffered from heart problems.

The news was first announced on the message board of Troll Lord Games, the publisher of Gygax's most recent works. It has since been directly confirmed by the company, which will post an announcement on its Web site later Tuesday.

Gygax was best known for helping create Dungeons & Dragons and Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. He also pioneered tabletop role-playing games. The first D&D rulebooks were released in 1974 by TSR, and since then have produced three full-fledged sequels, numerous revisions and updates, and dozens upon dozens of additional rulebooks, settings, and campaigns. While Gygax hadn't had much direct involvement with D&D for many years, he developed and contributed to many role-playing games, including Troll Lord Games' Gary Gygax's Fantasy Worlds.

If not for his contributions, video games and geek culture would probably look much different than it does today. Beyond jokes about "d20s" and "saving throws," D&D's systems and mythos have spawned many excellent games, including Baldur's Gate and Planescape: Torment.

Dungeons & Dragons continues to develop. Since TSR was purchased by Wizards of the Coast, the game has seen even more expansions and updates. The company released Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition in 2000, and Dungeons & Dragons 4.0 is scheduled to ship in June. Though he didn't actively produce the latest editions of the game, neither they nor the countless video games, books, and other media that carry the D&D name would have been possible without him.
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A failed saving throw against finger of dead is tough luck Gary.Now you have to reroll.

R.I.P Gary
 
Really strange that such a legend is gone now.

I am by no means a D&D fan but without it we wouldn't have a lot of Western RPGs and CRPGS.
 
And a RIP from me to him as well - I may be one of the few that actually like D&D games and I appreciate his work.

Sure hope he didn't end up in the Wall of the Faithless.
 
:cry:

I remember playing Warriors of the Eternal Sun in Sega Genesis when I was a kid. I loved the game but I never knew about Dungeons and Dragons as a whole until I got my computer. Now that I have begun to read into the DnD sourcebooks, I'm really getting into it. I have never Roleplayed in PnP but I just might. I'm quite saddened that such a wonderful person died. The man literally had a whole universe in his mind and managed to drag us all into it.

***Rolls for Wish*** 20!

I wish Gary to come back into the living!

***DM ASSHOLE GOD*** Callous grin. Very well, as you have worded, it shall be...

***Gary Gygax*** Rejoice, I have a plan to bring back TSR!

***DM ASSHOLE GOD*** Are you not forgetting something, youngling?

PC Gary Gygax has an inoperable, terminal cardiopathy. -Gary Gygax collapses-

***On the seven testicles of Treculius, I shall have revenge!***

-A torrasque has emerged from the Shadows!-The torrasque smells deeply of musk and is...quite feverish-

***DM ASSHOLE GOD*** Have fun, kthxby.

-Torrasque anally rapes PC Skynet V4-

Roll for escape grapple! 1

NOOOOOOOOOOO! Unf Unf Unf! :shock:
 
Umm, well my games were never that... prolific skynet, but I can also say that I greatly enjoyed 2nd ed for some time and am always ready to play it (nasty habit of carrying my dice everywhere with me on the weekends...)

To the creator of one of my more favorite past-times: I salute you, and may your inspiration live on in the hearts and minds of all the people your games touched.
 
As the creator of a game vastly different from any other and spawning many similar ones I think he is a pioneering genius. Although I've hardly ever played D&D I also owe him my thanks for those things leading to the development of RPG's for electronic entertainment which I enjoy often. I thank him for his influence both direct and indirect to create a pastime not only fun, but safe and maybe even a little educational.

Sincerely,
The Vault Dweller
 
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