Kinda surprised thisnews hasn't appeared here yet:
"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.
Originally posted at Crave."
Me now:
...he is survived by a Dwarf cleric, and Elvin Mage, and a Paladin with
a +17 sword...
In a box in my parents basement is the first edition hard cover.
*sigh*
So many wonderful characters, and adventures we had with a little help
from some guy in Lake Geneva.
last night when the announcement was made to my group of Anime fan
friends (gathered for dinner and DVDs) even the 10 year olds knew who
he was!
THAT's impressive.
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