Image credit: Alan De Smet
Gary Gygax, co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons, has died:
Gygax always enjoyed hearing from the game’s legion of devoted fans, many of whom would stop by the family’s home in Lake Geneva, about 55 miles southwest of Milwaukee, his wife said. Despite his declining health, he hosted weekly games of Dungeons & Dragons as recently as January, she said.
“It really meant a lot to him to hear from people from over the years about how he helped them become a doctor, a lawyer, a policeman, what he gave them,” Gygax said. “He really enjoyed that.”
As I write, more homages to Gary are coming in:
For me, playing Dungeons and Dragons started in middle school, and we used the first set of rulebooks – a volume of three stapled pamphlets that came in a small white box: “Rules for Fantastic Medieval Wargame Campaigns Playable with Paper and Pencil and Miniature Figures.” D&D’s 4th edition is set to come out this year.
“Critical hit!”
We played for hours, day and night, learning to explore, expand our minds, marshal creativity, develop problem solving skills, dream, love, live. We entered tournaments, designed campaigns, read, and learned about history, culture, and how the world worked.
We laughed. We cried. Relationships with girlfriends who hated it didn’t work out; we married the girlfriends who loved it. We realized that the potential of the world was limited only by our imaginations.
Even now, throughout my travels, I still meet people, young and old, who cut their teeth on Dungeons and Dragons. With a knowing nod, we share a common bond. An instant party, of a different kind.
So I lift a horn of mead to Gary Gygax — to the power of imagination, and to many adventures ahead!