Randy McDonald ([info]rfmcdpei) wrote,
@ 2008-03-06 21:24:00
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Entry tags:death, roleplaying games

[BRIEF NOTE] Gygax
In the past few days, I've seen at least a dozen posts in relation to the death of Gary Gygax, some mere notes, others fairly extended commemorations of the man and his work.

I wonder. What does it say of me, given the interests of my friends in person and online and my own inclinations, that I'd never heard mention of the man's name before? (I'm certain that fact will surprise at least one person.)


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[info]optimussven
2008-03-07 02:36 am UTC (link)
That is indeed surprising. Too be honest though, I had never known his name (although I was familiar with D&D) until he appeared in a Futurama episode with Al Gore.

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[info]pauldrye
2008-03-07 02:44 am UTC (link)
That surprises me. I'm (cough, cough, unintelligible noises) years older than you, so I suppose you missed the phase of the early to mid-80s where every suburban teen boy played AD&D, and so owned at least one book with his name on it.

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Young'uns
[info]errolwi
2008-03-07 07:18 pm UTC (link)
I'm not surprised, as Randy and I established some time ago that I started role-playing only slightly after Randy was born.

BTW Randy, I'll actually reply to your e-mail at some point, I'm a bit swamped with non-work activities just now.

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[info]bear_left
2008-03-07 02:53 am UTC (link)
I hadn't either, despite being surrounded by D&D fans since, well, the beginning.

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[info]sonjaaa
2008-03-07 03:16 am UTC (link)
His name is plastered all over old D&D books, if you played it back then.

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[info]thebitterguy
2008-03-07 03:31 am UTC (link)
It's like I don't even know who you are anymore.

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[info]rfmcdpei
2008-03-07 05:01 am UTC (link)
I admit to being a monster, are you happy?

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That's a quote from something, isn't it?
[info]thebitterguy
2008-03-07 12:55 pm UTC (link)
I wouldn't go so far as to say "happy".

Did you ever see his Futurama episode?

I always thought his position was fairly well ensconced in popular culture.

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Re: That's a quote from something, isn't it?
[info]rfmcdpei
2008-03-07 04:05 pm UTC (link)
I, well. I knew of D&D, but not the personalities.

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Re: That's a quote from something, isn't it?
[info]thebitterguy
2008-03-09 04:13 am UTC (link)
Did you play D&D itself, or has your experience mainly been with other systems? When did you get into the hobby? Did you ever read Dragon Magazine?

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Re: That's a quote from something, isn't it?
[info]rfmcdpei
2008-03-10 03:43 am UTC (link)
I came to D&D only late in life, and to RPGs via supplements. I've never owned a copy of Dragon Magazine.

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(Anonymous)
2008-03-07 04:16 am UTC (link)
Well, you can be forgiven - he is probably less known to D&D fans that the likes of R.A. Salvatore or Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, since he didn't write anything popular except for some old modules. People who saw the dreadful D&D movie might have noticed his name in the credits, but beyond that only those who actually played the pencil and paper version are likely to have heard of him. I find it interesting that in some obituaries he:

(http://www.zap2it.com/celebrities/news/zap-garygygaxobit,0,3407126.story)
credited Joseph Campbell's 1949 classic "The Hero With a Thousand Faces" for much of the inspiration for Dungeons & Dragons in the National Post interview: "The heroic quest -- the story of the hero being called forth, usually unwillingly, and adventuring and undergoing a change that has been with us probably since stories were told around campfires by men."


What, he's never heard of Tolkien before? Not that old J.R.R. had a copyright on "hobbit" or "orc" but come on, who's ever heard of that book (and when will Peter Jackson make it into a movie)?

Also, I was surprised to learn that Gygax was only the co-creator, and that some other guy called "David Arneson" also had a hand in it. I guess Gygax is a more memorable name. Looks like even D&D aficionados who remember seeing the name Gygax on some old tomes don't even notice all the details...
Nick

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[info]heraclitus
2008-03-07 05:04 am UTC (link)
Arneson is pretty well-known in hobbyist circles, though he's never been the celebrity that Gygax was. G. and A. had a falling out prior to the release of AD&D, so most casual players think of Gygax as sole author. Arneson came up with AC and HP, and created the first fantasy RPG setting - Blackmoor. He simultaneously invented the dungeoncrawl (the characters explored Castle Blackmoor in the first game of this sort that he ran).

Interesting side note: It was actually a third guy named Dave Wesley, an associate of the other two, who came up with the idea of individual players each having a single in-game persona (as opposed to abstractly commanding a unit of some sort).

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[info]jiawen
2008-03-07 07:12 am UTC (link)
It is kinda surprising, but maybe you got into RPGs through means other than D&D? That would be quite understandable, then.

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[info]pompe
2008-03-07 04:10 pm UTC (link)
I confess that I know who the guy was, that I have played D&D and that I even have or had some of the things he (co)-wrote, and I'm of course in principle sad that at fellow human has died, but if I'm to be honest I don't really care from a personal POV at all.

There, I said it.

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