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| Gary Gygax, 1969 |
As most of my readers are no doubt aware, today is date of Gary Gygax's death. I'm not sure there's anything I can say about him that others have not said before and better. The one thing I do feel I can say is that Gygax is among a handful of people whom I never met but who nevertheless exercised a profound – and profoundly positive – influence on me and my life.
Dungeons & Dragons introduced me to roleplaying, a hobby I have enjoyed for more than four decades now and that continues to provide me with immense enjoyment. Through this hobby I have made many friends, who in turn have enriched my life immeasurably. Likewise, Gygax's prose, with its delightfully archaic vocabulary and addresses to his "gentle" readers, has no doubt influenced my own writing in ways big and small. Further, his palpable love of reading and of games of all sorts was contagious. encouraging me to pursue both with vigor. I was already an avid reader and game player before encountering Gary Gygax through his writings, but afterwards I was even more devoted to these activities.
For these reasons, I couldn't let this day pass without comment. The world – my world, at the very least – is better for your having been in it.
Gary's birthday is in July. Today is the anniversary of his death.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the correction.
DeleteI must be getting old. I've corrected the post. Thanks again for pointing out my error. Ugh.
DeleteNo problem. :)
ReplyDeleteI still can't believe it's been 13 years since his passing away. Seems like yesterday...
That's the worst part of getting older: time seems to fly by so quickly. Thirteen years – yikes!
DeleteMarch 4th is also GM's day, and that was instituted in 2003 - 5 years before Gary's death. Gary dying on GM's day seems like synchronicity.
ReplyDeleteWholeheartedly agree, James. Our world is better for having had Gary Gygax. D&D was for me at 12 not quite salvation, but a game, world, real a place as Earth; that gave me friends, adventure and enduring happy memories, surviving even today at 52. If I could go back to that time again I would no question.
ReplyDeleteI was just a teenage fanboy when I met him in 86, I wish I'd asked him to explain initiative or polymorph instead of getting him to sign my PHB and DMG.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fabulous picture! I haven't seen that one before. Most pictures of Mr. Gygax show him as an old, tired looking business man. In this picture, he looks like an excited gamer in his prime. You can really see the origins of D&D in this picture.
ReplyDeleteThat's precisely why I chose it. I know that, at the end of his life, Gary regularly said that he wanted to be remembered simply as someone who loved games and encouraged that love in others. I thought this photo did a good job of showing that.
DeleteIn my mind Gary is this hyper-enthusiastic American guy selling something niche and nerdy as being really cool and adventurous. He sits alongside Stan Lee as the two guys who's influence on me started at around 12yo, keeping me and my friends out of trouble through our teens.
ReplyDeleteHis influence and that of Dave Arneson extends so much into popular culture and video games in particular. Not a bad legacy and one that I keep pointing out to my kids.
The Stan Lee comparison is, I think, a very apt one.
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