RIP Gary Gygax

[Head Mutant]

Since MRFH has a soul-bound duty to salute our fellow geeks:

Gary Gygax, who co-created the fantasy game Dungeons & Dragons and helped start the role-playing phenomenon, died Tuesday morning at his home in Lake Geneva. He was 69.

He had been suffering from health problems for several years, including an abdominal aneurysm, said his wife, Gail Gygax.

Gygax and Dave Arneson developed Dungeons & Dragons in 1974 using medieval characters and mythical creatures. The game known for its oddly shaped dice became a hit, particularly among teenage boys, and eventually was turned into video games, books and movies.

[Al]

::dons his +2 Crown of Mourning::

[PoolMan]

I've seen some great tributes this morning, but I think my favourite may have to be Penny Arcade's. Bordering on tasteless, and yet the pun is so very geeky, it's hard to imagine Gygax would mind.

Don't touch your lucky dice today, it's a sad day.

[Rett Mikhal]

Although not as good a verbal pun, I still like this one:

imgs.xkcd.com/comics/ultimate_game.png

[StarOpal]

New York Times article on Gary Gygax

[Al]

Wow, no love lost from Slate.

[bladestarr]

The article does bring up a really good point though. I've always been more partial to White Wolf's Storytelling system myself, it rewards activities more creative than the "kill the orc, walk 10 steps, kill the gelatinous cube" mentality.

He should be commended for helping to create the form of gaming, but he has for years been outclassed by others.

R.I.P. Gygax, you did your part, now we will do ours.