Games - Gary Gygax has left this plane

The Great Gamemaster, Ernest Gary Gygax, the Godfather of roleplaying who co-created Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) with Dave Arneson has died today at the age of 69.

Still the most well known of Roleplaying Games, D&D was succeeded by hundreds of games with different styles and settings from superheroes to the terrifying creations of H.P.Lovecraft. A whole new hobby was born and it became hugely popular in the late 70's and early 80's. It also became synonymous with high geekery, however unlike computer games, you actually need to know other people in the real world to play them.

It's interesting that his work in the late nineties tried to acknowledge that roleplaying games had become too complicated (especially D&D) for new people to get involved with roleplaying and tried to design games with simpler rules. Which to my mind showed he was still way ahead of many people.

Despite ill health in recent years he was still involved in gaming.

I kneel before the woodland shrine and raise my +2 sword to the heavens in tribute.