D&D creator Gary Gygax dead at 69
The Associated Press is reporting that Gary Gygax, one of the co-creators of Dungeons & Dragons, is dead today at age 69. He had been suffering ill health for several years, according to his wife.Dungeons and Dragons birthed the idea of the modern RPG as we know it -- conventions such as hit points, character classes, leveling and countless others were shaped by the pen and paper game, if not outright stolen from it. The seminal game was an explicit influence for countless video game developers, from Ultima's Richard Garriott to Deus Ex's Harvey Smith.
We'll be sure to keep you updated with funeral details and other ways to pay your respects as soon as we hear about them.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Huey2k2 @ Mar 4th 2008 2:27PM
This is sad news, I've always been somewhat of a closet D&D fan/player.
My condolences to his family.
aaron_k7 @ Mar 4th 2008 2:29PM
I'm betting in the next few days there will be a WOW tribute or "memorial service" if you will. Such a thing was done for a Chinese player who died while playing a marathon session of WOW.
LiqwidZero @ Mar 4th 2008 2:32PM
I thought all WOW sessions were marathon sessions?
Kizzle @ Mar 4th 2008 3:21PM
And look for ragers or griefers or morons whatever the hell you call them to ruin it.
aaron_k7 @ Mar 4th 2008 3:42PM
I would tend to agree that they are all marathon sessions, sometimes ending in death. It's difficult to feel sorry for those people, but it's easy to feel sorry for their neglected family members who also sometimes die due to neglect.
Driftir @ Mar 4th 2008 2:32PM
That's horrible. =(
aaron_k7 @ Mar 4th 2008 3:43PM
All death is sad, but 69 is indeed a ripe old age.
ballistic3188 @ Mar 4th 2008 2:32PM
/salute to you good sir
much of my childhood spent on what he created.
Moofree @ Mar 4th 2008 2:32PM
We need a cleric, QUICK!
Habiib @ Mar 4th 2008 4:28PM
I would say that your comment may upset others, but you redeemed yourself by using a Klayman avatar.
BTW, Gygax has to have attained lich-hood by now.
Dauragon88 @ Mar 4th 2008 2:34PM
This is really sad.
Well, thanks Gary.
I sense a lot of magic missiles in my future :D
Vegnagun bwf @ Mar 4th 2008 2:34PM
Saving throw failed.
MuToiD_MaN @ Mar 4th 2008 2:37PM
DAMN!! Beat me to it.
RIP, respect, and all that.
Vegnagun bwf @ Mar 4th 2008 4:37PM
Respect indeed. He's rolling dice with God now.
Jordan @ Mar 4th 2008 2:38PM
He rolled a one.
Marty @ Mar 4th 2008 2:39PM
Al Gore to Gary (on Futurama): Put away the dice before I take them away!
Never played D&D, but have always enjoyed RPG games based on the rules and principles. My condolences to his family.
Mr.ESC @ Mar 4th 2008 7:00PM
NWN was an awesome game based on his work and that's just an example.The man created a whole world of fantasy and epicness for all of us nerds with nothing better to do at midnight.
The man is a legend.
So sad.
Pimliconite @ Mar 4th 2008 2:40PM
He dropped loot! I call his +1 mace!
KennyR @ Mar 13th 2008 8:02PM
+1 Mace? You're kidding, right? He must have had equipment so epic you wouldn't be able to touch it without obliterating.
copa @ Mar 4th 2008 2:40PM
Rest in Peace. Without D&D, there would have been no Wizardry.
Wizardry spawned all of the RPG's. Yes, even the JRPG's.
Pimliconite @ Mar 4th 2008 9:13PM
Your CRPG history is off, but yes, Gygax and the other creators of DnD are responsible for all CRPGs.
ill trooper @ Mar 4th 2008 2:41PM
Dude, I am going to flip through my 'Monster Manual' today in his honor, one that has my name neatly inked in red felt-pen 7th-grade handwriting inside the front cover.
Many weekends in junior high spent playing AD&D eventually trickled down to 'occasional games' once high school started, but the memories are forever.
Edward Elric @ Mar 4th 2008 2:42PM
The world will never fully realize the among of influence this man has had in game design, video games and popular culture. This is a sad day. Rest in peace.
Falkinator @ Mar 4th 2008 2:46PM
HP = 0
Grimble Crumble @ Mar 4th 2008 3:03PM
Actually, it's be -10
Grimble Crumble @ Mar 4th 2008 3:04PM
*it'd
Nate @ Mar 4th 2008 2:55PM
Gary Gygax is the father of all modern gaming. Not just RPGs but tabletop games, video games, pretty much any game that has more than a static point total or concept of the player as entity inside the game.
I'm so sad to hear that he is gone, but his legacy lives on in every new game that comes out. Farewell, good sir. You have done what few can claim - you have made the world a better place on a massive scale.
Ihya @ Mar 4th 2008 2:57PM
Gary has entered a 6 by 2 by 3 room...
neobergeron @ Mar 4th 2008 3:00PM
I suggest we all roll a D20 in tribute.
/roll 20
Matt B @ Mar 4th 2008 3:33PM
He was a natural 20.
Zachary Hinchliffe @ Mar 4th 2008 3:02PM
aw man, I just started playing D&D too. Today is a sad day.
Raytia @ Mar 4th 2008 3:04PM
great sadness.
EihBeir @ Mar 4th 2008 3:08PM
Salute.
NeuroMan42 @ Mar 4th 2008 3:10PM
Keep on rolling the 20's in the Astral Place, Gary.
Peace.
Shagittarius @ Mar 4th 2008 3:12PM
NO doubt he went straight to hell for all the devil worshiping he tricked young people into doing with his satanic game!
Pimliconite @ Mar 4th 2008 4:47PM
Ahem, they're called the "Lower Planes", and I'm sure he's their new god.
JoJo @ Mar 4th 2008 3:12PM
Hang on, "wife"!?
I thought we were talking about one of the creaters of D&D?
Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Mar 4th 2008 3:20PM
The creators of nerdtacular things usually aren't NEARLY as geeky as the rabid fanbase of said nerdtacular things.
Without D&D, we'd have no Final Fantasy and no Dragon Quest, among a multitude of other things.
RIP.
FidliousWong (Oatmeal Defense Force) @ Mar 4th 2008 3:18PM
Just wanted to post this... much respect.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RePL0iLe9I
Kizzle @ Mar 4th 2008 3:23PM
Need a cryin' towel +3 over heah
Matt B @ Mar 4th 2008 3:34PM
*Raises Longsword of Shortness to the sky*
Farseer (GDI) @ Mar 4th 2008 3:39PM
Here's to all the good times this man's invention provided. Cheers Gary!
inlogic @ Mar 4th 2008 3:39PM
RIP
deadjesterx @ Mar 4th 2008 3:42PM
Ah man, I had to wake up to this? :\
Nate said it best: this man is the grandfather of all forms of gaming. For what are video games, but highly sophisticated number crunching?
R.I.P.
343 Guilty Fart @ Mar 4th 2008 3:44PM
Have fun with the deities and demigods Gary, we'll miss you.
Void Munashii @ Mar 4th 2008 3:54PM
Godspeed, Gary, may you be rolling a new character in heaven before the devil knows you are dead. The world is better for having had you in it.
7718 @ Mar 4th 2008 3:59PM
RIP Gary. I met him at GenCon once, he was a totall jackass in person, but hey thanks for the fun game you made. I heard somewhere he was an atheist. I wonder what he thinks of atheism now?
dan stabbingworth @ Mar 4th 2008 4:33PM
Seriously kid, fuck off with your retarded religious crap. Atheists could not care less about your ridiculous smug attitude about your beliefs. Atheists could make the same statement when you die about your lame beliefs. I'm sure there's a forum somewhere where you can talk about the dinosaurs being fake.
And on topic:
That's a shame. No more Futurama appearances for Gary.
Farseer (GDI) @ Mar 4th 2008 4:55PM
"I wonder what he thinks of Atheism now?"
Probably the same thing he thought of Atheism when he was alive. But there's no way to no for sure what he's thinking now because he is dead. And anyone who claims to know what actually happens when we die is either a fool, a liar, or an idiot.
Farseer (GDI) @ Mar 4th 2008 4:57PM
*know