Creon

His contribution cannot be overestimated.

Without him we would not have D&D.

without D&D, we would not have the lord of the rings.

Without the lord of the rings, we would not have star wars.

Without any one of these, many of us wouldn't be on kotaku right now.

R.I.P, games master. you will be remembered.

Trilbynerd_wii

TheJordanator

carbonelli

A sad time for us all right now.

crashlanding

I'm betting that Temple of Apshai is older than most gamers today. It's worth checking out if you've never heard of it:

[en.wikipedia.org]

Jordan Lund

In the early 80's you had the Wizardry game which was a very popular d&dish computergame adaption. Developers at enix saw it (and Ultima) and decided to create their own rpggame, namely Dragon Quest. Square, years later saw what a huge succes DG-series and rpgs had become in japan and decided that they wanted a piece of it. The top ordered Hironobu Sakaguchi to make their own version of DQ. Sakaguchi was about to leave the gamingbusiness and aptly named the game Final Fantasy. The rest is as you say history.

So thank you Gary for you contribution to the gaming world.

arneanka

I don't play anymore nearly as much as I should. I actually met Mr. Gygax once when he came to a local (very, very small) convention near where I live. Though the meeting was brief, he happened to be running a game, and while I didn't get the chance to join it, it was really incredible just to hear the man himself describing what I'd so long imagined.

Farewell, Gary Gygax. The world will miss you.

yulorian

Masume

rainofwalrus

Sinharvest

Some people, like Shigeru Miyamoto, influence the entire industry.

Gary Gyrax influenced the very core of gaming.

D&D, while not popular everywhere, has had more of an influence than most people believe - Even if they've never played a game of D&D, they'll have likely played a game involving a mechanic that originated from it. Despite the aspirations of many who have since joined in their footsteps, there are only a handful who have had such a position to shape gaming as we know it.

I may no longer be a man of religion, but in case there is a god - I hope Gary's teaching him/her the intricacies of the intricacies of the d20 dice and the benefits of a high WIS.

Jonax

PsycheDiver

Pinhead

RIP

zlimness

Sniper_Zegai

bigdonthedj

Pombar

Beautiful words man.

Kirth Gersen

All these and many more games fill many of my most precious memories (painting miniatures and reading tons of TSR books as Dragonlance, Ravenloft, Dark Sun, The Anubis Murders and the Samarkand Solution among others).

The more I read your posts the more I feel you are indeed my long lost bother, Mike.

The other post were you announced us Gygax demise brought a tear to my eye.

Thanks for the trip down memory lane and thanks for the joy your brought to my life Dungeon Master, Godspeed.

Kirth Gersen

Malmer

trogam

demonknightinuyasha

@Pombar:
Well, if it makes you feel any better, the last time I played, I was playtesting the alpha and beta rules for AD&D 3rd Edition (got my name in the book, but never once played with the published ruleset).

@Master Saji:
I think of wierd stuff, like playing Toon, Macho Women With Guns, a session of GURPS when I effectively shut down a battle sequence by turning the opposing leader into a giant chicken (it's amazing how demoralizing that is for an enemy squadron...), getting a $3 billion Nuyen payoff in Shadowrun because we were clever enough to rig a special camera that would record the final Harlequinn battle sequence (complete with all the magic stuff that was going on at the time), and once doing a single-session two-man run that effectively cleared out what was intended to be an entire summer of gaming for a six-person crew. You just can't get away with that sort of stuff in a computer game...

Purple Dave

huginn

PooPooKaKaBumBum

This was my fathers, my brothers, and one of my favorite games growing up. It honestly spoiled me for RPG's, as I never got the same enjoyment out of them as I got from playing Pool of Radiance, Curse of the Azure Bonds, Secret of the Silver Blades, and Pool of Darkness. Creating your own characters, transferring them between games, awesome weapons and spells, and continued leveling all made this series of games so imaginative and fantastic. Thank you for these games, and may you rest in peace, Mr. Gygax.

Szin

I never rolled a 20 sided die.

I never pretended to explore a dungeon while wearing a costume.

I never knew this man's name until he was gone.

But what this man did for gaming in general, he should be remembered forever. Without the basic rules he laid down, we'd never have the RPG as we know it today. Diablo, Elder Scrolls, Neverwinter Nights, and even other person-to-person RPG's like the Vampire: Masquerade would not exist today if not for his original influence.

He made the western RPG, both in real time and in video games.

Good job, Man. Not many people can boast that they created an entire culture.

PapaBear434

aphex242

Some of my friends (in their early 30s) still play to this day. Dungeons and Dragons shaped my imagination and was the catalyst behind all the "nerdy" stuff I never could outgrow (RPGS, videogames, metal music, comicbooks).

Thank you Gary, for enriching the lives of millions, myself included.

MegaDethKlok

Gygax -> Gariott (Ultima) -> Why I'm here

JohnnyLA

Mongoosekun

As others have said, the breadth is greater. I'll add to it: Shining in the Darkness was a close mirror of the Gold Box crawlers (especially the utterly fantastic Dragonlance series. I have an Apple ][ sitting around just for CK, DKK and DQK), which was adapted into Shining Force and eventually a huge influence on the strategy RPG genre (disregarding Chainmail's influence on small-scale fantasy wargames).

I'm not sure what else can be said. I play Chrono Trigger, I see his influence. I play world of warcraft, I see his influence. I play MTG, there it is. All that L5R that got me through law school, his hand is even more clear. My world is a cocoon filled with the progeny of Mr. Gygax's genius, so it would not be unfair to say that I owe him nearly everything.

Thank you, Gary.

Fnor

sadisticfreak432

Let's all head to the local inn and drink 1d4 ales in his honor. Whoever fails their constitution check isn't allowed to drive back home.

Sigh.

JustThisGuy

vgfanboy

Witzbold

so i was waxing pastorally about mr gygax and your post reminded me of all the games i used to play back then. i went up to my rental storage place and with a little rummaging around found a treasure trove of late 70's role play gaming goodness including rule books for top secret, gamma world, metamorphosis alpha, boot hill, some steve jackson mini games (no car wars unfortunately) and my original ad&d rule books and dungeon modules. i can't believe they haven't been lost in all these years but i know what i'll be doing this weekend.

youareivan

[IMG][i257.photobucket.com]]

solkwar

.... ok =)

meandering_drivel

Oh I think I've paid him back in full, since I've purchased almost every damn AD&D 2nd Edition Book when I was a wee lad.

xiphos

I guess this is a round about way of saying, Thanks Gary. :D

Dauragon C. Mikado

Fyren

The point I'm trying to make is that D&D opened a creative door that got me and my friends thinking, rather than being mindless hooligans we became thoughtful hooligans. The result has been an explosion of sci-fi/fantasy books, games, and movies. From a more personal perspective it allowed so many of us to think...we always think learning takes place in the classroom, but for many of us learning also took place in small groups, with small statues and dice.

I stopped playing sometime in intermediate school, but I went on to college and law school and became the man I am today. Games like D&D encouraged creativity and critical thinking, and I personally believe that the experience of putting my brain to use helped me get to where I am today. And it's funny, even twenty years later I can still recall some of those missions I played with my friends. They were good times, and I thank Mr. Gygax for inviting us all to play.

Islandkiwi

Master Saji

Bernard McGraw

And, of course, not having to run STRAIGHT at your enemy in order to shoot at him. Good idea!

rdaneel72

bleeps

Old-school Sonic fanboy

Lodoss went on to spawn its own Japanese tabletop roleplaying game, novels, and multiple anime series. I wouldn't say Japan bent the concept of the RPG over and raped it repeatedly -- they just took it in a different direction. I don't know if they influenced Final Fantasy directly, or if Final Fantasy took its inspiration from sources such as Dungeonstomper, but the first FF game was developed during 1987 and released at the end of that year. The timeline is consistent.

Stephenls

Saint Anima

I still play JRPG's, but they dont hold up to real RPG's.

NoBullet

Degreeless

mizzle

Zaos

But yeah, I think it's safe to say that without Gary and DnD, many many RPGs and MMO would be shit or non-existent today.

Master Saji

Pombar

Honourable mentions go to that old chestnut Eye of the Beholder which has raped me more times and faster than any game probably should, and made me love my +2 Dart, and Planescape Torment possibly the greatest RPG ever. Without these games my life would have been a lot more dull and I have Gygax and co to thank for that; their legacy in videogames casts a long shadow.

Degreeless

TheIrishNinja

Maximus9

kirk4ever

Erwin

(俗・ ) Grey Gecko

Ignatius

Gygax has helped shaped my imagination, and I will be forever grateful.

BattleBee

ErskinPig

mizzle

Rebelphoenix83