Co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons has died — Gary Gygax 1938-2008

source : Gary Gygax at GenCon2007 -- credit : Wikimediahttp://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9885383-7.html?tag=nefd.only

Gary Gygax, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, died on Tuesday at the age of 69, due to heart problems.

I never met Gary nor have I been to a D&D convention – and I think the last time that I rolled a 20-sided dice was in junior high school.

However, some of my favorite Xbox360 & Xbox games are:

  • Dungeons & Dragons : Heroes
  • Baldur’s Gate and Baldur’s Gate II
  • Oblivion

The first ones are genuine D&D ruleset titles, with Oblivion being very much of the same flavor.

Moreover, almost every turn-based game, “dungeon crawler” format and especially every Role-Playing Game (RPG) — where you start with a “starter” character and their abilities are intentionally and individually enhanced as their experience increases during gameplay — can trace forming elements back to D&D.  Those concepts weren’t entirely new to gameplay, but D&D brought that genre to mainstream and affected the subsequent generations of games and game players since.

Consider these terms:

  • Strength
  • Intelligence
  • Wisdom
  • Constitution
  • Dexterity
  • Charisma
  • Hit Points
  • Experience Points

If the previous list resonates with you, then consider giving a moment of silence for Gary and prayers for the Gygax family.

This blog is not normally for obituaries — but as some of you read this for my views on gaming, I thought it was appropriate to let you know that one of gaming’s influencing fathers has passed away.

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