I'm sad for other reasons too. Regardless of your views on role playing games, I have to say that some of my most intense and closest friendships were formed over a makeshift table, dice in the form of Platonic solids, pencils, papers, cold pizza and warm soda (later replaced by warm beer). I miss those times, the closeness of those friendships. My college roommate Gregg and I still talk (well, more often the 21st century version of talk) after all this time. I recall quite vividly nights in the dorm room gaming with Gregg, Patrick, and Pete as well as many a Saturday afternoon spent in Brady Commons at Mizzou with the gaming society (and after being kicked out going to The Old Heidelberg to play beer and pretzel games). Through gaming I finally had friends. I had gone the first 18 years of my life without any real friends in it and because of Gary Gygax's desire to expand gaming I finally had friends. And this wasn't the only time either. When I later moved to Kansas City to work on my PhD my first group of friends THERE was created because of gaming. Thomas, Darrin, Van... oh so many Saturday nights spent at Thomas' place gaming, eating pizza, and just having fun. Shoot, gaming even got me a date with someone still special to me. In many ways a connection through gaming brought me my friend Andrew here in San Diego as well. So I owe a lot to gaming and Mr. Gygax because through it I discovered a place where I could fit in and find out what it meant to belong.
On a more academic and philosophical level, D&D opened me up to the realm of fantasy, of myth and legend and what they can mean to a person in modern times. My current love of philosophers who talk about issues of myth and story telling I can trace directly back to D&D. The idea of narrative, the power of story, the search for meaning, the beauty of using your own imagination to create, all of these go back in some manner to playing D&D. It was during D&D games I learned to tell my own stories, to spin tales that others found entertaining, to sharpen my own intellectual tools when questioned, to think quickly and coherently outside of simple college work.
So for all these reasons and many others you will be missed E. Gary Gygax.
4 comments:
I find it hard to explain, but the news of this really upset me. I never had the opportunity to meet Mr. Gygax (Though I did see him at GenCon once). Gaming has been such a large part of my life. Without it I would not have met You, or even Lisa. And now, I'm raising a second generation of Gamers and we sit and play D&D miniatures. I recently read a book that was a 30 year history of Dungeons and Dragons. It is really hard to believe what it has grown into. Not only did it spawn the RPG industry, but many early computer games were somehow tied to D&D. I don't think that computer gaming would have grown to what it is without D&D. One other thing. Isn't it ironic that he passes away at the same time as the D&D experience was happening. A new generation of rules is being worked on. And I am extremely hopefull that the D&D insider will allow us to play the real game online. I fondly remember the days of playing 1st edition rules, I miss both it and the company.
Gregg
Well said Gregg, well said.
We are not alone in our feelings my friend. Check out this URL
http://www.freeyabb.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?mforum=trolllordgames&t=4373&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0&mforum=trolllordgames
It is quite an amazing thread of dedications to Mr. Gygax, and one of the constant themes is that people met their best friends, spouses, and others over the game table.
Gregg
Rats, it cut the link off... can you send it to me via email and I'll put it in the posting.
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