Dungeons & Dragons Creator, Gary Gygax, Dies at 69, in Wisconsin

Dungeons & Dragons creator, Gary Gygax, has died in his home of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. He was 69.

The Associated Press reported that Gary Gygax had been sick and had suffered a recent abdominal aneurysm. His wife, Gail Gygax, confirmed the news.

Gygax and co-creator Dave Arneson developed Dungeons & Dragons in 1974. The game was based on medieval characters and mythical creatures. The game became a hit immediately, particularly among teenage boys at that time. Dungeons & Dragons eventually made inroads into video games, books and movies. It was a definite hit for Gary Gygax.

Initially the game was a hit among college students. However, Dungeons & Dragons continued to be played by those early adopters as they came into middle age, even as the game continued to be appealed by a younger audience.

It is said that Dungeons & Dragons was so successful because it formed a bridge between the worlds of books the interactive video game industry. Before Dungeons & Dragons there was not anything similar. Fantasy could only be explored by reading books such as Tolkien's and Robert Howard's books. Gygax and Arnerson made a revolution by developing a game in which fantasy could be explored, manipulated and played by a set of pre-fixed rules

Experts believe that the game has been played by at least 20 million people. Commercially, the Dungeons & Dragons has also been a complete success since it is estimated sales in excess of 1 billion dollars (New York Times). The game is currently published by a division of Hasbro (Wizards of the Coast).

Dungeons & Dragons is regarded as the beginning of modern role-playing games and, by extension, the entire role-playing game industry (Source: Williams, J. P.; Hendricks, S. Q.; Winkler, W. K. (2006). "Introduction: Fantasy Games, Gaming Cultures, and Social Life", Gaming as Culture, Essays on Reality, Identity and Experience in Fantasy Games. McFarland & Company: Oxford University Press).

In a 2006 interview, Gary Gygax expressed that the essence of D & D was that "it's a group, a cooperative experience" and in this sense it is why it is maybe one of the best games around since it was the first o me to take the group experience and make it in an enjoyable situation.

Also according to that interview, playing games with some miniatures and a castle, that a friend, Jeff Perren, had brought to his home in Lake Geneva was what inspired the development and evolution of Dungeons & Dragons

Sources:

Gary Gygax, Game Pioneer, Dies at 69

Dungeons & Dragons Co-Creator Dies at 69

The Original Dungeon Master, Gary Gygax Dies at 69

Dungeons & Dragons co-creator dead at 69

Gary Gygax Interview URL: http://www.gamebanshee.com/interviews/garygygax1.php