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

source : https://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.