I was saddened but not suprised to hear about Gary Gygax's passing today. Mr. Gygax had been burning both ends of the candle for quite some time. For those of you who are non-geeks, are under the age of 18 or have been living under a rock for most of the three latest decades, E. Gary Gygax is the co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons and the main man behind the whole role-playing game as a business.
He left a successful career in the insurance trade to launch what would be a very lucrative endeavour, although he would be quickly set aside by more greedy "associates" as it often happens in the world of business people. But Gygax remain to this day an inspiration for a very significant number of individuals.
For me, Gygax and his game has helped shape the person that I am today. My interests in languages, cultures, weaponry, warfare, the Middle Ages, myths, and even ecology arise from years of playing in and creating a fantasy setting for the role-playing games that he and his followers would design all through my teen and young adult years. Gygax and D&D have also an indirect influence on my main career choice : translation. The French translations of D&D issued in the Eighties were so lame that I started to work on my very own translations, sparking an interest that would linger and eventually bloom. Monster names in French sounded awkward if not downright corny or laughable. Weapon names were often inappropriate.
I guess another positive point to mention is how it has allowed me to enlarge my circle of friends, and keep me from getting into deep trouble and, some would even say I have averted suicide partly because of RPGs.
So, thank you very much Mr. Gygax.
Now, where did I put my Rod of Resurrection...?
Posted by phonono at mars 04, 2008 11:19 PM