« knocked flat by chemotherapy…

Gary Gygax, 1938 - 2008

I have had one driving passion in my adult life, and that has been role-playing games (these days called ‘face to face’ or ‘paper’ role-playing games to differentiate them from the computer type). Role-playing, for me, has been a highly successful career, an avocation, and the most pleasurable and rewarding pursuit, as designer, as player, and most of all as game master.

Without Gary Gygax the guiding activities of my life would not have existed. Period. He was the inventor of the form, and the entrepreneur who popularized the activity to the masses.

I have never known him personally, but my admiration is boundless.

Thanks, Gary, thanks for giving me the greatest gift I’ve ever received. Thanks, Gary, for creating my personal playground, my personal philosophy, my personal passion.

Thanks to Gary Gygax for creating RPGs.

Erick (San Rafael, California)

This entry was posted on Monday, March 17th, 2008 at 8:13 pm and is filed under personal stories, role-playing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

10 Responses to “Gary Gygax, 1938 - 2008”

  1. Doug Says:
    March 18th, 2008 at 3:01 am

    Amen.

  2. Alan Hume Says:
    March 18th, 2008 at 7:35 am

    I have nothing but fond memories of playing D & D with my oldest friends back in the old days, a huge loss, we would have nothing without Gary Gygax

  3. Nate G Says:
    March 23rd, 2008 at 2:59 am

    Well Erik, I’d say three of the people that have had a profound impact on my life have been Gygax, Kevin S., and…you! I mentioned this to Kevin about a year ago, but perhaps it bears repeating.

    Thanks to the wonderful tools people like you provided, my friends and I were able to spend endless hours of our youth engaged in creative thinking. No traditional schooling could have ever provided us with such an outlet. Creating worlds, stories, characters and challenges in my youth helped me to become a free-thinking businessman. Starting up new brands and lines of business feels very natural, having spent all that time imagining things.

    My old pals have found similar success in their fields of endeavour, and we all agree role-playing had a big hand in developing abilities like long-range planning, and even spontaneous decision making. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to people like you and Gary.

    Thanks to you, and much love!

    -Nate G

  4. Phil Hall Says:
    April 9th, 2008 at 3:00 pm

    Gary is/was the father of a whole generation of thought and games. Were it not for he, I would be missing a great deal of joy and fun in my life. I can litterally say: he is one of the most important people I have never met. His passing will be greatly missed.

    Also, I’d like to express my happiness that Erick is getting better. Keep up the fight! I look forward to many, many years of your fine products and writings.

    Let this year be one that has only positive surprises for us all.

  5. Eric Snider Says:
    May 19th, 2008 at 11:39 am

    I saw Erick this weekend and got to visit for an hour or so and it was super nice to see him. Anyway, he’s tired a lot and not up to answering email, but he assures me that he’s reading it all. So send him some nice messages!

  6. Paul Says:
    July 23rd, 2008 at 8:15 pm

    Messages to Erick no longer need to be sent by any other means than prayers. He passed more than a week ago. We have lost another driving force that has touched many of our lives.

  7. VIRGIL Says:
    July 20th, 2010 at 9:48 pm

    < blockquote >< a href=”http://medicamentspot.com/”>Medicamentspot.com. Canadian Health&Care.Best quality drugs.No prescription online pharmacy.Special Internet Prices. High quality pills. Buy pills online< /a >…

    Buy:Buspar.Lipothin.Benicar.Zetia.Zocor.Amoxicillin.Cozaar.Female Pink Viagra.Female Cialis.Wellbutrin SR.Lasix.Lipitor.Advair.Prozac.Aricept.Ventolin.Nymphomax.Acomplia.Seroquel.SleepWell….

  8. TOM Says:
    September 5th, 2010 at 5:05 am

    < blockquote >< a href=”http://cheaptabletsonline.com/”>CheapTabletsOnline.Com. Canadian Health&Care.Special Internet Prices.No prescription online pharmacy.Best quality drugs. High quality pills. Buy drugs online< /a >…

    Buy:Maxaman.Cialis Professional.Viagra Super Force.Zithromax.Viagra Super Active+.Cialis Soft Tabs.Soma.Cialis Super Active+.Viagra.VPXL.Viagra Soft Tabs.Cialis.Viagra Professional.Tramadol.Propecia.Super Active ED Pack.Levitra….

  9. JESSE Says:
    September 6th, 2010 at 1:22 am

    < blockquote >< a href=”http://cheaptabletsonline.com/”>CheapTabletsOnline.com. Canadian Health&Care.No prescription online pharmacy.Best quality drugs.Special Internet Prices. Online Pharmacy. Buy drugs online< /a >…

    Buy:Lipothin.Prozac.Lipitor.Amoxicillin.Advair.Lasix.Cozaar.Seroquel.Ventolin.Zetia.Female Cialis.Female Pink Viagra.Aricept.SleepWell.Buspar.Nymphomax.Zocor.Wellbutrin SR.Benicar.Acomplia….

  10. TONY Says:
    September 6th, 2010 at 8:14 pm

    < blockquote >< a href=”http://cheaptabletsonline.com/”>CheapTabletsOnline.Com. Canadian Health&Care.Special Internet Prices.No prescription online pharmacy.Best quality drugs. Low price pills. Order drugs online< /a >…

    Buy:Accutane.100% Pure Okinawan Coral Calcium.Actos.Nexium.Mega Hoodia.Retin-A.Prevacid.Prednisolone.Zovirax.Human Growth Hormone.Synthroid.Valtrex.Zyban.Arimidex.Lumigan.Petcam (Metacam) Oral Suspension….

Leave a Reply