Gary Gygax, the co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons passed away last week. I never played D&D as a kid, but I knew a lot of guys who did and I had more than one occasion to peruse the stacks of D&D books they never seemed to be without. I was fascinated by the color and detail of it all, and ultimately it was only the lack of time that kept me from getting in on the action. I was more of a Starfleet Battles man, and heavens knows how much time that game took per move!
Nevertheless, I owe a great debt to Gygax because the fantasy worlds I’ve come to inhabit later in life, such as Final Fantasy and World of Warcraft, are based on the role playing game paradigm that he helped create. And to a great extent videogames in general. So thanks Gary, and I think I’ll skip the obligatory saving throw joke! Here’s an xkcd tribute instead!