TSR Q&A with Gary Gygax

Reynard · Oct 14, 2007

Col_Pladoh said:
Well...

That is a worthwhle essay, and it deserves to be published in a work of scholarly sort dealing with the RPG. My criticism was meant only for your consideration in broadening the scope of your analysus.

Cheerio,
Gary

I appreciate it and took it into consideration when writing the second draft, which it is now posted to the same thread.

Thanks again.

Col_Pladoh · Oct 14, 2007

Reynard said:
I appreciate it and took it into consideration when writing the second draft, which it is now posted to the same thread.

Thanks again.

Having read through the comments on your essay thread, I must say that while many of them are worthwhile, not a few are on the negative side seemingly for the sole purpose of being disputatious. To my mind it seems that there is a total lack of comprehension of what constitutes an RPG on the part of several of the persons quibbling with your premises.

For example, random chance must be a part of the game form, just as it is in real like. Many of the comments denigrating your work seem to completely overlook this fact. Another example is the confusion of a game of improvisational thespianism with the RPG.

I congratulate you on your patience in responding to some of the comments that come from what one might term the peanut gallery.

Cheerio,
Gary

Col_Pladoh · Oct 14, 2007

JRR_Talking said:
Hi Gary

Apologies for any insult you, and others, make take from this but, as we all eventually hit -10 hp, do you intend to have anything RPG related on your headstone?

Myself i was thinking, and inspired by Spike Milligan, to have something like "I told you it was trapped'" on mine?

Regards, and long life.

John

Missed this earlier

As a matter of fact I intend to be cremated, not have any headstone at all...not even a slender cross of wood alone to proclaim that here a game designer lies at peace beneath the peaceful skies.

(Find the poem from whence I lifted a good bit of that, and have a boquet of violets and my congratulations :lol:

)

Cheerio,
Gary

JRR_Talking · Oct 14, 2007

Under the Violets
By Oliver Wendell Holmes
1859

.....A slender cross of wood alone
Shall say, that here a maiden lies
In peace beneath the peaceful skies.

.......Lies withered where the violets blow.

******************************************
My regards sir, it contains some very sombre prose
John

PS the violets are nice but id rather have some xp!!

JamesM · Oct 15, 2007

Gary,

Your writing style is very unique and I miss reading such marvelously grandiloquent prose in D&D products. I'm curious: how did you develop your style? It reminds me a bit of Jack Vance's authorial voice. Were you influenced by any particular authors or is it simply the way you've always written?

Thanks!

Flexor the Mighty! · Oct 15, 2007

Hey Gary, hope all is well with you.

Got a non-gaming question. What do you think of The Glenlivet scotch whisky? Is it worth the extra price in your opinion.

Col_Pladoh · Oct 15, 2007

JRR_Talking said:
Under the Violets
By Oliver Wendell Holmes
1859

.....A slender cross of wood alone
Shall say, that here a maiden lies
In peace beneath the peaceful skies.

.......Lies withered where the violets blow.

******************************************
My regards sir, it contains some very sombre prose
John

PS the violets are nice but id rather have some xp!!

Good Show!

I admit that reading that particular poem usually causes a tear to wet my cheek.

And yes, violets grow wild hereabouts in the warm months, but RPG play awards such as XPs are rather harder to come by.

Cheers,
Gary

Col_Pladoh · Oct 15, 2007

JamesM said:
Gary,

Your writing style is very unique and I miss reading such marvelously grandiloquent prose in D&D products. I'm curious: how did you develop your style? It reminds me a bit of Jack Vance's authorial voice. Were you influenced by any particular authors or is it simply the way you've always written?

Thanks!

Heh...

I can't say exactly how my writing style evolved, but it came to fruition, as it were, back in the heyday of TSR and hasn't changed much since then. I have read so many works of fiction and fact written by all manner of different authors it is impossible for me to know what comes from where.

As a matter of fact I very much admire the writing of Jack Vance, read his work with a mixture of delight and ency, but I can not hold a candle to him.

If you take a lok at the installments of the Gnome Cache in the early numbers of Dragon magazine you will see how badly I was writing then, and how my style developed thereafter...although not a few critics observe that my writing is no better, just different :lol:

Cheerio,
Gary

Col_Pladoh · Oct 15, 2007

Flexor the Mighty! said:
Hey Gary, hope all is well with you.

Got a non-gaming question. What do you think of The Glenlivet scotch whisky? Is it worth the extra price in your opinion.

Hey Flexor,

I do enjoy single malt Schtch whiskeys, so yes. IMO Glenlivit is worth the extra cost. That said, it is not my favorite single malt. The ones I most enjoy are the pale, peaty-flavored ones.

Cheers,
Gary

JamesM · Oct 15, 2007

Col_Pladoh said:
As a matter of fact I very much admire the writing of Jack Vance, read his work with a mixture of delight and ency, but I can not hold a candle to him.

I think you are too modest, but will not argue against you. Still, I find it regrettable that RPG products in general are not as "quirky" stylistically as they once were. The writing nowadays feels flat and aspires to be little more than technical writing. I think much of the feel of D&D stemmed from the way it was written as much as its actual content (though the latter is obviously important as well).

If you take a lok at the installments of the Gnome Cache in the early numbers of Dragon magazine you will see how badly I was writing then, and how my style developed thereafter...although not a few critics observe that my writing is no better, just different.

Ah, Garrison Ernst. I wonder whatever became of him ...?

TSR Q&A with Gary Gygax

Reynard

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Col_Pladoh

Gary Gygax

Col_Pladoh

Gary Gygax

JRR_Talking

First Post

JamesM

First Post

Flexor the Mighty!

18/100 Strength!

Col_Pladoh

Gary Gygax

Col_Pladoh

Gary Gygax

Col_Pladoh

Gary Gygax

JamesM

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