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Did Gygax owe a bit of thanks to WotC?
- Thread starter Bullgrit
- Start date
Negflar2099
Explorer
Personally I think it shows more character and respect towards WoTC, D&D, RPG's in general and the fans of TSR and D&D that he always gave his true and honest opinion to whatever question he was asked. I would have lost respect for him if he had just become a mouth piece for the current edition. That doesn't mean I agree with his opinions, but I do respect the man.
Steel_Wind
Legend
While I agree with John that the Net had much to do with the ability of others to interact and connecti with Gary, I do think that the launch of 3rd Ed did something else.
It brought a lot of former AD&D players back into the fold; and by doing so, brought Gary back into the limelight a little. Nostalgia will do that, every time.
That was one of the objects of 3rd ed and it worked brilliantly. Gamers who had left playing either 1st or 2nd edition for other game systems over the years returned to 3rd edition. So as part of that return, I think it is fair to say that Gary had an increase in his overall exposure.
He was also getting visibly older and his mortality was becoming more obvious. In that, his fans who started with OD&D and began to hit middle age in or about 2000 shared that realization in a way that most never had before. (
And that trend continues, too. Indeed, those who began with AD&D 1st Edition in or about 1980 as teens are hitting 45 yrs old now. It's a milestone that naturally brings about self-reflection and a gaze back towards our youth. We call it nostalgia - and it happens every decade for the same reason.
It's been going on in the RPG world for the past decade, and is visibly swelling now as the numbers of player who started playing as teens in the early to mid-80s - the single biggest demographic boom that RPGs have ever had - all hit middle age.
Seen in that light, the rennasisance in Old Skool gaming that has happened over the past decade was not simply natural - it was inevitable. And Gary was aslo, inevitably, a part of that.
I'm glad that WotC reached out to Gary as part of its stewardship of the game and I'm glad that Gary was receptive to some of their overtures.
I had the opprtunity to exchange e-mails with Gary around 2005 when he assisted me with an offical implementation for BioWare's Neverwinter Nights using Chainmail's jousting rules. He was very gracious and that experience and interaction with one of the heroes of my childhood was, I candidly admit, the highlight of my rather brief forray into game design.
All by way of saying, I don't think Gary owed WotC a special thank-you. But he was gracious enough to be polite and to continue to participate in the rennaissance of a hobby he founded.
It's very sad he's gone - but what he created continues to touch the lives of millions over the world. There is not a single other person who will read this message who will have that great an impact upon the world when they are dead and gone. Not one.
Gary was a giant. If any of us stand taller - it's only because we're standing on his shoulders.
It brought a lot of former AD&D players back into the fold; and by doing so, brought Gary back into the limelight a little. Nostalgia will do that, every time.
That was one of the objects of 3rd ed and it worked brilliantly. Gamers who had left playing either 1st or 2nd edition for other game systems over the years returned to 3rd edition. So as part of that return, I think it is fair to say that Gary had an increase in his overall exposure.
He was also getting visibly older and his mortality was becoming more obvious. In that, his fans who started with OD&D and began to hit middle age in or about 2000 shared that realization in a way that most never had before. (
And that trend continues, too. Indeed, those who began with AD&D 1st Edition in or about 1980 as teens are hitting 45 yrs old now. It's a milestone that naturally brings about self-reflection and a gaze back towards our youth. We call it nostalgia - and it happens every decade for the same reason.
It's been going on in the RPG world for the past decade, and is visibly swelling now as the numbers of player who started playing as teens in the early to mid-80s - the single biggest demographic boom that RPGs have ever had - all hit middle age.
Seen in that light, the rennasisance in Old Skool gaming that has happened over the past decade was not simply natural - it was inevitable. And Gary was aslo, inevitably, a part of that.
I'm glad that WotC reached out to Gary as part of its stewardship of the game and I'm glad that Gary was receptive to some of their overtures.
I had the opprtunity to exchange e-mails with Gary around 2005 when he assisted me with an offical implementation for BioWare's Neverwinter Nights using Chainmail's jousting rules. He was very gracious and that experience and interaction with one of the heroes of my childhood was, I candidly admit, the highlight of my rather brief forray into game design.
All by way of saying, I don't think Gary owed WotC a special thank-you. But he was gracious enough to be polite and to continue to participate in the rennaissance of a hobby he founded.
It's very sad he's gone - but what he created continues to touch the lives of millions over the world. There is not a single other person who will read this message who will have that great an impact upon the world when they are dead and gone. Not one.
Gary was a giant. If any of us stand taller - it's only because we're standing on his shoulders.
Mark
CreativeMountainGames.com
Nope. He was known for what he did and always will be, no matter what the owners of the brand do with it, for good or ill.
While every gamer knows who he is, he was pretty obscure during the end of TSR and before WOTC picked it up. Dangerous journey didnt exactly take off.....
billd91
Not your screen monkey (he/him) 🇺🇦🇵🇸🏳️⚧️
If every gamer knows (or knew) who he is, that's not obscure. If Dangerous Journeys didn't sell very well, it could indicate many factors including deficiencies with marketing, distribution, or that it takes more than Gygax's work and byline to sell the product.
Betote
First Post
3E was marketed as a "return to the dungeon". They wanted to be linked to 1e, not 2e, and that meant, among other things, having Gary saying "I'm Gay Gygax and I endorse this D&D". And that's, more or less, what they paid him for, and what he did in his Dungeon/Dragon (I don't remember which of them) articles.
But there's a difference between what one's paid to write and what one wants to write. Gary was very polite and respctfully avoided the aspects he didn't like abut 3E when he wrote for WotC, but when, around the interwebs, he was asked for his opinions by fans, he answered with the truth. And the truth was that he didn't like many of the new D&D's trappings. And he did it vehemently, for he was a vehement person.
A man is entitled to his opinions, and Gary had his, and expressed them when asked. It was not out of charity that WotC had him writing those articles, but an act of marketing. Gary could be a man of strong opinions, somewhat grumpy at many times, and perhaps a little too paid of himself and concerned about monetary issues, but he was definitely nor a liar nor a hypocrite.
But there's a difference between what one's paid to write and what one wants to write. Gary was very polite and respctfully avoided the aspects he didn't like abut 3E when he wrote for WotC, but when, around the interwebs, he was asked for his opinions by fans, he answered with the truth. And the truth was that he didn't like many of the new D&D's trappings. And he did it vehemently, for he was a vehement person.
A man is entitled to his opinions, and Gary had his, and expressed them when asked. It was not out of charity that WotC had him writing those articles, but an act of marketing. Gary could be a man of strong opinions, somewhat grumpy at many times, and perhaps a little too paid of himself and concerned about monetary issues, but he was definitely nor a liar nor a hypocrite.
Seems to me that Gary was entitled to his opinions, (what ever they were, I was not really paying much attention at the time) and did not owe anything much to WotC, even if he was writing for Dragon.
I think you're straying well into the realms of hyperbole here. Gary had some negative things to say about 3e. However, I read his Q&A threads both here and at DF and I don't recall him ever "insulting" the game or referring to it as an "abomination". There is a distinct difference (IMO at least) between "Gary wasn't a fan of 3e" and "Gary thought 3e was an abomination". I think, now that he's no longer around to set the record straight, we should all be very careful about how we characterize things he said over the years to make sure we're not putting words (or insults) in his mouth.
Stormonu
Legend
From several things I had read over the years (and a very brief talk with a couple of the TSR folks just after the WotC purchase*), I got the impression that part of Gary's growing dislike of 3E had more to do with negative attitudes towards him and his "Gygaxian" ways. The coming of 3E was a two-edged sword I think; it helped to bring the limelight back on Gary, but it also illuminated those things about the old edition he'd created that people didn't like. I got the impression he'd encountered - or been forced to deal with - more than a few 3E folks who'd loudly griped to him that AD&D1 was badwrongfun, and he wasn't in the mood to hear it anymore.
* I was at a "writer's camp" for TSR/Wotc about 2 years prior to 3E coming out ('97? '98? - Alternity was released that week is all I remember). At one point we had question and answer session with some of the staff and one of the questions came up about Gary's "up on a soapbox" articles. The staff essential stated they felt he was mostly out in left field as far as game design at that time.
* I was at a "writer's camp" for TSR/Wotc about 2 years prior to 3E coming out ('97? '98? - Alternity was released that week is all I remember). At one point we had question and answer session with some of the staff and one of the questions came up about Gary's "up on a soapbox" articles. The staff essential stated they felt he was mostly out in left field as far as game design at that time.
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