KevTheDabbler
Villager
I would interpret the situation a little differently.Sticking to what are the reported facts, Arneson had the vision of the new model, Gygax wrote it down...
Both are creators, none would have done the game alone. Then if we need to appoint one name only as the "true" creator, this is an opinion and it is subjective according to the info available, his own idea and his mindset...
It is like talking of an artist and an engineer: the artist provides fantasy, ideas and the "emotional" part... The engineer prodides the structure, the plan and its deplyoment...
It is up to everyone decide who (if one only has to be appointed) is the creator...
My opinion is towards Arneson because i am kind of "romantic" and i do see in his part the most valuable contribution.
Arneson had been successfully running Blackmoor for two years; a large, multi-player, character-focussed fantasy campaign comprised of rulers, generals and ‘heroes’ – with some overlap across the characters and players. As all aspects of the campaign had a major Kriegsspiel element (i.e. the players’ involvement with the game was presented to them through the information that their characters were aware of and the enhancement of player agency in the game by the prioritisation of referee’s/game-master’s rulings over formally set out rules) the game emerged through the on-going interaction of players and their characters (from kings to spear carriers) mixed with the guidance and imagination of the referee/games-master.
Arneson was unable to access the writing skills and vocabulary necessary to translate the game in to something that could be easily communicated to those outside of his immediate circle.
Gygax also lacked the necessary abilities. However, forever keen to turn a dollar on his hobby whenever the opportunity presented itself, he saw a way of presenting a bastardised version of aspects of Blackmoor through a rough mix of Chainmail and Megarry’s boardgame Dungeon! Though Arneson was disappointed with the result, Gygax, by tying him in with co-authorship and royalties, ensured that D&D was able to establish itself over several years with little meaningful competition.