Gary Gygax has passed. RIP beloved father of RPG's. (merged)

[ghul]

Fellows,

I am deeply saddened by the loss of Gary Gygax. For the last two years I have worked for Gary, working on Castle Zagyg materials. In that time we became good pals, talking about family, sports and other things non-gaming related. We became friends. Gary Gygax took me under his wing and taught me how to design a fine adventure. He yelled at me, he praised me, he worked with me, he frustrated me, he improved me. He was a mentor and a friend, and I'll never forget the opportunities he has provided me. I'm proud to have known him.

--Jeffrey Talanian

 

[Ghostwind]

http://www.freeyabb.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=4378&mforum=trolllordgames

I know a lot of people want to contact the Gygax family and send their regards and well wishes. I am afraid that his regular email account, which he used for business might become too overwhelmed with letters of condolences that the family will have a hard time sorting out all his business affairs at a later time.

With that in mind I have created a separate email account that I will hand over to Gail, Gary's wife, when I talk again with her tomorrow.

The email address to send any personal messages to the family is: InMemoryOfGaryGygax@gmail.com

Pass around the word.

Kerry

 

[Vayden]

I'm 26, the first RPG I played was on a computer. I never met the man, never played any D&D before 3.5. Still find myself shaken up by the news. The man was a giant.

Tonight we're getting together an impromptu game - going to drink some beers and play Basic D&D for the first time. Thank you for everything, Gary.

 

[ivocaliban]

March Forth, Colonel. You carry with you our hearts.

 

[Marius Delphus]

Greatly saddened at the news and for the loss Gary's family and friends have suffered.

Greatly, endlessly, wordlessly appreciative of Gary's contribution to hobby gaming and to many, many cherished memories.

So long Gary, and may those of us who owe you a debt of gratitude continue to roll polyhedral dice (or their virtual equivalents) in friendship and joy for a long, long time to come.

 

[Rookseye]

In the collected history of the arts, and literature first and foremost, there have been people possessed of such powerful imaginations, that they can build worlds; Lovecraft, Tolkien, and Stephen King are but a few examples.

Not only was Gary Gygax gifted enough to share with us his own World of Greyhawk, he was gracious enough to do the work necessary to show millions of other people how to create their own worlds. I'm sure all of you can agree that this gift has helped make many of us the people that we are today. Like imagination itself, the worth of such a gift is immeasurable.

Thank You.

 

[Zaruthustran]

I can honestly describe Gary Gygax's game as "formative". It helped me define myself as a person, and influenced my entire life, including my professional career. I'll be eternally grateful to Gary. And though I'm saddened by the news of his death, I'm gladdened by all the happy memories shared among friends and family around the game table, and honored to be a part of the community that has grown up around his game.

 

[howandwhy99]

I'm still pretty stun. Fare well Mr Gygax. You truly deserved your honors, Father of the Game.

 

[EricNoah]

I remember…

… hours, days, years, decades of pleasure from playing D&D with friends and family.

… the thrill of discovering that Col_Pladoh was in fact Gary Gygax and posting on my forums

… trading e-mails with Gary as we tried to play a prank on our French friend “PA”

… meeting him at GenCon. He gave me an autographed copy of one of his D20 adventures. The guy at the booth tried to charge me for it and Gary just looked at him like he was nuts. He also posed with me for a photo. I jokingly proposed to have him sitting on my lap ala the photoshopped pic of him (his head on a baby’s body) and me that had been circulating prior to this – he totally would have gone for it but I chickened out.

… having a young relative of his going to the school where I teach. She was a delight to have around and it was just cool to be reminded daily of Gary’s legacy through her presence.

… getting an e-mail from him after his stroke and sharing the news with EN World.

… seeing him posting on EN World in the many long threads he participated in.

Thanks, Gary, for all you have brought to my life and for sharing so generously of yourself with EN World!

 

[billd91]

I never had more personal contact with Gary Gygax than the occasional sighting at Gen Cons too numerous to mention but D&D has been a massive part of my life for more than 25 years (it's starting to get scarily close to 30 years).

The RPG and broader gaming community may have grown beyond just D&D. Other designers have come to the fore with their take on RPGs. Yet D&D remains the closest thing to a lingua franca in the gaming community. The majority have probably played it; even more know a substantial amount about it (even if they may have disdained it for another game); and we all laugh at insider humor takes on it whether in songs by Weird Al or Lukeski or in the comics by John Kovalic and Jolly Blackburn. D&D is, in many ways, a binder cementing gamer geek culture together (yes, so we can quite often bicker bitterly about it and other varied topics).
To have had that kind of impact on so many people is quite a record.

Rest in peace, Gary.