Gygax doesn't matter?

[Filcher]

Heard of, and now disregarded. Chimera Games could release the game of the century and I wouldn't buy it.

 

[Zoatebix]

Off Topic

His tone isn't exactly helpful.

Also, where in Falls Church are you? That'll be the first time I've seen FC, VA on these boards besides my own.

Yeah, his tone says more than his words do.

I'm not in Falls Church proper; I'm a little East of Seven Corners. I've been meaning to meet local EN Worlders for forever, as well as local game designers like Chad Underkoffler, Fred Hicks, and Rob Donoghue. I have a Seminar that lasts until 3 on Saturday, but I'm going to try make the second session of DC Gameday II.
-George

 

[Pbartender]

Shilsen, in no way do I want this to sound like an attack or personal judgement. I shall state that your viewpoint is very unusual.

Huh... I have a very similar point of view to Shilsen's.

Long ago, I realized that are a great many things people worry about, or get angry about, or get sad about, that really aren't worth getting worried or angry or sad about. So I don't.

With very, very few exceptions, such emotions rarely solve the problems that elicit them. That doesn't mean I never feel them... I just save them for the few times when they're really needed, and don't indulge them when they aren't.

 

[+5 Keyboard!]

Hey Shilsen, thanks for taking the time to respond to my posts. I still find your emotional processes hard to fathom, and perhaps I'm even jealous of such emotional selectiveness if it's real, but I totally respect that and the way you comport yourself.

 

[+5 Keyboard!]

Oh, and let me just add my own feelings on Mr. Gygax's passing.

I never met him, but I tried to at last year's Gen Con. I missed his last book signing appearance at the Paizo booth by an hour. I was pretty bummed and more son now that I'll never have that opportunity.

I didn't shed any tears and didn't post to every messageboard I frequent waxing nostalgic and announcing the various ways I planned to honor his passing.

Mr. Gygax (with Dave Arneson's help) created a hobby from which all of the table top RPGs and video games owe their existence to. Literally millions of people enjoy the games he was responsible for inspiring. We owe him a great debt and the honors he deserves.

As a writer, I would have never written a single adventure module or the even more abundant material I wrote/write for my home games had I never picked up the early TSR products Gygax wrote directly or indirectly. I would have never met half the people I know had I not taken up Mr. Gygax's wonderful creation as a hobby.

Much of the man I am today was influenced by the fantastical, intellectual, and thought-provoking written words of Mr. Gary Gygax. His spirit is found in every dice roll at my game table, every new writing assignment I receive as a freelancer, and every time my little girl picks up a plastic sword and whacks one of my friends with it while screaming, "Sneak Attack!"

Though I shed no tears and I'll feel no direct change in my life with his passing, I honor his tremendous contributions to it and his influence on my life and those of the friends and familiy I'll introduce to the game at some point or another. He truly made a difference in the world and he will be missed.

 

[pawsplay]

But if we work with the quotation, shouldn't our response to someone's death be the same as our response to their life? Wouldn't sorrow at someone's death be extremely strange, considering that "life and death are one" and presumably one wasn't being sorrowful at the person's life?

Isn't life a little sorrowful? I think the poem is about meaning, not responses. Of course we feel sadness at passing and joy at new life. We also feel enjoyment from a good meal and discomfort from starvation. But I know life, death, sustenance, and discomfort are all part of our existence. Philosophically, I accept death, even welcome it when it comes in a time amicable to me. I love life, but also recognize that to live is to strive, and to strive, you must suffer.

EGG's passing was significant to me, not the least because it reminded me that our time here is limited. People die all the time, but EGG has a special connection to some time and events in my life, although I did not know him personally. Thus for me it is proper to grieve. Am I very sad? No, not really. I grieve in the spirit of gratitude. I am sad knowing he is gone, but likewise, happy that he lived.

I learned to play with the red box D&D set, and I was never completely happy with AD&D. I switched to other game systems almost entirely by the time I was 12 or so. I did not return to D&D with interest until 3rd edition. Nonetheless, I recognize a chain of events in which EGG mattered. Although I moved on, what he and others wrought in those early days was amazing and new. It is easy to bag on innovators and to look back on pioneers with scorn; we have the benefit of hindsight.

I am aware always of the connections between things. Ultimately, millions of people worldwide benefit from the discoveries of Gygax, Arneson, and the rest. Many of those people would not even recognize Gygax's name. Apart from creating the FRPG industry, Gygax was also important because he was of a generation who were familiar with swords-and-fantasy, existing in competition and in parallel to Hobbit and LOTR. The popularity of D&D is a link to the roots of modern S&S, Leiber, Vance, Anderson, Howard, etc. That is an important trove of culture. So I am grateful Gygax had that interest.

 

[Storm Raven]

You wouldn't even have movies like the Lion the Witch and the Wadrobe or The Lord Of the Rings. Yes, those authors would have been famous and a side note next to their work for a good writing job, but you would not have fantasy movies based on those films, period.

I often see claims like this and have to point out that this sentiment is simply off-base. LotR had serious movie development interest long before D&D was even a glimmer of a thought in Gygax and Arneson's minds. Both LotR and The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe were sought after movie properties almost immediately upon their publication. Claiming that without D&D those movies would not have been made is simply rewriting history, and getting it backwards.

Without LotR and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (and Lieber, and Howard, and Vance, and so on), there would have been no D&D. Not the other way around.

 

[Lord Slaw]

I feel like I have to get my two cents in on this article.

Number one, as said before, have some reverence, Mr. Snyder. I respect your opinion, and yes, some people might have overreacted a little bit. Granted, Gary's death wasn't a cataclysmic event, but it was still a major loss to the roleplaying community, him being the father of it, and all. But it wouldn't hurt to wait a little bit longer before trashing him and his fans like that, if you have to do it at all. I'm not going to walk around with a black veil, but if I want to light a candle and delay this week's game, that's my business.

Number two, thanks for the stereotypes, my friend. Yes, we ALL play in Mom and Dad's basement, because D&D is a LIFESTYLE, and as such, we don't have jobs or money, since we spend all our time drooling over character sheets. The majority of D&D fans have normal lives - when it comes to picking between school work and D&D, school work wins. Period. For those of us with jobs, I feel confident that they would say the same. Productive work > D&D > sitting around doing nothing > Runescape (only kidding, Runescape fans ).

Number three, Gary didn't run my life, but he did help aspects of it along. I had friends before, I wrote before, and I had hobbies before. But a bit more of all those things was much appreciated. My writing style is heavily rooted in fantasy, and D&D encouraged me to write more often. It starts as a character background, and it ends up as good practice and good fun. Before I knew it, I had further developed my writing skills, and am now considering beginning work on a novel. I met a few more friends with my geeky sense of humor, and I have brought others together through games every other Friday at Border's. Gary didn't do this, but he gave me the excuse to do it. And I know a very successful businessman who did, indeed, get encouraged to start up in the business world by playing Monopoly. It's the little things that make a big difference, from time to time.

So, in conclusion, what I'm saying is not "screw you, Mr. Snyder." And I'm not saying "all hail Gary," either (though respect would be appreciated). What I'm saying is "think before you lash out, Mr. Snyder, and thank you for your small, but immensely positive impact on my life, Gary."

Everything that I have said has been said before, but now it is I who am saying it, as I feel that it needs to be said by I. And that's all I have to say

 

[SPoD]

hat someone who makes a living writing roleplaying games (the Chimera Games guy) could not recognize this, is just silly to me.

An indie RPG publisher with no professional credits beyond his own self-published games? It is highly, HIGHLY unlikely that this guy makes enough profit on RPGs to pay for his groceries, much less make his living.

This is obviously someone who saw all of the Gygax eulogies around the web and realized that he could attract attention to his tiny company by badmouthing them. Think of it as counterprogramming: He figures some section of the RPG market probably feels the same way, why not speak to them instead of having his voice lost in the endless sea of tributes? He probably figures there's no such thing as bad publicity. If he was truly apathetic about Gygax's passing, he wouldn't have devoted an entire rant to it. No, he made a decision to make that rant specifically because he saw the potential for attracting readers. I mean, hell, we're all talking about him right now. Of course, I'll never buy anything he writes, ever. But then, there wasn't much chance of that anyway, since I would never have heard of him--and he knows it. If he attracts even a handful of people who consider buying his stuff because of this rant, then it's a net win for him.

 

[Teflon Billy]

...I personally think it is logical, or rational (and yes, these are very loaded words), to detach from some feelings. Is it a good thing to avoid feeling jealousy? How about rage? For me, yes. I do agree that logic serves an end. In this case, it serves the end of allowing me to be exactly the sort of person I want to be and to live every day without unhappiness, worry, or regret. For me personally it's a worthwhile end...

You're a credit to the federation Spock