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<blockquote data-quote="JohnRTroy" data-source="post: 5378666" data-attributes="member: 2732">I don't dismiss the &quot;idea&quot; creation, but there's a lot to be said between thinking of an idea and implementing it.&nbsp; After all, people have had the idea of flying cars for decades, but nobody's actually created the darn thing.&nbsp; So that's why I don't care so much about Wesley's idea, because the idea is not the easy part, and there's a lot of parallel thought that I'm sure can come up.&nbsp; I think people looking for the creator dismiss all the contributions Gygax made and IMO widely deserved.1)&nbsp; Gygax was a pretty well-established writer before he co-created D&amp;D.2)&nbsp; Gygax was the one who formed GenCon, the LGTSA, etc.&nbsp; Without that community, there would not have been the sharing of the ideas that would have lead to the RPG.3)&nbsp; Gygax formed Chainmail, the rules that influenced the others.4)&nbsp; Gygax was the one who actually gave up his day job to do this.&nbsp; Arneson didn't until after it took off.&nbsp; People need to remember that it was a pretty decent sacrifice for Gary to bet the farm on something that might have only satisfied a niche at the time, something Arneson didn't want to do.&nbsp; It was he with Don Kaye who first did this.5)&nbsp; From what I've gathered, Gary had the writing discipline that Arneson and others didn't.&nbsp; Just take a look at Gary's record of writing vs. Arneson.&nbsp; Even the detractors who call Gary a &quot;thief&quot; tend not to look at the sum of Gygax's output over the course of his live vs. Arneson.&nbsp; In fact, in a few interviews on the web, Arneson admits Gary's the more prolific writer.&nbsp; Compare the amount Gary's written and contributed to the whole D&amp;D mythos vs. Dave.&nbsp; And it certainly wasn't just because Gygax had the TSR company backing him, since Dangerous Journeys and Lejendary Adventures prove that wrong.&nbsp; So, while I honestly think that both men deserve credit, I don't think that it was a 50-50 thing either, and I think Gygax might have done something similar because of his drive--the odds are Gygax might have created something akin to an RPG and published it--but I have doubts that Arneson alone could have done it.&nbsp; Gygax was a designer but he was also an entrepreneur and a charismatic sort and all was key for this to work.&nbsp; And while we can debate is there would be an RPG without this--I'm sure many elements would have been a LOT different because different creators have different influences.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="JohnRTroy, post: 5378666, member: 2732"] I don't dismiss the "idea" creation, but there's a lot to be said between thinking of an idea and implementing it. After all, people have had the idea of flying cars for decades, but nobody's actually created the darn thing. So that's why I don't care so much about Wesley's idea, because the idea is not the easy part, and there's a lot of parallel thought that I'm sure can come up. I think people looking for the creator dismiss all the contributions Gygax made and IMO widely deserved. 1) Gygax was a pretty well-established writer before he co-created D&D. 2) Gygax was the one who formed GenCon, the LGTSA, etc. Without that community, there would not have been the sharing of the ideas that would have lead to the RPG. 3) Gygax formed Chainmail, the rules that influenced the others. 4) Gygax was the one who actually gave up his day job to do this. Arneson didn't until after it took off. People need to remember that it was a pretty decent sacrifice for Gary to bet the farm on something that might have only satisfied a niche at the time, something Arneson didn't want to do. It was he with Don Kaye who first did this. 5) From what I've gathered, Gary had the writing discipline that Arneson and others didn't. Just take a look at Gary's record of writing vs. Arneson. Even the detractors who call Gary a "thief" tend not to look at the sum of Gygax's output over the course of his live vs. Arneson. In fact, in a few interviews on the web, Arneson admits Gary's the more prolific writer. Compare the amount Gary's written and contributed to the whole D&D mythos vs. Dave. And it certainly wasn't just because Gygax had the TSR company backing him, since Dangerous Journeys and Lejendary Adventures prove that wrong. So, while I honestly think that both men deserve credit, I don't think that it was a 50-50 thing either, and I think Gygax might have done something similar because of his drive--the odds are Gygax might have created something akin to an RPG and published it--but I have doubts that Arneson alone could have done it. Gygax was a designer but he was also an entrepreneur and a charismatic sort and all was key for this to work. And while we can debate is there would be an RPG without this--I'm sure many elements would have been a LOT different because different creators have different influences. [/QUOTE]

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