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E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson co-created D&D during a zeitgeist period of roleplaying. Did they invent roleplaying? No. Did they create the first of what we'd call a tabletop RPG? Probably not. Were they the first to commercially publish one? Bingo-- in 1974! To the world, Gygax launched D&D and became the personification of roleplaying. More than launching a game, Gygax co-launched an industry, and in the process became the public face of the game. His was the name that the media reported on, his was the visage exploited as the archetypical GM, his was the name that usually was tagged solo to the D&D brand. In the mainstream world, Roleplaying meant D&D, and D&D meant Gary Gygax. Nowerdays, we call what they made 'tabletop roleplaying'. Then, roleplaying had only two meanings-- the formal psychological terms for therapeutic roleplaying, and the D&D meaning. RPG as an acronym had one: roleplaying. Oh, okay, Rocket-propelled grenades, the 'other RPG', were around since WWII, true, but it was easier to buy a copy of D&D and play Gygax's "Sturmgeschultz and Sorcery, or How effective is a Panzerfaust against a Troll, Heinz?" (reprinted in Best of Dragon vol 1) than to get a civilian weapon. So Gygax's RPG triumphed. Now, we have CRPGs (which have virtually co-opted the word 'RPG'), roleplaying as a corporate training method, roleplaying in sensitivity classes, roleplay as a bedroom game. We have CRPGs, LARP, MMORPG, probably YRPGs (Yarn-based roleplaying) for all I know. It's everywhere. In one of many ironic twists, we only had to distinguish tabletop after Computer RPGs co-opted the term 'RPG'. And hey, CRPGs were based on... D&D. RPGing, itself derived from wargaming, is used in some military training situations as... a wargame tool. Or note that Dave Arneson used rock-paper-scissors as a pre-D&D resolution mechanic decades before V:TM MET popularized RPS as an RPG tool (ooh, acronym soup!). Now Gygax is no longer with us. But his legacy lives on. Not just in the industry he co-founded, the games and gamers he inspired, the positive media attention he brought. Think also of... KoDT. OotS. Dork Tower. Hackmaster. Any talent can create a product. A few can launch an industry. But how many can co-create something so imaginative, there's an entire sub-industry based on parodies of the original work? That is too cool. As was Gary. I only met him once, but you know, I think I may have played a few of the games he created. Me and a few tens of millions of people. Nice legacy, that. |
