On Tuesday 4th March 2008, Gary Gygax, one of the creators of seminal role playing game Dungeons and Dragons died at the age of 69. But what legacy has the man, and the game he helped to create, left behind?

Dungeons and Dragons first came out in 1974, and soon found itself on millions of kitchen tables around the world. People would sit around for hours using a dice, a pen and some paper to transport themselves to a world of Elves and Goblins.

The word geek came in to normal everyday usage, and was used to describe the people who could literally dissolve themselves in to another world for hours, and sometimes days at a time.

Dungeons and Dragons is now regarded as the first real role playing game, which took players in to an interactive environment, and blurred the line between reality and fiction, and its legacy is there for all to see.

First you have games such as World of Warcraft, which now boasts over 10 million subscribers worldwide. But there's no doubt in my mind that without D&D, there would be no WoW, or any of the other online role playing games which eat up people's lives, and sometimes even lead to divorce.

There is also a case for saying that Dungeons and Dragons began the trend for social gaming. Long before the Wii was thought of, D&D was urging people to team up and play with fellow gamers, and enjoy their geekdom together. In fact, geeks is no longer the dirty word it once was, and many people now savour the fact that they are geeks, and wear the badge with pride.

Would fantasy have seen the resurgence it has in the last 30 years were it not for D&D bringing it once again in to the mainstream? Popular culture is now swarming with instances of the fantasy genre, from video games, books, and movies, and yet before D&D, there is a case for saying fantasy was uncool, and of a bygone era.

So Gygax may have passed away, and I hope he rests in peace in whichever clan he decides to reside with, but his legacy, and the legacy of the game he helped to create and turn in to a phenomenon lives on.

Entry was posted on Friday, March 7th, 2008 at 10:59 am under Uncategorized.  Print This Post