RIP Gary
Today, Gary Gygax, the creator of Dungeons and Dragons died. As a gamer, I owe to him all of the hours of fun that I've had with the hobby over the years, because without him, there would be no D&D, and none of the other games would have been made. He exerted a tremendous influence on all aspects of fantasy. For one thing, he helped make the Tolkien races more-or-less standard, and so through this he even influenced the authors who actively rejected this standardization. Anyway, to sum up, I steal the Eulogy for a Gamer from Kenzer and Company's "Knights of the Dinner Table", which is also posted on their site. It was originally written (IIRC) when their fictional character "Gary Jackson" (whose name is a reference to Gary Gygax and Steve Jackson, who created GURPS) died after playing a similar role in the formation of gaming in the KoDT-verse by creating "Hackmaster"
"The Empty Chair" A Eulogy for a Gamer
There is an empty chair,
at the table this day.
A hallowed place where,
a friend once played.
The roll of his dice,
my ears long to hear.
Or perhaps it would suffice,
if he should suddenly appear.
With character sheet in hand,
and a bag of Cheeze-doodles to share.
All his friends would stand,
as he sat in the empty chair.
I hear his voice a-callin',
and it ties my heart in a knot.
For he cries, "Though a comrade has fallen,
You must play for those who cannot."
We conquered worlds on the run,
he and I in the name of fun.
And as others may come and go,
I make both friend and foe.
But what I long for most,
is our past, now long a ghost.
Here are some links to reactions:
http://www.kenzerco.com/
http://www.bynkii.com/archives/2008/03/goodbye_gary.html
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/03/04
http://www.giantitp.com/ (for words on the main page) and more permanently, the strip http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0536.html
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/03/the_dungeon_master_fails_his_s.php
I'll add more as I come across them.
"The Empty Chair" A Eulogy for a Gamer
There is an empty chair,
at the table this day.
A hallowed place where,
a friend once played.
The roll of his dice,
my ears long to hear.
Or perhaps it would suffice,
if he should suddenly appear.
With character sheet in hand,
and a bag of Cheeze-doodles to share.
All his friends would stand,
as he sat in the empty chair.
I hear his voice a-callin',
and it ties my heart in a knot.
For he cries, "Though a comrade has fallen,
You must play for those who cannot."
We conquered worlds on the run,
he and I in the name of fun.
And as others may come and go,
I make both friend and foe.
But what I long for most,
is our past, now long a ghost.
Here are some links to reactions:
http://www.kenzerco.com/
http://www.bynkii.com/archives/2008/03/goodbye_gary.html
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/03/04
http://www.giantitp.com/ (for words on the main page) and more permanently, the strip http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0536.html
http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2008/03/the_dungeon_master_fails_his_s.php
I'll add more as I come across them.