Gary Gygax

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Ernest Gary Gygax (Chicago, Illinois, July 27, 1938-Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, March 4, 2008) was an American writer and game designer, known for being one of the most creators of the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons with Dave Arneson, and one of the co-founders of the company TSR, Inc. with Don Kaye in 1974. He is considered by many to be the father of role-playing games.

Early years and inspiration

Ernest Gary was the son of Martin Gygax (pronounced "Ghe-gox" in Swiss German, and "Guy-gacks" in American English), a Swiss immigrant, and of an American mother. His fondness for games began at the age of 5, playing pinnacle and chess as well as other children's games. His playmates were Jim Rasch, Jon Rasch, and Don Kaye. In his spare time and in the years that followed, Gygax began to explore the world of science fiction with Ray Bradbury and Robert E. Howard.

In 1953 Gygax began playing miniature strategy games (such as the Avalon Hill Company's Gettysburg game, one that caught his attention).^{[quote required]} Through this company he ordered the first available hexagonal grid maps. He also began looking for innovative ways to generate random rolls, not just with regular 6-sided dice, but with higher-sided dice.

Strategy and role-playing games

In 1966 he collaborated in the creation of the IFW (International Federation of Wargamers), and organized a meeting of about 20 wargames players in 1967. It was held in the basement of his house and would later be known as Gen Con 0, a precedent for the Gen Con, player conventions, which would begin to be held in 1968. Gen Con are currently the largest player conventions in the world. At this meeting Gary Gygax would meet Brian Blume and Dave Arneson. Brian Blume would later become part of TSR with Don Kaye and Gary.

I loved the medieval period, the Dark Ages in particular. We started playing in that period because I had found suitable miniatures. I started designing the rules where each figure had their own rules based on what they were wearing. If a figure had a shield but no armor, it only had a shield. There were also rules based on armor and I also designed rules for different weapons.

Together with Don Kaye, Mike Reese, and Leon Tucker, Gary Gygax created a Lake Geneva Tactical Studies Association (LGTSA), as well as other peers whom he had met at regular gatherings.

In 1971 Gary Gygax and Jeff Perren wrote the game Chainmail, a strategy game with miniatures from which the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons (D&D)

TSR

Gary Gygax and Don Kaye founded the company Tactical Studies Rules (TSR), which published the first version of Dungeons & Dragons in 1974. Gygax was inspired by Jack Vance to develop the spell systems and for the settings of the fantastic worlds of him he was inspired by medieval fantasy authors such as J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert E. Howard, L. Sprague de Camp, and Fritz Leiber. The first edition of 1,000 copies was sold in nine months. That same year, Gygax hired Tim Kask to help him turn "The Strategic Review" magazine into a periodical associated with "D&D", "The Dragon" magazine, for which Gygax would be the author and later a columnist.

Following Don Kaye's death in 1976, his widow sold his rights to Gygax, who went on to control the whole of TSR, creating TSR Hobbies Inc. However, shortly thereafter he ran into financial problems and sold TSR to Brian Blume and his brother Kevin, who would control about two-thirds of TSR since 1976.

Tactical Studies Rules published the first two editions of the original D&D and TSR Hobbies Inc would later continue.

In early 1977 a new version of D&D appeared, the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D). and the "Monster Manual", which would be the first rulebooks of a new system, which would be followed by many supplements the rules of "AD&D" were not compatible with those of "D&D" and as a result both games would have different products and expansions.

Gary Gygax left TSR in 1985 after several changes in the leadership of TSR. This change came about while Gary was involved in making the Dungeons & Dragons (translated as Dragones y Mazmorras in Spain and as Calabozos y Dragones in Hispanic America). Gygax's dismissal followed several disagreements with management over the running of the game and the company.

Later Years

After leaving TSR, Gygax created Dangerous Journeys, an advanced RPG that spanned different genres. In 1995 he started working on a new role-playing game for the computer but it was finally published in 1999 as a manual called Lejendary Adventure, which some consider his best work. The key to his design was to make the rules system as simple as possible, as Gygax felt that RPGs were becoming too complicated and discouraged new players.

In 2005 Gygax returned to the role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons with his participation in the creation of the Castles & amp; Crusades by Troll Lord Games. Subsequently Troll Lord Games has published Castle Zagyg, the original and unpublished version of Castle Greyhawk with the original setting for “D&D”.

TV Appearances

In 2007 Gygax appeared as a guest on the show Code Monkeys. He also lent his voice to his animated version in the chapter "Anthology of Interest I" of the television series "Futurama" and in the film of the same series "Bender's Game", which is also dedicated to his memory..

Illness and death

Gary Gygax died in the early morning hours of March 4, 2008 at his home in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. He was retired after having suffered a myocardial infarction after receiving incorrect medical treatment to prevent further cerebrovascular problems after having suffered two previous heart attacks on April 1 and May 4, 2004. He was diagnosed with an abdominal aortic aneurysm. inoperable. Although his health failed him, he continued to play for much of the rest of his life, and was still very active in the roleplaying community, participating in meetups, forums, and websites such as Dragonsfoot and EN World. Now a campaign has been launched to collect signatures in order to request that March 4, the day of his death, be declared world day of role-playing games.

"Knowledge, logic, reason, and common sense serve better than a dozen rule books." Knowledge, logic, reason and common sense serve more than a dozen rules books.
Gary Gygax

Personal life

Gary Gygax married Gail Carpenter for the second time on August 15, 1987, the same day as his parents' 50th wedding anniversary. In 2005 he was the father of six children and the grandfather of seven grandchildren. His first five children (Ernest Gary Jr., Lucion Paul, Heidi Jo, Cindy Lee and Mary Elise) were from his marriage to Mary Jo Gygax and the last (Alexander Hugh) from his second marriage. Gygax resided in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin 88 km south of Milwaukee, where he received frequent visits and thanks. He also organized weekly games and continued to play until January 2008. He described his study in detail as a small sunny room filled with books, magazines, papers and lots of stuff. Right now that room is due for redecoration, so I've moved downstairs to the dining room, with a large table on which are two computers and a scanner, with a printer under it. There is a radio in the studio that normally tuned to a classical music station, but the radio station was sold, the programming changed and now I work without music or with a CD that I listen to on the computer. Although there are libraries on every floor, my main repository of written knowledge (aside from what's piled here and there) is in my basement library, where there are thousands of reference works, maps, magazines, and works of fiction.

Influence

The impact of his work has been considerable. As one of the fathers of role-playing games, thousands and perhaps millions of players have spent hours and hours of fun thanks to his beginnings, creators of a, then, new leisure concept, which today has a great social impact.. Since the beginning of the first role-playing games, a multitude of games of this type have emerged, as well as settings and game supports, which little by little have given rise to everything that we classify as role-playing games today, from the still latent pen and paper games, through the first console and arcade games that came to lend its voice, to the new massively multiplayer online role-playing video games. Regarding his legacy, Gary Gygax once stated: I would like the world to remember me as the person who really enjoyed playing games, sharing his knowledge and hobbies with everyone.^{[ citation required]}

Today, role-playing games played with tokens, pencils, and paper around a table have been largely replaced by online computer games. Dungeons & Dragons has been adapted to its electronic equivalent. Gygax accepted the change, although he never fully approved of it. For him, all the graphics and virtual images hinder what he considered one of the main human faculties: imagination.^{[citation needed]}

Gygax talked about why people preferred these types of games: People want the convenience and gratification of turning on the TV to getting dressed and going to see a live play. In the same way, the computer is a more accessible way to play. There is no intimacy; there is no life, -he said of the online games.- Your computer translates it for you and your imagination is not there like when you play with a group of people. That reminds me of a time when I saw some children talking about whether radio or television was better and I asked one of them why he preferred radio. And he replied: "because the images on the radio are much better" .^{[citation needed ]}

Awards and titles

Gary Gygax has received numerous gaming-related awards

Strategists Club's Outstanding Designer & Writer for the creation of Dungeons & Dragons
Origin Game Convention's Adventure Gaming Hall of Fame
Origins Award, Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts " Design Hall of Fame Honors (2004)
Four times winner of the “Best Inventor of Games” Games Day (1979–82)
GenCon 2007 (40th anniversary), Guest of Honor

Gary Gygax tied with J. R. R. Tolkien for 18th place in "GameSpy" magazine's 30 Most Influential People in RPGs (March 2003).

On March 13, 2003, Gary Gygax was cited in the entry Dungeons and Dragons of the Oxford English Dictionary.

A bacterial species was named in honor of Gary Gygax as "Arthronema gygaxiana sp nov UTCC393".

Sync Magazine ranked Gary Gygax #1 on the “50 Greatest Freaks of All Time”: "Cocreator of Dungeons & Dragons and father of role-playing games. Defining nerd moment: With a last name that sounds like a barbarian warrior from space, is it any wonder this guy invented the 20-sided die? Between 1977 and 1979, Gygax released Advanced Dungeons & Dragons for advanced dorks, taking the cult phenomenon to new heights while giving himself a +5 salary of lordly might." (2004)

“SFX” Magazine ranked him 37th on their list of the “50 Greatest Pioneers of Science Fiction" (2005).

Pyramid magazine considers Gary Gygax one of the most influential people of the 20th century due to his ideas on the world of adventure games (1999).

Rich Burlew honored Gygax on the day of his death with a special feature “The Order of the Stick”.

Professional journey

1970–73 – Chief editor at Guidon Games (editorial of wargames and strategy rules).
1973–83 – TSR Fountain and later President of TSR Hobbies, Inc.
1983–85 – President of the Dungeons & Dragons Entertainment Corporation (and within: co-productor of the cartoon series Dungeons & Dragons (Dragons and dungeons in Spain and Pumpkins and dragons in Spanish.
1983–85 – TSR, Inc., investor and president in 1985
1986–88 – New Infinities Productions Advisor and Investor, Inc.
1988–94 –Creator/author under contract from Omega Helios Limited
1995–2008 – Trigee Enterprises Corporation’s contract creator/author
1999–2008 – Hekaforge Productions Foundation and Director

Works

Role Playing

Boot Hill – role play in the Wild West (with Brian Blume), 1975.

Dungeons & Dragon

Advanced Dungeons & Dragon

Cyborg Commando

Cyborg Commando, New Infinities, 1987

Dangerous Journeys

Legendary Adventures

Castles & Crusades

For Castles & Crusades, the Castle Zagyg series is planned to consist of seven rulebooks based on Castle Greyhawk from the original Gygax campaign. For Trademark (registration) reasons they were not published under the name Greyhawk.

Yggsburgh Troll Lord Games, 2005 (ISBN 1-931275-68-8)
Dark Chateau (from Robert J. Kuntz), Troll Lord Games 2005 (ISBN 1-931275-69-6)
The East Mark Gazeteer (with Jeffrey P. Talanian) Troll Lord Games, 2007 (ISBN 978-1-929474-98-1)

Generic d20 system

See also: d20 system and Open Game License.

A Challenge of Arms (Chris Clark with Gary Gygax) - generic adventure, Inner City Game Designs, 1999
Ritual of the Golden Eyes (Chris Clark with Gary Gygax) - generic adventure, Inner City Game Designs, 2000
The Weyland Smith Catalogue - ("Joke" Magic Items), reduced version, Hekaforge Productions, 1999
Gygaxian Fantasy Worlds Troll Lord Games series. Volumes IV, V, VI, VII were edited by Gygax.
- Volume I Gary Gygax's The Canting Crewexplore the criminal part of urban life, "Gygaxian Fantasy Worlds, Volume II"
- Volume II Gary Gygax's World Builder, an orderly compilation of definitions, lists, tables and graphics, (with Dan Cross) – 2003
- Volume III Gary Gygax's Living Fantasydaily life, – 2003
- Volume IV Gary Gygax's Book of Names by Malcolm Bowers
- Volume V Gary Gygax's Insidiae by Dan Cross 2004
- Volume VI Gary Gygax's Nation Builderby Michael J. Varhola – 2005
- Volume VII Gary Gygax's Cosmos Builderby Richard T. Balsley – 2006

Other games

Rules for miniature battle games

Cavaliers and Roundheads (play set in the English civil war, co-author with Jeff Perren)
Chainmail (of medieval and fantasy setting, co-author next to Jeff Perren)
Classic Warfare (game set in the Old Age: from the year 1500 before Christ to the year 500 after Christ)
Don't Give Up The Ship! (battles of sailboats c. from 1,700 to 1815, co-author with Dave Arneson and Mike Carr)
Tractics (play set from the Second World War to c. 1965, co-author with Mike Reese and Leon Tucker)
Prologue to the 2004 edition of the game Little Wars by H. G. Wells, published by Skirmisher Publishing LLC

Board Games

Alexander the Great (Antiquity, the Battle of Arbela) – Guidon Games and reprinted by Avalon Hill
Alexander's Other Battles – Panzerfaust Publishing, 1972 – a supplement to the Guidon game Alexander the Great
Baku (Second World War, extension of wargame Avalon Hill board Stalingrad), Panzerfaust Publications
Crusader (Medieval, Battle of Ascalon) – Panzerfaust Publications
Dunkirk (Second World War) – Guidon Games
Little Big Horn (West Room) – TSR Hobbies, Inc.
Dungeon! - TSR Hobbies, Inc.

Chess Variations

Another of Gary Gygax’s creations was “Dragon chess” a three-dimensional chess variant published in “Dragon Magazine” No. 100 (August 1985). It was played on three boards of 8 x 12 squares fitted on top of each other – the upper one represented the sky, the middle the ground and the bottom the underground world. The pieces were characters and monsters inspired by Dungeons & Dragons: king, magician, paladin, clergyman, dragon, faucet, olyphant, hero, thief, elemental, basilisco, unicorn, dwarf, silf and warrior.

Fidchell – Do not confuse with Ireland's historic table game fidchell (several pronunciations).

Literature

Fantastic novels

Series of novels Greyhawk Adventures (TSR, Inc., presenting Gord the Rogue)
- Saga of Old City (1985)
- Artifact of Evil (1986)

Gord the Rogue Adventures (from New Infinities Productions, Inc., also translated into Italian)
- Sea of Death (1987)
- Night Arrant (1987) – a collection of short stories
- City of Hawks (1987)
- Come Endless Darkness (1988)
- Dance of Demons (1988)

of Penguin Books
- The Anubis Murders (1992)
- The Samarkand Solution (1993)
- Death in Delhi (1993)

Newspaper Articles

The Crusader – magazine, article on the creation ofD and its 2005 principles
Dragon Magazine - author until 1985, and columnist between 1999 and 2004
Journeys Journal (GDW) - contributor to each of the six issues published in 1993.
Lejends (Total Reality Studios) – main contributor between 2001 and 2003
Mythic Masters (Trigee) – magazine, principal author of each of the 6 issues published in 1994.
The Strategic Review (Tactical Studies Rules), the main author of the magazine in each of its four issues and its main collaborator until the appearance of the magazine “Dragon Magazine”.
La Vivandiere (Palikar Publications), magazine wargames from 1974, among its main contributions are "Fantasy Wargaming and the Influence of J. R. R. Tolkien", in which it defends the inclusion of non-Tolkienian fantasy in D fakeD.

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