Today was a bit hard to get my mind around. I got sent into a state of shock and grief — fueled by reflection — sparked by the news that Gary Gygax died today. Gygax is best known as being a co-creator for one of the first “pen-and-paper” role-playing games, Dungeons and Dragons. As I reflected upon his passing, I came to the realization that through D&D, he may have actually been one of the biggest influences in my life. Don’t laugh — Vin Diesel is probably feeling the same way tonight as well.
D&D gave a lot of structure to the great deal of raw creativity that I possessed during my formative years. You know, before the “straights” that run public schools beat most of it out of me. D&D also opened me up to the joys of reading things other than books about astronomy (which may have been only slightly spazzier than D&D, but it was an improvement). It helped me in so many areas of school — from the probability and statistics portions of every math class I’ve taken to things like history and geology. And most importantly, it jump started my insatiable love of writing and telling an awe-inspiring story.
While reading the reaction to this news in the blogosphere today, though, I read a lot of accounts of what D&D didn’t do. Contrary to alot of the hype and misrepresentation, it kept a lot of people psychologically well in some rough times. For others it kept them away from drugs. They were never bored enough to do them since they had access to a magical world in their head. And there was always your support network that made sure you were up for the game on Friday or Saturday night. In my case, I never became a Satanist or sacrificed animals or virgins from having played D&D a few times. No, quite the contrary, sacrificing virgins would have been like committing self-incrimination — not just for me — but apparently a lot of people. My favorite comment about what D&D didn’t do was that it kept a lot of people from becoming teenage parents.
So while the games change, and evolve, and inspire future generations of players, I down an extra serving of my favorite caffeinated beverage tonight in honor of you, Mr. E. Gary Gygax. Thanks for all of the positive influences you’ve had on my life already, and for those yet to come. Game on!
Entries (RSS)