We all eventually fail our saving throw

Today Gary Gygax passed away. If you do not know this name, I will hereby educate you.

When I was very young, I remember my mother bought me a role-playing game called Traveler. It was a pen and paper RPG like D&D and it was far too complex for me at that age, but it did flip a switch in my mind that such a game could exist. That game must have come in and out of my closet ten times over the course of a couple years as I tried to grasp what it was, and I was never able to play it. None the less, it was one of the most memorable gifts of my life.

After I grew older, I was finally able to understand the concept of these complex games, and poured over the D&D manuals with wonder and excitement. I remember late nights as a teen sleeping over at my friend's house. We would play under blankets with flashlights when we were told to go to bed. After this ruse was discovered, we would play in whispers in the dark until sleep finally defeated us, only to start again the next day.

How many hours of my life have I spent staring at my character sheet, exploring dungeons, defeating foes untold and achieving riches and power beyond compare? Dungeons & Dragons allowed me to expand my imagination beyond simply reading a fictional novel; It allowed me to create my own stories and participate in them as the hero, the villain, the deity, the plucky comedy relief. Nothing enraptured me like these fantasy worlds until the advent of the RPG video game, and later the MMORPG. With this new medium, the tedium of arbitrating the rules of the game is eliminated and we enjoy instant gratification in the form of a pixelated avatar. Were it not for the minds of those who created and proliferated the concept of the role-playing game, the entire industry of gaming might be very different, if not completely bereft of this great genre. Still, no video game can compare to what the mind can conjure with college ruled paper covered in scores of cryptic pencil markings, some rule books, your lucky dice and a few good friends.

This is my thanks to Mr. Gygax for all of the work he has put into this world of gaming, and all of the memories he has helped people create from pure imagination.

Travel well and Godspeed...

-Aaron