I'm sorry. I have to say this somewhere.
I'm going to express a probably very unpopular opinion regarding Gygax.
Look... don't get me wrong. I agree Gygax's contribution to the field of roleplaying was immeasurable and vital. But I am really, really getting sick of reading eulogies and remembrances that say "If it weren't for Gygax, there'd be no gaming. No Final Fantasy. No World of Warcraft."
Gygax's ideas did not spring full-blown from his head without any other people around. You might recall he had gaming partners. That TSR had cofounders. That the game of makebelieve existed many thousands of years before he did; that roleplaying as a concept existed long before he did, as well. That wargaming, the same place Gygax started, had others who introduced fantastic elements into their games. That around the same time Gygax was thinking about adding knights and dragons to his gaming, others were making rules about Middle Earth, about fantastic creatures and fantasy and alien settings.
Would it have meant no Final Fantasy or World of Warcraft if Gygax hadn't gone ahead and published his rules? I have no idea. And neither does anyone else. Someone else could've easily done something similar, codified rules for purely personal adventures instead of ones of armies. Would it have been different? Yes, of course. Would it have been so different that the end result would've been unrecognizable? I doubt it. Because once Gygax started the ball rolling, dozens of other idea-makers popped up and took a few kicks at it themselves. Gygax was the catalyst, yes, but was he the only possible one? I don't think he was.
I don't have a problem with people being sad at his passing. I'm sorry he's gone, and I agree that his work, his creations, impacted a lot of lives, including mine. I don't have a problem with people remembering him as a major driving force behind gaming, because he was. If it weren't for his rules, maybe I wouldn't have gotten into gaming when I did, maybe I wouldn't have met the friends I did, and if people want to remember those things, I don't have a problem with that, either.
But I do have a problem with the claims that no one else could've done it, that without him it wouldn't have been done. Because that's going from sincere recognition and appreciation into deifying, and frankly, that leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Look... don't get me wrong. I agree Gygax's contribution to the field of roleplaying was immeasurable and vital. But I am really, really getting sick of reading eulogies and remembrances that say "If it weren't for Gygax, there'd be no gaming. No Final Fantasy. No World of Warcraft."
Gygax's ideas did not spring full-blown from his head without any other people around. You might recall he had gaming partners. That TSR had cofounders. That the game of makebelieve existed many thousands of years before he did; that roleplaying as a concept existed long before he did, as well. That wargaming, the same place Gygax started, had others who introduced fantastic elements into their games. That around the same time Gygax was thinking about adding knights and dragons to his gaming, others were making rules about Middle Earth, about fantastic creatures and fantasy and alien settings.
Would it have meant no Final Fantasy or World of Warcraft if Gygax hadn't gone ahead and published his rules? I have no idea. And neither does anyone else. Someone else could've easily done something similar, codified rules for purely personal adventures instead of ones of armies. Would it have been different? Yes, of course. Would it have been so different that the end result would've been unrecognizable? I doubt it. Because once Gygax started the ball rolling, dozens of other idea-makers popped up and took a few kicks at it themselves. Gygax was the catalyst, yes, but was he the only possible one? I don't think he was.
I don't have a problem with people being sad at his passing. I'm sorry he's gone, and I agree that his work, his creations, impacted a lot of lives, including mine. I don't have a problem with people remembering him as a major driving force behind gaming, because he was. If it weren't for his rules, maybe I wouldn't have gotten into gaming when I did, maybe I wouldn't have met the friends I did, and if people want to remember those things, I don't have a problem with that, either.
But I do have a problem with the claims that no one else could've done it, that without him it wouldn't have been done. Because that's going from sincere recognition and appreciation into deifying, and frankly, that leaves a bad taste in my mouth.