Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Cheers to The Economist

If ever I could be any more proud of my adopted publication, it would be after reading their obit on Gary Gygax. First, if anyone knows me they know how much I gush about the quality of this paper.

But in this case they prove once again that they are the foremost newspaper/magazine being dolled out to eager subscribers.

Gary Gygax did have a HUGE impact on me and still does. I love the game he created and that does make me a certified, die-carrying nerd.

But this paragraph pefectly sets the context of a man few outside of DND had heard of:
His influence extends even to people who have never conjured a fireball in anger. Today's world is a nerd's world, and Mr Gygax did much to shape it. Blockbuster fantasy films like “The Lord of the Rings” are produced and directed by people who grew up with the game. Computer games are part of mainstream culture; “World of Warcraft”, an internet-based D&D clone, boasts 10m subscribers. Many of the people who built the internet (and their fortunes) spent their childhoods playing the game. The entry for D&D on Wikipedia is twice the length of the article on Proust
Rest in peace Gary - you were the grandfather millions of us wish we had. Thanks for the thousands of hours we had (and will continue to have). PS - anyone know a good gamer group in NE Raleigh???

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