Dave Arneson, the Woz of D&D, passed Tuesday night

[Ian David]

Between battles, the story: Dave Arneson has passed on
By Ben Kuchera | Last updated April 9, 2009 12:05 PM CT

Dave Arneson's name may not be as well known as Gary Gygax, but he was just as instrumental in the creation of Dungeons and Dragons. On Tuesday, Arneson passed away, but his thoughts about what makes a good game are just as relevant today.

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Arneson understood that real stories came from what happened between the battles. Remember that Dungeons and Dragons came from wargaming; it just filled in the blanks after each war, the epic struggles that made up the majority of gaming at that time. "In our own games we got tired of taking the town, or the hill. So we started thinking about other objectives in a scenario, and to do that we had to give our Generals personality... We found that by doing that players started to identify with them. So, we'd role-play diplomacy and how they'd act out there on the battlefield."

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Arneson died Tuesday night, after a long bout with cancer. He is survived by his wife and daughter. His name may not have been as well-known as Gary Gygax's, but his influence still touched every aspect of both table-top role-playing and video gaming. He helped to create an entire world and industry by asking the simplest of questions: what are these characters doing when they're not fighting?

Get out your classic rule books. Invite some friends over. Keep a chair empty for a fallen friend, and play for a few hours. Not online, in person. Order a pizza. Buy your kids a rule book and some dice. Remember Dave Arneson, a man who wasn't satisfied with the game when his parents brought home an Avalon Hill title. When he began changing the rules, he began changing the world. We'll miss you, Dave.



More:
http://arstechnica.com/gaming/news/2009/04/the-joy-of-role-playing-comes.ars

[YOY]

1. Sigh...you know you're getting old when all your childhood heroes start dying.

and you're not looking for new ones anymore...at least Gary's got some gaming company. Bet they'll have some sweet modules ready for us in the afterlife...presuming one exists.

[semillama]

2. Damn.

My high school life wouldn't have been the same without D&D.