Inspiration

Jason McElway has autism. Throughout high school, he served as the manager of the basketball team. For the last game of the season, the coach had Jason put on a uniform so he could feel what it was like.

With the team up by 20, and with 4:19 left on the clock, the coach pointed at him and sent him into the game. Sure, the team had a nearly insurmountable lead so it was a safe substitution. Nevertheless, Jason would get to play in a varsity basketball game.

Nobody watching could have anticipated what would happen next.

Ernest Gary Gygax: July 27, 1938 – March 4, 2008

To be honest, I only played Dungeons and Dragons a couple of times and only briefly.  Nevertheless, it was the first role-playing game I ever encountered, when I borrowed the player's guide from a friend, and I even created a simple dungeon for it though I wouldn't actually play the game until many years later.  The first tabletop RPG I ever played was Gamma World, another game produced by TSR with basically the same rules but set in a post-apocalyptic future world.  I've played several other RPG's since then, and even ran a couple games myself.

But all were ultimately descended from D&D.  Gary Gygax didn't just create a game, he created an entire category of gaming that started out in pen and paper form played with funny shaped dice.  Since then, it has made the transition to the computer, and to the Internet.  Even the mighty World of Warcraft owes its existence in part to Gary's creation.

Today, Gary Gygax has passed from this world.  Unlike in his games, he won't get to roll another character and come back for more.  But his legacy lives on and will continue as long as people let their imaginations run free.  Fare thee well, Mr. Gygax.  And thank you.