Ten Ton Hammer | Gary Gygax - We Miss You Already

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Loading... it's like being a kid again, except you can afford to buy your own games.

First, the Ten Ton Pulse, your finger on the beating heart of the MMOG industry.

If the Top 10 isn't enough, we now show the Top 20 and Top 50 lists as well, available to everyone on our homepage. (What is Pulse?)

Age of Conan - 200 BPM
World of Warcraft - 119 BPM
Lord of the Rings Online - 38 BPM
EverQuest 2 - 33 BPM
Warhammer Online - 27 BPM
Lineage 2 - 27 BPM
EVE Online - 25 BPM
Tabula Rasa - 19 BPM
Guild Wars - 18 BPM
Vanguard - 18 BPM

Authors like Ray Bradbury and Robert E. Howard (Conan The Conqueror) inspired him. The worlds that they created, vibrant and exhilarating were nonetheless passive, like gazing upon a painting without being being able to alter it to better suit your personal tastes. As fate would have it, his works would eventually be responsible for giving writers like R.A. Salvatore a palette with which to inspire others.

From these passive, static backgrounds he created a canvas that allowed gamers to live in the worlds rather than merely gaze upon them. Without him, chances are that the MMOG you enjoy today would be very different. Without him, roleplaying may indeed be very different. He allowed us to live in a world of dragons, magic and swords. He did this while giving us the reins to drive our story in the direction that we desired, beside our friends, comrades against a common foe. He brought gamers together in a way that was unique and wondrous.

MMOG developers building on the foundations of those that came before them can't help but step into his footprints. MMOG writers like myself owe our livelihood to the man who not only created roleplaying in its current form, but who inspired video game developers to do the same. You wouldn't be reading this column today without his influence.

His works brought joy to people from every walk of life. In one way or another he has touched the lives of nearly every person in the massively multiplayer online gaming industry.

Gary Gygax, the father of modern roleplaying and creator of Dungeons and Dragons passed away yesterday morning (Tuesday, March 4 2008) at his home in Wisconsin at the age of 69. He is survived by his wife, Gail, and six children.

I was fortunate to have met Gary. We once swapped stories and chatted about the future of the game industry. He was a down-to-earth fellow with a passion for his work. Wherever you are Gary, we miss you.

Post your thank-you messages, tell your favourite D&D stories or just reflect on how Gary affected your life in The Loading... forums.

Do you feel the need to contact me personally with naughty pictures or derogatory comments? Here's my E-mail.

14 new MMOG hand-crafted articles today! 34 in March! 547 in 2008!

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Thanks as always for visiting TenTonHammer.com

- John "Boomjack" Hoskin and the Ten Ton Hammer Team

Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

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