In the onset of this blog, I described how I personally became acquainted with online gaming. It seemed like a proper way to establish an MMO Blog. Yet with the news of this morning, I can't help but provide an even greater background.
Perhaps twenty years ago, a group of friends introduced me to a game called "Dungeons and Dragons". It was unlike anything I personally had ever experienced with an emphasis on personality and critical thinking. It encouraged reading, tactics and it encouraged imagination more than television and definitely more then Atari and Nintendo. Hours and hours of exploring dungeons, disarming traps, speaking to locals, entertaining crowds and saving the world are great memories of my childhood. In most respects, this was truly the introduction to the RPG world for myself. And many of us gamers who now play any fantasy MMO can look to the late Gary Gygax for providing the spark that set the current MMO Inferno.
Without D&D, one can make a strong case that MMOs in their current format may never exist. First person shooters could easily have been the focal point for the MMO genre. Sure, we may have had an early version of Planetside but very possibly we would have had no DAoC, no Everquest and without Everquest, there most likely would be no WoW. Sure, MMO games may have evolved, but would MMO games thrive the way they thrive today? The fantasy genre appeals to so many demographics it's hard to imagine a more successful medium.
Every person on Earth has the opportunity to set a positive foundation for those who come after their time has expired. If the legacy of a man's life is measured by the volume of positive influence he has had on his fellow man, Mr Gygax can rest peacefully knowing he has left a positive influence on millions of people worldwide and millions more to come.
RIP Gary Gygax; the world would be a different place without your vision.
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