Dave Arneson is dead

[Thorin]

From Giant in the Playground:

4/9/2009

After some confusing rumors and retractions, it has been confirmed by multiple sources that Dave Arneson passed away late on Tuesday, April 7, 2009.

Many of our younger readers may not know who Mr. Arneson was, but he was a pivotal part of the birth of the hobby we all play. By most accounts, he literally invented the very concept of role-playing games. While he would share official credit for the original Dungeons & Dragons rules with the late Mr. Gygax, Mr. Arneson was the first to take the Chainmail wargaming rules and run a game where players controlled a single character, rather than an army, and described that character's actions to a judge who would determine how the environment reacted to them. Pretty much every roleplaying game (and many computer games) can trace their lineage to this single idea. He also invented the first campaign world, Blackmoor, which is hardly surprising considering he invented the concept of campaign worlds in the first place. It is impossible for me to overstate the impact his games had on what would become our mutual hobby.

Sadly, there won't be the outpouring of mainstream condolences for Mr. Arneson that we all saw for Mr. Gygax. There won't be an AP obituary or celebrity commentaries. For better or worse, Mr. Gygax was always identified as the creator of the game in the eyes of the media. But while I never met Mr. Arneson, I hope you will all join me in remembering a man from whose mind sprung the critical innovations that led to the birth of role-playing games. D&D may never have become popular without the work of Mr. Gygax, but it never would have existed at all without that of Mr. Arneson.

Also, here's a tribute comic (http://www.giantitp.com/comics/images/fG10Dj9gfn5Nv5rDdss.gif:



Edit: Added url to comic

[Darren Dirt]

^ comic not working. Is the link http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0644.html ?


other tributes...
http://blog.wired.com/geekdad/2009/04/rip-dave-arneso.html
http://scifiwire.com/2009/04/dungeons-dragons-dave-arn.php

[Darren Dirt]

^ comic not working. Is the link http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0644.html ?


other tributes...
http://blog.wired.com/geekdad/2009/04/rip-dave-arneso.html
http://scifiwire.com/2009/04/dungeons-dragons-dave-arn.php

now it's working; musta been the TOOTS website being /.ed or something (was horribly slow)


also here's an interview with Dave:
http://www.koboldquarterly.com/k/article460.php

Has your understanding of game design changed over the years?
Arneson: Yes. All people will play games. You just have to find the games that they like.

Poetry.







For 40 years, Dave Arneson has been teaching us about games and about ourselves. From the early days in the Blackmoor basement, to afternoons signing books at conventions, to his many hours in the classroom, Arneson has set the standards in game design, game play, and creative collaboration.

Most importantly, he has emphasized story, character, and the importance of responsiveness. Designers should respond to players. DMs should respond to players and to situations. Games and their rules evolve. Things change. The goal is to still have fun.

[Mr. Analog]

Man, first Gary and now Dave... the world is slightly less magical once again.

[Thorin]

I'm proud to say I played the old Basic/Expert D&D modules set in Blackmoor - DDA1-4.  They were really, really good.  Although it was weird having lasers and grenades in D&D