Dungeons & Dragons Co-Creator Dies at 69

Zyuu — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 02:32:07 GMT

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Gary Gygax, who co-created the fantasy game Dungeons & Dragons and helped start the role-playing phenomenon, died Tuesday morning at his home in Lake Geneva. He was 69.

He had been suffering from health problems for several years, including an abdominal aneurysm, said his wife, Gail Gygax.

Gygax and Dave Arneson developed Dungeons & Dragons in 1974 using medieval characters and mythical creatures. The game known for its oddly shaped dice became a hit, particularly among teenage boys, and eventually was turned into video games, books and movies.

Gygax always enjoyed hearing from the game's legion of devoted fans, many of whom would stop by the family's home in Lake Geneva, about 55 miles southwest of Milwaukee, his wife said. Despite his declining health, he hosted weekly games of Dungeons & Dragons as recently as January, she said.

"It really meant a lot to him to hear from people from over the years about how he helped them become a doctor, a lawyer, a policeman, what he gave them," Gygax said. "He really enjoyed that."

Dungeons & Dragons players create fictional characters and carry out their adventures with the help of complicated rules. The quintessential geek pastime, it spawned a wealth of copycat games and later inspired a whole genre of computer games that's still growing in popularity.

Funeral arrangements are pending. Besides his wife, Gygax is survived by six children.

Man in China Dies, Played Online for 3 Days Straight

Kody — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 22:04:09 GMT

As if online games and video games in general weren't under enough fire from government officials wanting to hit them with the real life nerf bat, this news out of China is going to fuel the flames even further.

Yahoo is reporting that a 30-year old man collapsed and died in front of his cyber-cafe computer during a three-day stint online.

"According to preliminary findings, the length of time this man spent online might have triggered heart problems," the paper quoted a local hospital emergency medic in the city of Zhongshan as saying.

While it's certainly depressing to hear of anyone dying, I can't fathom what blame is brewing in the back of the minds of anti-video game separatists over this incident.

You can read more about it by visiting the Yahoo news story.

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Dungeons & Dragons Co-Creator Dies at 69

Man in China Dies, Played Online for 3 Days Straight