On the 74th anniversary of Gary Gygax' birthday I thought it fitting to post something about this. Wouldn't you know this was already done (probably better) over at gamesindustry.biz. Tomas Rawlings looks at the legacy left by the designer of Dungeons and Dragons. Below is the article.
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"So how do I become a games designer?" is a question I often get asked
as I engage with students and gamers in my work. The reply I often give
is simple, "Shutdown your PC, switch off your tablet, turn your phone to
silent then get hold of a copy of
Dungeons & Dragons".
Of course I don't mean the various video game versions (great as many
of them are) and I don't mean the recent Facebook game (which is also
fun). I mean the original rule book plus some pens, paper and loads of
dice (don't forget those d20s!). Then, Level 1 Magic User, you will be
ready to begin your journey...
Playing Dungeons & Dragons is one of the best ways to learn the
foundations of game design. It is how I (and lots of others in the
industry) learned about making games. By running Dungeons & Dragons
games we had to master a number of key skills including narrative,
drama, gameplay balancing and crucially, the all important stats
systems. These diverse areas make Dungeons & Dragons a bit of a
paradox; at once a geeky stats-fest and yet also the ultimate social
game that only works with a group of friends. What makes it a great way
to learn about game design also points to why all games developers owe
its co-creator and gaming legend,
Gary Gygax, a full horn of ale and a lot of thanks.
"I often feel that all we are doing with digital technology is trying to emulate the purity of gameplay that D&D achieved"
Sadly Gary is not with us today. He died back in 2008, aged 69. Gary was
a gaming legend. As well as creating Dungeons & Dragons (along with
Dave Arneson) then developing the concept into Advanced Dungeons &
Dragons, he also founded the company TSR (now owned by Wizard of the
Coast) and the Gen Con gaming convention as well as creating/assisting
in a number of other game systems such as Chainmail (the forerunner of
Dungeons & Dragons) and Lejendary Adventure.
But for me, his most important legacy is Dungeons & Dragons (aka
D&D). If you've not played it, its a Role Playing Game (RPG), played
by a bunch of friends sat around a table. One person runs the game (the
Dungeon Master or DM for short) while the rest take the role of players
within the DM's world. The game is moderated by the DM to a framework
set by the D&D rule books and rendered in the player's imaginations.
D&D is pure social gaming - it is all about the people playing. And
D&D is pure multiplayer gaming - it is all about the player's joint
interactions. I often feel that all we are doing with digital
technology is trying to emulate the purity of gameplay that D&D
achieved.
It is also the great-grandfather of much of video gaming. Why? D&D,
the product of Gary's rich imagination was based on a key insight to
merge character, narrative and stats into a 'game engine'. D&D
envisioned a fictional world simulator designed to be played within (and
with). This core idea is still the basic framework for so much of
today's video games industry. For example D&D has Hit Points and
Damage Modifiers, Hit Rolls and Armour Classes - how many other video
games, even non-RPGs, have borrowed this combat framework? D&D has
progression with character levels, equipment, skills, spells and more.
How many games use the various incarnations of levelling up to keep
players interested? Tens of thousands. D&D gave roles to the
participants via character classes such as Fighter, Magic User, Cleric,
Thief and more. How many games use this approach of allowing the player
to map their identity into the game? The answer is legion.
When I first learned to code about aged 12 (BASIC on the BBC), the first
program I wrote was a character generator for D&D that rolled up
the basic stats for a new character; the two were a natural fit. The
first collaborative game I worked on (aged around 13) was an attempt at a
D&D type RPG with a fellow pupil who could code much better than
me. D&D worked as a video game like dwarves work with beards and
gold.
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| AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide, revised edition, 1979. |
D&D was also the seed for much more. The basic world-building
structure of D&D was a rich source of inspiration for other games
and many other games followed from Gary's template; RuneQuest, Boot
Hill, Stormbringer and
Call of Cthulhu
to name a few. They were always defined in relation to D&D; Call of
Cthulhu was like D&D but with less emphasis on the combat and no
levelling up. RuneQuest was like it but had a more expansive combat
system, and so on.
I have a fairly sizeable collection of RPG games (I know, I know, it's a
wonder that I'm not single, much less married. The secret is a Level 3
Charm Spell.) At home, on my book shelf with pride of place is the TSR
2nd edition of Dungeons & Dragons. For all the reasons I've outlined
and the hundreds of hours I spent playing the game, I'd like to raise a
mug of mead to Gary Gygax; innovator, game designer, geek, star of
Futurama and somebody who brought gaming to the millions. Short of
eradicating malaria or something like that, it is hard to imagine a
better legacy to leave to the world; that being the bringer of such a
volume of fun.
