Interview with Gary Gygax

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Posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday March 13, 2002 @10:28AM from the stuff-to-read dept.

the_bahua writes "Have a look at this one-on-one with Gary Gygax, over at KCGeek.com. It's a tell-all, see-all, look into the mind of the man behind the second-best thing to do at four in the morning. Responsible for one of the cornerstones of geekdom, he is largely unknown to many, including many RPG fans."

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Am I Still a Geek? by Vortran · 2002-03-13 10:31 · Score: 3, Funny

I've never played an RPG. Can I still call myself a geek?

--
Knowledge is like ignorance.. too much can be just as bad as not enough.
1. Re:Am I Still a Geek? by daeley · 2002-03-13 11:05 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  I've never played an RPG. Can I still call myself a geek?
  
  Let's see...
  
  [roll roll roll]
  
  Hmm...
  
  [paper shuffling]
  
  [roll roll roll]
  
  The shop owner says No.
  
  --
  I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.
Ooh! by freeze128 · 2002-03-13 10:32 · Score: 5, Funny

Just give me 5 minutes in a room With Gary Gygax and a D20....
Insurance underwriter by perdida · 2002-03-13 10:38 · Score: 5, Funny

I was an insurance underwriter. I took the job rather than going on with schooling at the University of Chicago to become an anthropologist. I did fairly well in insurance, was a supervising underwriter for individual, group, and association group, health, life, long term disability, and unusual risk policies.

I smiled when I saw this. I couldn't help but think that this is where D&D, and so many of its descendants on boards and on chips, got their obsession with tracking numbers for so many unquantifiable characteristics.

Risk assessors have to put a number on health, wit, and daring; they classify you by background, skills, and lifestyle, in dollars and cents.

Only recently have more plot-driven games broadened out of this focus - like the Final Fantasy series, which puts interesting, structured plots ahead of arduous level-building.

--
Goat sex free since 2001
1. Re:Insurance underwriter by Scaba · 2002-03-13 10:48 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  I was wondering why my medical insurance form asked me for my constitution, how many hit points I have, and what my saving throws vs. disease are.
2. Re:Insurance underwriter by ackthpt · 2002-03-13 11:04 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  I was an insurance underwriter.
  
  Risk assessors have to put a number on health, wit, and daring; they classify you by background, skills, and lifestyle, in dollars and cents.
  "You must roll a 12 or higher to be covered by your policy."
  
  --
  
  A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
First best thing? by saint10 · 2002-03-13 10:40 · Score: 4, Funny

the second-best thing to do at four in the morning

What could be better than sitting in the basement with for unbathed geeks, rolling dice and pretending to be dwarv.......

Ahhhh... Sex! That's what your talking about.. Hrm... Judging by my sex life, I disagree. Ill take the smell geeks..
Back from the dead by hacksoncode · 2002-03-13 10:45 · Score: 2, Funny

This guy's been resurrected more times than any D&D character I ever played.
His CON must be really low by now :-).
Four in the morning came without a warning by andy@petdance.com · 2002-03-13 10:48 · Score: 3, Funny

the man behind the second-best thing to do at four in the morning
Gary Gygax invented the infomercial?
Surely he's not responsible for feeding one's infant daughter.
Re:For you geeks by Anonymous Coward · 2002-03-13 10:50 · Score: 0, Funny

What? He invented wanking? Sorted. I'd like to shake his hand. Oh... maybe not.
Re:The best thing to do? by Bonker · 2002-03-13 10:52 · Score: 3, Funny

It depends on who you're RPG'ing with.

If it's someone you're upclose and personal to, you don't even have to stop role-playing to enjoy it. In fact, if you're role-playing in a large group, you might even get some good creative criticism on your technique or even... if you're the adventurous sort... outside help.

--
The next Slashdot story will be ready soon, but subscribers can beat the rush and slashdot the links early!
Re:whats the first best thing to do at 4am? by Ryu2 · 2002-03-13 10:53 · Score: 1, Funny

Linux kernel hacking, of course! What else?

--
There's 10 types of people in this world, those who understand binary and those who don't.
The Second Best Thing by fobbman · 2002-03-13 11:05 · Score: 5, Funny

"...the second-best thing to do at four in the morning"

Second-best thing to do, but sadly the first most likely of the two to be happening to those who know his name well. *sigh*
1. Re:The Second Best Thing by Keith+Russell · 2002-03-13 13:29 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Second-best thing to do, but sadly the first most likely of the two to be happening to those who know his name well. *sigh*
  
  What, you mean you've never whipped up some wonderfully elegant Perl code at four in the morning?
  
  Oh, um... uh.... Neither have I! Yeah, that's it. Of course not. Neither have... I. [whimper] I hate my life.
  
  --
  This sig intentionally left blank.
gary by zephc · 2002-03-13 11:13 · Score: 5, Funny

"Hi, I'm Gary Gygax, and it's a..." *Rolls dice* " pleasure to meet you!" (Futurama)

--
"I would say that 99 per cent of what my father has written about his own life is false." - L. Ron Hubbard Jr.
Re:Nice guy... by paganizer · 2002-03-13 11:50 · Score: 2, Funny

Gary is a SUPER busy dude. His game Lejendary Adventure is picking up steam, he's about to come out with a MMPORPG, he still writes (I think, i'll ask him), and of course he still controls the souls of the millions of zombies he created by those well placed Satanic Spells in the DMG.....

--
Why, yes, I AM a Pagan Libertarian.
Second-best thing to do at 4 AM? by jinx90277 · 2002-03-13 14:35 · Score: 4, Funny

I don't know about you, but a little role-playing at 4 AM can be a lot of fun...nudge nudge, nod nod, wink wink:

You've been a BAD little dungeon master, haven't you? You must be punished...

--
"she says i'm lousy conversation. as if that's supposed to help."
No staff? by Junior+J.+Junior+III · 2002-03-13 15:00 · Score: 2, Funny

What? Gygax doesn't have a staff? Quick, someone go get a nice walking stick while I prepare to cast "Enchant an Item"...

--
You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!
Re:Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson by Johnathon+Walls · 2002-03-13 15:14 · Score: 2, Funny

I didn't know that Arneson came up with the ideas of "hobbits", "white wizards", etc. ...

;)
Re:Your AD&D Stats... by BelDion · 2002-03-13 15:57 · Score: 2, Funny

Str: 15
Int: 13
Wis: 15
Dex: 19
Con: 11
Chr: 3

Go figure, and here I am usually prefering to play a ranger when I play D&D.

A dexterity of 19; I'm very good with my hands ladies... Of course I'm a hideous monster with a charisma of 3, but can't we just turn off the lights?

--

I am BelDion's .Sig; Who the hell is Jack?
D&D is the devils work by Sabalon · 2002-03-14 02:47 · Score: 3, Funny

When I was in 8th grade, I was an avid D&D player, along with some others in the neighboorhood.

During that time, we travelled to Ohio to visit some high-school friends of my mom and some old friends of my grandmother.

I remember sitting in my grandmothers friends house and my grandmother asking the other ladys grandson if he played Dungeons and Dragons.

The other lady started blabbing on and on about how it was an evil game made by the devil and it was not allowed in her daughters house and so on.

I think about the most evil thing D&D has ever made me do is spend a lot of time on ebay trying to obtain an original version of Dieties and Demigods to complete my collection.

Now, if you will excuse me, I must go crawl around some steam tunnels and put curses on people