For the second time in just over a year, the dice are silent in the gaming world. News has reached us that Dave Arneson, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, passed away last night at the age of 61.
While not as famous as Gary Gygax, who passed away in March of last year, Arneson was a driving force behind D&D's creation and his contribution to the world of adventure gaming should not be underestimated. It was Arneson's spark that transformed Gygax's game Chainmail into the first edition of D&D, and begat everything that followed.
Arneson had to fight to get credit for his contributions, filing multiple lawsuits (later resolved out-of-court) against Gygax over crediting and royalties. He nonetheless did return to TSR in the mid-'80s to work with Gygax again. Following that, he began a second career as an educator, working in several schools with a particular focus on how to use gaming as an instructional tool.
Arneson suffered a stroke in 2002 and was soon after diagnosed with cancer. He finally lost his battle with cancer last night, surrounded by his family, in St. Paul, Minnesota. Gamers everywhere owe him a certain debt of gratitude for his work. He will be sorely missed.
A pity. He did as much as Gygax in the early days, yet never got the full credit he deserved.
AMT wrote:Dave Arneson- 1947-2009
A pity. He did as much as Gygax in the early days, yet never got the full credit he deserved.
*Rolls the Black 20*
I hope they burned his character sheet with full honors.
"The real ideological schism in America is not Republican vs Democrat; it is North vs South, Urban vs Rural, and it has been since the 19th century."
-Mike Wong
Dave was a truly nice guy, and will be missed. He taught down here, and I played a few wargames with him. He was ill the entire time, but always made time on his Saturdays for gaming with a local group.
Stanley Hauerwas wrote:[W]hy is it that no one is angry at the inequality of income in this country? I mean, the inequality of income is unbelievable. Unbelievable. Why isn’t that ever an issue of politics? Because you don’t live in a democracy. You live in a plutocracy. Money rules.
