Ich bin ein Azerothian

Posted on March 6, 2008
Filed Under Current affairs, Warcraft |

Yesterday brought the sad news that Dungeons and Dragons creator Gary Gygax had passed away. Although I did not know the man, and can’t possibly share the grief felt by those close to him, I felt an overwhelming sadness yesterday. Perhaps selfishly, I felt that part of my youth had died. I was a hugh roleplayer in the day and spent many wonderful hours playing with the products of Mr Gygax’s imagination. I could be a fighter, a thief a magic-user or perhaps a cleric, battling through endless dungeons. When I was 12 years old, computer games were in their infancy and there was no internet. The prospect of being able to enter an imaginary world and complete great quests was a dream come true.

Fast forward 25 years (is it really that long) and I still have the lovingly cared for 2nd edition rulebooks which were handed down to me by a friend of my father. They are still shut away in polythene waiting for the day when perhaps my own son will want to read them. Dungeons and Dragons has long since been hacked and bastardised by the people who purchased it from Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, but it’s natural heir in the modern world - World of Warcraft - goes from strength to strength.

I have played Warcraft now for 3 years and have 2 characters, one alliance and one horde. Azeroth is a rich and beautiful world which could never have come about without the vision of Gary Gygax. The game of World of Warcraft adheres so closely to the rules of the original that I can almost smell the stale teenage bedrooms, see the paper character sheets and hear the rattle of the dice.

Across Azeroth, from Ironforge to Orgrimmar, a very bright light flickered and then ultimately went out yesterday.

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