Dave Arneson, co-creator of the world's most famous (and still most popular) tabletop roleplaying game, Dungeons & Dragons, has died of cancer. Arneson was 61. He battled cancer for the last two years. He is survived by his daughter and two grandchildren.
Arneson was working on a rules system called Blackmoor when he met Gary Gygax in 1969 at Gen-Con in 1969. The two were avid historical miniatures gamers. They added fantasy elements to some of their games and the games were tremendous hits. Arneson developed the setting, Blackmoor (now the longest-running roleplaying setting in existence), while Gygax went on to develop Greyhawk, the first world setting for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Both went on to become supplements for the D&D game, though Forgotten Worlds (by Ed Greenwood) succeeded both as the base AD&D setting. Gygax died this time last year.
Blackmoor eventually became a part of Greyhawk for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, while also becoming the default world setting for Basic Dungeons & Dragons. While Blackmoor was published in 1975 and contained the first ever module, or adventure, it contained next to nothing on the setting itself. Later expansions detailed the world and new adventure modules and books brought Blackmoor into the d20 System in 2004.
Dave Arneson worked for TSR for a year in 1976, before leaving to pursue his own career in game design independently. Shortly afterward, he filed no fewer than five lawsuits against Gygax and TSR. TSR concurrently pursued protection from Arneson over the D&D properties. The suits were eventually settled out of court (in 1981), but the damage to the friendship was never reconciled, though Gygax rehired Arneson to work on the Blackmoor properties when he became president of TSR in the 1980s.
Arneson's own gaming company (Adventure Games) was financially successful, though he relinquished control of it and made his way into computer gaming, establishing the equally successful 4D Interactive Systems, Inc., which still operates today. He eventually became a computer consultant and teacher and was inducted into the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design Hall of Fame in 1983. In his last years, he taught game design at Full Sail University in Winter Park, Fla. "All of us in this industry and hobby owe a great debt of thanks to Dave Arneson and his groundbreaking Blackmoor game," a press release from Wizards of the Coast (D&D's current publisher) read.
Attempts to navigate to Arneson's website failed continually this morning - I assume due to network traffic. Our condolences to Arneson's family and friends.
© C Harris Lynn, 2009
A rambling melange of pop-culture.
1 comment:
Though there were none at the time I write this, I wanted to include a link to the BBC coverage of Dave Arneson's death, as it asks fans to send in their comments and I'm sure at least some of them will be interesting.
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