Gary Gygax passed away this week. I was a card carrying D&D player back in high school. I even attended the D&D convention, Gencon, twice. Some people road trip to Fort Lauderdale. I road tripped to Wisconsin to play fantasy games.
There have been a lot of obits and opinion pieces (a NY Times piece here). I think most of them have missed the point. D&D was less about the fantasy aspect and its influence on gaming in general, than it was about a common ground for smart, well read, techy types (read 'outcasts') to get together the way a high school football team bonded or the cool kids at a booze-filled party had fun. It was a social lubricant for people who needed it.
I'll always fondly remember all night sessions over at the house of friends. Usually around 4AM with pizza boxes, mountain dew, copious DM notes, and gobs of dice strewn around the room, we'd hit the sack. It was our version of a knock down party. And I loved it.
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