Back in ’74 amidst the flared trousers and glam rock, Dave Arneson and E. Gary Gygax released a little game called Dungeons and Dragons. Yup it’s the 30th anniversary of one of the most ground breaking games of all time. Today D&D is owed by Wizards of the Coast (you know the Magic the Gathering folk, oh don’t tell me you have not played…) who, according to Gaming Report, are planning a 30th anniversary fest of new releases and events:
- Dungeons and Dragons Basic Set – Game
- 30 Years of Adventure: A celebration of Dungeons & Dragons - Book
- Dungeons and Dragons Miniatures Expansions - Models
- GEN CON 2004 - Event
- Worldwide D&D Game Day (some time in October) – Way of Life
I have to admit I have not felt a d20 in my palm for waaay to long. So I was wondering – is anyone doing anything to celebrate, any conference (MUD-DEV, GDC etc) having D&D sessions? Any panels / papers on D&D and its influence on gaming?
As to TN, well for a start, how about this:
- Does anyone have any ideas on how the type of themes we cover on TN are modified when we cast them into Table Top role play?
Who owns my D&D character?
Am I free to sell it?
Ren
OK, for all the train spotters out there. I believe that D&D was actually released in 1973 at EasterCon and was available directly from the creators through that year, however it was not published till January 1974 (anyone know the day?) in the first 1,000 copy print run white box version.
Ren
Posted by: Ren | Feb 13, 2004 at 09:36
This is good online source for the history, for those interested.
http://www.cgonline.com/features/011218-f1-f1.html
It confirms January 1974 as the publication date, but alas--no more specific date. (Do you mean the first day a copy hit a shelf, Ren?)
The story of Arneson/Gygax collaboration/struggle in the original creation and as the game grew in popularity is *really* interesting. Reminds me of the other interesting collaborations along the path to the present day MMORPG, e.g.: Bushnell/Alcorn, Crowther/Woods, Trubshaw/Bartle, Romero/Carmack, etc.
Posted by: greglas | Feb 13, 2004 at 09:49
Greg> Do you mean the first day a copy hit a shelf, Ren?
I mean what ever the offical release date is according to TSR at the time which is probably the date of the press release or the day that the first box hit the first shelf i guess - ok so i'm an anorak for this type of detail.
ren
Posted by: Ren | Feb 13, 2004 at 10:10
Nothing new. :)
We still play once or twice a month. The same gang that's been playing together since grade 4.
Holy crap I'm old.
Posted by: Jamie Hale | Feb 13, 2004 at 10:44
You could sell your D&D character, but what is the point (and who would buy it)? There is no scarcity involved.
I do think however, that many of the themes discussed here have resonance with pen and paper RPGs. For example, the open gaming license used by d20 has significantly changed the economics of game supplements.
Certainly, in the pen and paper RPG world, people have to take the existing materials and create a living world from the static materials. This is a lot of work, but can also be quite rewarding. Neverwinter Nights is one example of porting this model to the digital realm, what other possibilities are there?
Many of the legal issues here have also been raised in the pen and paper context, such as how copyrightable are the rules? There have also been user created extensions of gaming systems that violate copyright, such as the short-lived GURPS: Halo, which ported the videogame to the pen and paper realm. For that matter, see official ports from digital to paper such as GURPS: Alpha Centauri and GURPS: Myth.
There are definitely some interesting parallels to be looked at here.
Posted by: Ernest Miller | Feb 13, 2004 at 14:04
In the comic Knights of the Dinner Table, the main (comic) characters sold their (Hackmaster) characters on eBay. Shortly afterwards, in real life, someone attempted to sell their AD&D character on eBay.
I don't know whether the sale was prompted by the KoDT strip, nor whether anyone actually bought the character (I doubt it - it wasn't all that good).
Just another example of reality getting there before us.
Richard
Posted by: Richard Bartle | Feb 13, 2004 at 15:29
30 years? Oof! And I've been a game master for almost all that time.
For the last two years, I've been DM'ing an AD&D campaign with my (early college age) kids and some of their friends. It is about two sessions from conclusion. My daughter is creating her own campaign world with its own beastiary, floriary, and two written languages as a part of her personal art portfolio.
About 10 years ago I bound all of my D&D books (PG, DMG, MM, FF, and 1st edition Deities and Demigods, complete with Cthulu) into a single 3-inch thick leather-covered volume, stamped with my initials. My daughter calls it "The Friff".
As a result, I never 'upgraded' to 3rd edition rules. I didn't really see a need to, since the game has always been primarily a form of interactive story-telling to me. The simpler the rules, the better.
Long live geeks, and our imaginations -
Randy
Posted by: F. Randall Farmer | Feb 14, 2004 at 19:56