For
the next step of Ethan’s journey, he wants to play old school Dungeons and
Dragons with one of the game’s co-creators, E. Gary Gygax. He wants Gygax
to “re-geek” him by playing the original D&D, none of these
new-fangled editions or online RPGs would suffice. In order to do this
Ethan has to travel to the Lake Geneva Gaming Convention (LGGC) in Lake Geneva,
Wisconsin. Unfortunately about three months before LGGC IV, on March 4,
2008 E. Gary Gygax died of an aneurysm at the age of sixty-nine.
Despite
this obvious setback Ethan persists and drives to LGGC and, while listening to
Weird Al Yancovic, he decides to be optimistic. The first night of the
convention Ethan meets Steve Chenault, who points out some of the gamers from
“the old days.” Ethan also notices a twelve year old boy playing a board
game with his father and he classifies him as a “second generation gamer.”
Immediately
after noticing this boy Ethan begins a brief history of Dungeons and Dragons
and its evolution. Dungeons and Dragons evolved out of real world war
games set in Roman or medieval times and the first edition was released in
1974. 1,000 copies were sold in the first year alone and from there it
exploded attracting misfits and Tolkien fans from all walks of life. The
media criticized D&D for being too violent and causing crime, the same way
Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty are criticized by the media today.
Dungeons and Dragons has since influenced countless movies, TV shows, and other
games leading to things like World of Warcraft and other computer games and
MMOs.
The
next day of the convention Ethan sees Chainmail, the missing link between old
war games and Dungeons and Dragons, and he cannot contain his excitement.
The man who brought it, named Paul Stormberg, originally brought his set
of almost 7,000 figurines to LGGC in 2006 in order to get Gygax to reconnect
with his past. Ethan watches Alex Clark, the twelve year old boy from the
night before, set up the first skirmish and then watched the slow, chess-speed,
battle unfold. Ethan has his “first geek moment” over the game, but he
quickly dispels it.
Over
the remainder of the convention Ethan plays a real old school Dungeons and
Dragons game and really enjoys himself. He realizes how “normal” many of
these gamers are and how easily they fit into society, they don’t fit the
classic gaming geek stereotype that he is so afraid of. At the end of
LGGC Ethan meets up with Alex Clark again who could not have been happier to
have just slain a dragon in Chainmail. Ethan strikes up a conversation
and is pleasantly surprised by Alex’s immense imagination and seemingly endless
hopefulness. By the end, Ethan realizes he actually had fun at the
convention and begins to remember how fun it can be to be a geek.
Discussion
Questions:
Why
is Ethan still afraid to let his guard down even after talking with many people
who enjoy gaming? Even after he admits he had fun?
What
is it about gaming that brings such a diverse group of people together to
celebrate and mourn someone like Gary Gygax?
By
James Lacitignola
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