And it’s truly a sad day for nerds everywhere.

In case you haven’t already heard, Gary Gygax, the creator of a wee little game called Dungeons and Dragons, died today in his home in Lake Geneva at the age of 69. Regardless of whether you consider Gygax an inspired genius and creative mastermind or a drugged-out loon, his influence on the gaming industry cannot be denied.  Basically, Gygax was responsible for the creation of the role playing game as a genre; without him, Dungeons and Dragons would not exist, nor would the hundreds, if not thousands, of derivative games that exist out there today.  At least not in the form we know.  I personally wasted at least one quarter during college doing practically nothing but playing the game, and much of what passes for my creative imagination today is still influenced by the games that I’ve run over the years.

So, let us have a moment of silence — filled, of course, with the clattering of polyhedral dice across a kitchen table — to mourn the passing of a gaming legend.  And see if your boss is kinder to you than mine is.