Dungeons & Deagons changed the world. No, seriously. I am not making a joke. Think about it. Geek Sheik is all the rage these days. Science Fiction is all over the top of the TV ratings, along with pseudo sci-fi shows like Lost that are based on elaborate, cryptic plotting right out of serialized sci-fi novels and comic books. Spandex-clad superheroes top the box office year in and year out. Lord of the Rings won a fucking Oscar. Even more "grounded" TV shows, like Chuck, are chock-filled with arcane geek references. I mean a whole episode revolving around Shai Hulud? That is showing off some nerd IQ.
Gary Gygax, the creator of D&D, died last week at 69. The influence this game has had on the way our world looks today is staggering. But let's take a look at the game itself - where the revolution started. This is a game that fires the imagination of the intelligent junior high and high school outcasts that are now running our country. A player creates a persona (an avatar? sound familiar?) to control through a completely immersive, virtual world. Instead of a traditionally competitive model, the players collaborate and cooperate to guide their alter ego through quests and battles, the variety of which is limited only by the players creativity. How revolutionary is that? You don't really win, it's about the journey, brah. Cue Jerry Garcia. You build experience, concoct new scenarios, and basically engage in a complex escapism fantasy. The gameplay itself revolves around numbers. The 12-, 18-, 20-sided die that presents endless combinations and probabilities. And so those math geeks who couldn't get laid in high school, well, they were uniquely equipped to become the architects of our digital age.
The legacy of D&D is all around us. Entire computer programming languages were invented at MIT back in the early 80s just to create a digitized version of the game. Now there is an XBox in every home.The personalized, alter-ego avatar is ubiquitous on websites like Facebook and Myspace. The shaggy-haired, sci-fi and Tolkein worshipping geeks from high school are now making six figures at D&D alumni clubs like Google and Microsoft. And they get to wear t-shirts and Chuck Taylors to work every day. Wired is doing an issue-long tribute to Mr Gygax, you can check out the preview here. As for the MP3s today, I figured it would be apt to go all Seth Cohen-y and pick some geeky music, so we have Electioneering from Radiohead's OK Computer and Lift the Veil, Kiss the Tank from The Blood Brothers latest album, Young Machetes. I know Seth would have went with Death Cab for Cutie, but I can't stand those guys.
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