Dungeons & Dragons Co-Creator Dead at 69

Widely revered Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Gary Gygax, regarded as the father of role-playing games, has died at his home in Wisconsin after years of health problems, AP reports. He was 69. Together with Dave Arneson, Gygax created the massively popular medieval fantasy Dungeons & Dragons in 1974 that struck a chord with teenage boys and young men, and spawned a host of computer game imitations. Fans say that the world of games would be very different had it not been for Gygax' imagination.

Gygax, who was also a prolific fantasy writer, wasn't involved in creating later generations of his game after legal wranglings with Arneson and company TSR, but kept on playing and was hosting games as recently as January. He loved to hear from the many fans of his fantasy world, said his wife. She survives him, along with their six children. (More roleplaying games stories.)