Gary Gygax, the man who co-invented a seminal role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons, died Tuesday in Wisconsin. He was 69.
Gygax and Dave Arneson developed Dungeons & Dragons in 1974. The game started a culture of gamers, who now feed a sophisticated multi-billion dollar video and online game industry.
"His innovation created an entirely new type of hobby that now attracts millions of players worldwide," the black-shrouded D&D website said Tuesday.
"He inspired generations of designers, players and authors and he will be sorely missed by legions of fans."
He had been suffering from health problems, but hosted weekly games of Dungeons & Dragons even in January, said his wife, Gail Gygax.
He was creating new material into late 2007. His game Teeth of the Barkash Nour, for example, was published by Troll Lord Games last fall.
The multiplayer online game World of Warcraft owes much of its popularity to Dungeons & Dragons, which itself owes a great debt to J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.
David Sutherland, the artist whose work appeared in many Dungeons & Dragons publications, died in 2005.
With files from the Associated Press
