As I returned home Monday, I was pleased as punch to find a package on my doorstep. Less than 24 hours later, I find myself inspired, motivated and overwhelmed at what a single man with drive and vision can accomplish. Empire of Imagination by Michael Witwer is the story of Gary Gygax and the birth of Dungeons & Dragons, but it is so much more than that.
It was a typical hot, humid day in Garland, Texas in 1982, and we had some new neighbors move in caddy corner to our house. A tall lanky kid about my age named Scott, who was socially awkward but he had a very pretty sister, so we became friends. On this day, Scott would come over and invite me to his house to play a new game his parents bought for him: Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. That first play session resulted in exactly zero adventure time, as we read from this book and that, and moreover, buried ourselves in piles of blue graph paper, designing our dungeons. I honestly can’t remember what character I played and how far we made it through Scott’s first dungeon, but those times were short lived, as his family picked up and moved again only a few months later, but between D&D and his new ColecoVision, I had become a gamer and I was hooked.
And so it goes with Ernest Gary Gygax. How many of us can share a story about how we started out in gaming, and how many of us will ultimately relate that story to Gary Gygax? Surely a high percentage of us will have one, and for all of you teens and 20-somethings in the entitlement generation who have a gaming story to tell about World of Warcraft, Destiny, Halo, Assassin’s Creed or any of a host of first person shooters that have you navigating a maze, maze-like structure or open world with traps and objectives, know that you owe it to Gary Gygax.
This book is a story of a man of humble beginnings who grew up only miles from where I grew up in Chicago, moved to Lake Geneva and became a hellraiser of sorts, a salmon swimming against the stream. Clearly, he had a big imagination and an obsession to explore, adventure and create stories for himself and his friends. This is a book that so profoundly impacted me in a mere 24 hours that this may be one of those life changing moments that alters the course of my life. Yes, it is that profound.
This young man, who found school unimportant, would go on to create a phenomenon so vast, one would call it an empire. His empire dwarfs that of Charlemagne, that of the Mongols or any historically based empire you can name, simply because his empire is in the hearts and minds of gamers worldwide. His influences are far-reaching, his disciples endless, and although I was not a big roleplayer when I was growing up, I knew who Gary Gygax was. As I matured and started diving in to roleplaying as a young adult I found it stimulated the creative itch and the escape I desired, but I still did not understand the importance that Gary had in my life. Even now, as a game designer, author and software product manager, I have a renewed inspiration to create better games, build better software and write better books based on the book I just read. To say this text is inspirational sells it short. It is transformational, it is motivational and it is sensational. In the anecdotes about Gary growing up, becoming the reluctant business leader and creative drive behind his Magnum Opus, I find myself identifying with him in many ways and I find myself emotional with every passing family member and friend, and of course with his death in 2008.
Although Empire of Imagination largely bypasses some of the more controversial topics, choosing to merely mention his infidelity and drug use, it very effectively tells the story of a fiery man with the heart of a lion and a temper to match. This is a well-written masterpiece by Michael Witwer that chronicles the life of a man everyone knew, yet we did not know. The tome takes us through both factual accounts and creative areas to fill in the “gaps,” but is meticulously documented and sometimes has the feel of a scholarly work. We begin in Chicago, as Witwer guides the reader through the family’s decision to relocate to Lake Geneva, and vivid imagery paints the picture of what would later be called the “Ground Zero” of gaming. The roleplaying aspects of the book strike you immediately as you open the cover to reveal a blue graph paper illustration of Lake Geneva; a great touch. Chapter breaks tell a roleplaying narrative that any one of us could play out in a chase for any of a number of things that play the role of the MacGuffin and the reader is engaged, entertained and enthralled throughout the book. We are “DM’d” through the journey by Witwer, from Gary’s gaming groups to the first Gen Con in 1968 to his chance meeting with Dave Arneson in 1969 that paved the way for D&D to be created. From his later struggles with production of D&D to his consistent family troubles and business missteps with TSR, this book gives us all a long, hard look into the life of a complicated man who somehow remained an inner 14 year old until 2008.
All this time, I thought I knew my path to gaming, but now I know who laid the foundation that made the path a reality. Empire of Imagination will touch different people in different ways, but it is sure to say that if you are a gamer, live with a gamer or ever had the urge to understand why gamers, geeks and nerds do what they do, you must read this book.
‘’A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.’”
David Villegas - GM Dave
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