I was excited from the moment I first heard of Gygax Magazine. Sadly, it was recently reported that Gary Gygax' sons were forced to leave Gygax Magazine due to legal action by Gail Carpenter Gygax, Gary's widow from his second marriage. Now Erik, over at Tenkar's Tavern reports that Gygax Magazine will no longer be published. TSR (The publisher of the magazine, not the original TSR) have stated that they will be focusing on publishing modules instead.
As I have mentioned in the past, I am very sad to see this happen. The Gygax brothers seem like excellent people and the way they and the people at GaryCon have been making an effort to involve everyone in the Old School Gaming movement, including Dave Arneson's original players and many others. It would be a shame if the Gygax brothers were prevented from contributing to the world of Dungeons & Dragons. I am glad we are still seeing the Hobby Shop Dungeon happening.
I am also interested in seeing what TSR is up to next. Apparently they plan on releasing a series of modules by Frank Mentzer and Merle Rasmussen. This is something I would love to see, being the huge BECMI fan that I am. At least there is some good news amidst all the sad news. I wish Luke and Ernie Gygax all the best and hope that there is some way to find a sollution that would allow them to participate in publishing game material as long as they want to. They deserve it and I'd like to think the gamers in this world deserves that too. :)
-Havard
I really enjoyed those magazines. Print magazines can never be replaced by digital. The art content alone was worth the price.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your kind words. I have enjoyed working with Luke and Ernie, and it was great to help in carrying on the Gygax legacy with the magazine. Everyone put in a great number of hours and hard work to make it a reality. I plan to continue my friendship with the Gygax clan, and support them anyway I can. With that said, I am very excited as well about the projects planed with TSR Games. I can't say too much now, but believe me it some of the most amazing work I have seen in a long time. In all my years as a gamer, I would have never dreamed that I would get to work with such industry icons.
ReplyDeleteActually if TSR Games wants to treat Luke and Ernie that way, I am happy to walk away from anything TSR is working on. I think others should reconsider TSR as well. The Gygax magazine was the only shining beacon.
ReplyDelete" Gary Gygax' sons were forced to leave Gygax Magazine due to legal action by Gail Carpenter Gygax,"
DeleteIt does not seem that the TSR guys forced them out, but it's more of a Gail issue.
This is my impression as well Dale. I have not seen anything suggesting the Gygax brothers having any bad feelings towards the rest of TSR. This was a legal thing and they would rather leave than see the company fall apart.
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