Dave Arneson Dies

As I mentioned earlier this week, Dave Arneson was terminally ill with cancer. He apparently had entered hospice, and his death had been falsely reported a few different times this week. Now, with confirmation from people I trust, we know that Dave died last night.

Dave was one of the two people credited with designing Dungeons & Dragons, the game that changed my life in many ways and gave millions of people countless hours of fun with their families and friends. The other, Gary Gygax, died just over a year ago.

Dave and Gary had a notorious falling out decades ago, which wound up with Dave suing to retain credit and obtain royalties on the game. While they managed to settle it out of court, they never, that I knew, repaired their friendship, which kept Dave out of mainstream gaming industry circles for years.

After Wizards of the Coast bought TSR, which published D&D, though, Dave made a well-heralded return to Gen Con. I had the honor of meeting Dave after that and the chance to express my gratitude to him. Best of all, I sat on a number of different panels with him in the following years, and he was always an absolute delight to spend any amount of time with.

One of the first things I did after Gary died was to write Dave a note too. Lots of times, we don’t express our appreciation of people until they’re gone, and I wanted to make sure Dave knew how I felt. A lot of other people did the same thing then and at Gen Con last year, which now turns out was Dave’s last.

One of my favorite memories of Dave was at the opening of one of the Gen Cons in Indianapolis. Standing next to a giant twenty-sided die–it had to be at least three feet across–Peter Adkison stood in front of throng of people massed outside the doors of the exhibit hall just before it opened for the first time that year. He then brought Dave and his granddaughter forward to make the opening die roll for the convention, the first time I ever remember anyone doing something like that. The grins on all three of their faces lit the gigantic hall, and the crowd let out a huge cheer when the giant die rolled.

I couldn’t think of a better way to start the show–or for me now to remember such a wonderful man.

Charles Responds to BEA

[WARNING: Local Politics Ahead. Fortunately, the election is today, so after that we can return to our regularly scheduled blather.

By the way, if you’re a local, do get out and vote. We’re projected to have a low turnout this year, which makes every vote cast that much more precious.]

Read More

Rob and the Robots

My fellow Alliterate and good pal Rob King just sold his latest novel, The Angel of Death to Angry Robot, the new HarperCollins imprint run by my old friend Marc Gascoigne. It’s actually not his latest, as the book was originally slated to come out through the now-cancelled Wizards of the Coast Discoveries line. I’m happy to see the book find another publisher so we can all get to enjoy it in print.

Hard Times for Gamer Gurus

Today I learned that my friends Aaron Allston and Dave Arneson have separately had terrible weeks.

Dave co-created Dungeons & Dragons with Gary Gygax, who passed away last year. He has cancer and, it seems, not very long to live. I had the honor of sitting on several panels with Dave over the years, and he’s always been a sharp-witted gentleman, eager to share his knowledge and experiences with anyone curious enough to ask. When he goes, we’ll have lost both of D&D’s creators, and an era will truly have passed.

Despite this, Dave’s family is requesting privacy at this time. Fortunately, after Gary died last year, many people reached out to Dave to let him know how much he and his work meant to us. (John Wick has an absolutely hysterical story about this, but it’s his to tell.)

Aaron had a heart attack last Sunday while touring to support his latest Star Wars novel, and he’s successfully undergone a quadruple heart bypass since. While he’s not home yet, it looks like his long-term prognosis may be good.

Aaron started out in roleplaying game design with Hero Games, who also published my first full-length RPG book: Western Hero.I remember Aaron warmly welcoming me into the cadre of Hero authors many years ago, and we always managed to catch up over the years. I last saw him at Comic-Con last year as we waited for the doors to open on that Wednesday night.

However, Aaron–like many freelancers–has no health insurance, and he’s likely to see a ruinous hospital bill for this. Word is that some of his publishers are already hoping to put together a benefit book or two to get him some much-needed cash. I’ll be sure to post details about that here when I can.

In the meantime, here’s to best wishes for both Dave and Aaron that this week is much better for them than the last.

Mutant Chronicles on XBox Live

I was browsing for some new Rock Band and Guitar Hero tracks, when I stumbled on this: The Mutant Chronicles film is now available for rental, in both standard and HD formats, on XBox Live. While it won’t be in theaters in the US until later this month, you can see it already in your home. Very cool!

Buyout is Out to Buy

Fellow Michigan alumnus Alex Irvine’s new book Buyout is on shelves today. I worked with Alex on the Beast several years back, and I came to respect this talent then. As the marketing copy says:

From acclaimed author Alexander C. Irvine comes a gritty near-future thriller in the paranoid, prophetic vein of Philip K. Dick and Richard K. Morgan.

One hundred years from now, with Americans hooked into an Internet far more expansive and intrusive than today’s, the world has become a seamless market-driven experience. In this culture of capitalism run amok, entrepreneurs and politicians faced with rampant overcrowding in the nation’s penal system turn to a controversial new method of cutting costs: life-term buyouts. In theory, buyouts offer convicted murderers the chance to atone for their crimes by voluntarily allowing themselves to be put to death by the state in exchange for a one-time cash payment, shared among their heirs and victims, based on a percentage of what it would have cost taxpayers to house and feed them for the rest of their natural lives. It’s a win-win situation.

See, he’s got me right there. My copy’s already on the way.

Going to GTS

After having to skip last year’s show, I’m on my way back to the GAMA Trade Show (April 14—17). I’m on two seminars here: “Secrets of Good Game Design” on April 15 at 10 AM and “Tips for Freelancers” on April 16 at 10 AM.

If you’ll be there, let me know. I only have a short stay in town, and I’m looking to make the most of it.

[Edited to correct the dates.]

The 2009 Scribe Awards Nominations

mccover1.jpg
The IAMTW just announced the nominees for its 2009 Scribe Awards, which are for the best tie-novels of the year. The awards committees were kind enough to nominate my Mutant Chronicles novelization for two awards: Best Speculative Fiction Adapted and Special Gaming Scribe – Best Adapted.

See below for the full list nominees, many of which were written by good friends of mine (including fellow Alliterate member Steve Sullivan), and all of which are by excellent and talented writers. Congratulations to them all, and good luck to them in the final round–even those who are up against me! I feel blessed to be in such fantastic company, and this should make Comic-Con and Gen Con that much more fun.Read More