Gygax, who is generally regarded as the father of role-playing games, was one of the original creators of the pen-and-paper, dice-based Dungeons and Dragons game, which in turn spawned an entire genre of tabletop play.

The Dungeons and Dragons core rule-set would eventually inspire and influence some of the most popular video games ever made, including BioWare's Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights series of titles among numerous others.

Gygax had been suffering from health problems for years, but ran weekly games of Dungeons and Dragons as late as January. He is survived by a wife and six children.