08-29-2016, 07:34 AM
Hi Thondor, great seeing you here again! 
I think there could be something to that. Gary and Dave certainly brought different things to the table and the combination of that was what became D&D. However, I think that such a simplification can also be misleading. When Mark Hammil was asked if he agreed that George Lucas was not an actor's director he said he did not like this comparison simply because you cannot boil anyone's abilties down to a single sentence. I think the same applies to Gary and Dave.
Other factors are as important. Dave was 10 years younger that Gary. In 1974 Gary already had experience in publishing games, running gaming organizations and organizing conventions. Dave on the other hand had a background of running massive Napoleon Era War Gaming (Napoleonics) as well as his experience of thinking outside the box when it came to gaming based in ideas from Wesely and the Minnesota Gamers as well as his own highly creative mind.
As to Kentner's Documentary, my understanding is that Dragons in the Basement was about Dave interviewing different people in the industry about the roots of the hobby. At this point, I wish the footage had been interviews with Dave himself instead of the other way around. I suspect that the footage might not be of the best quality. That is not to say it could not be turned into a very interesting documentary, but it might require alot more work than simply editing the footage together in a viewable manner.
It would be awesome to see this come to life, but I see no reason to call Kentner out for not having been able to compile this yet. From what I understand he is an amateur in this field and mainly a fan, and he is in no way obligated to do this any more than any other fan, unless there was some kind of agreement between him and Dave.
I know that Dave wanted his story to be told, but I think we are doing a pretty good job about that here on this website. Everyone's contributions here are very valuable in this respect
-Havard
Thondor Wrote:The analogy seemed surprisingly apt. This part stuck out to me:
Quote:Dave was spontaneous. Gary was an organized writer and worker. Without Dave, Gary couldn’t have written Dungeons & Dragons, or any role-playing game for that matter. Without Gary, Dave’s clever invention couldn’t have made it out of his circle of friends. Both geniuses were needed to really accomplish what was accomplished.
That unofficial / unpopular “sect” can be equated to Arneson’s original Blackmoor campaign. Publication of the OD&D White Box can be equated to Saint Paul’s Epistles.
It's sad to here that something like Dungeons in the Basement this has languished for so long. Would have been very interesting to hear every talk about the origin of the game, including you gsvenson.
I think there could be something to that. Gary and Dave certainly brought different things to the table and the combination of that was what became D&D. However, I think that such a simplification can also be misleading. When Mark Hammil was asked if he agreed that George Lucas was not an actor's director he said he did not like this comparison simply because you cannot boil anyone's abilties down to a single sentence. I think the same applies to Gary and Dave.
Other factors are as important. Dave was 10 years younger that Gary. In 1974 Gary already had experience in publishing games, running gaming organizations and organizing conventions. Dave on the other hand had a background of running massive Napoleon Era War Gaming (Napoleonics) as well as his experience of thinking outside the box when it came to gaming based in ideas from Wesely and the Minnesota Gamers as well as his own highly creative mind.
As to Kentner's Documentary, my understanding is that Dragons in the Basement was about Dave interviewing different people in the industry about the roots of the hobby. At this point, I wish the footage had been interviews with Dave himself instead of the other way around. I suspect that the footage might not be of the best quality. That is not to say it could not be turned into a very interesting documentary, but it might require alot more work than simply editing the footage together in a viewable manner.
It would be awesome to see this come to life, but I see no reason to call Kentner out for not having been able to compile this yet. From what I understand he is an amateur in this field and mainly a fan, and he is in no way obligated to do this any more than any other fan, unless there was some kind of agreement between him and Dave.
I know that Dave wanted his story to be told, but I think we are doing a pretty good job about that here on this website. Everyone's contributions here are very valuable in this respect
-Havard
Currently Running: The Blackmoor Vales Saga
Currently Playing: Daniel S. Debelfry in the Throne of Star's Campaign
Currently Playing: Daniel S. Debelfry in the Throne of Star's Campaign