Recently in Gaming Category

Big news this week as Grand Theft Auto IV breaks not just video game sales records but all entertainment industry (film, music, etc.) records for first day ($310 million) and first week ($500 million) sales. If Halo 3 didn’t do it, GTA surely cements the video game industry as a, maybe even the, leading force in entertainment.

So what does this mean in terms of you and your local library? Quite a bit:

The Games
The first and most obvious (although maybe not if you think of your library only in terms of books): there’s a good chance many of the games you’re looking for, and shelling out 50 bucks or more for, are sitting on the shelves of your local library. And don’t forget the walkthrough books. Many libraries even loan game consoles.

The Job Market
An industry growing this fast and pulling in this much revenue is hot for new talent. From coding to writing to art and animation, your library is the perfect place to start researching the ins and outs of the business and what it takes to get your foot in the door. Here is some material to get started with, but there are dozens more. Your reference librarians are also a great resource to get the best information in your hands if you’re having trouble locating what you need. Don’t be afraid to ask questions.

Critical Analysis
From health concerns and marketing sex and violence to children to improved hand-eye coordination and visual analysis of information, there’s no shortage of critical material regarding video games. The industry and its products are valid topics for academic consideration at all levels of education, and your library can serve as a research hub.

Two days ago, (Ernest) Gary Gygax, the co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons, died at the age of 69. If you've ever played a fantasy role-playing game (RPG) -- or any other RPG, for that matter, live or in a videogame -- or enjoyed the recent films of the Lord of the Rings, or (I'd argue) if you are a fan of the Harry Potter franchise... you owe a debt of thanks to Gary.

Gary was known to credit "The Veldt" by Ray Bradbury and Robert E. Howard's "Conan the Conqueror" as early influences that pushed him towards fantasy and science fiction in his work. The disposition of characters into "alignments" of good/neutral/evil and lawful/neutral/chaotic was influenced by Poul Anderson's "Three Hearts and Three Lions." The mythology of D&D was taken from a wide variety of historical and literary sources, including two now famous dragon gods, Tiamat and Bahamut. While the final D&D figures are quite different than their historical namesakes, it is obvious that Gary and Dave Arneson, the game's other co-creator, had done some serious pre-reading for their creation.

Personally, I know I would not have become as involved in reading (and writing) fantasy and science fiction had I not been able to "live" the part of characters (and game masters) in stories. Whether live, around a kitchen table with hex paper and polyhedral dice scattered among pizza remnants, or in email with friends in three states creating play-by-text worlds and adventures or in video game lands like World of Warcraft... lots of time, lots of creativity, lots of friendship, lots of fun... all thanks in part to Gary's work and leadership.

I won't resort to game-linked references for a pithy closing. I'll just say, "Thanks, Gary."

Related links:

• Gary Gygax's WorldCat Identities page.
• Fantasy game materials in WC
• Role playing materials in WC.
• GURPS Lite and D20, both free (or open source) role playing systems