Different Worlds Interview with Dave Arneson

[The Perilous Dreamer]

Here is the Different Worlds Interview with Dave Arneson. pages 005-

[The Perilous Dreamer]

[The Perilous Dreamer]

[The Perilous Dreamer]

[Morose]

In this interview from 1979

Note the statement

One player would, in fact, call in after reaching his guard job and play by phone for hours.

Back then this would have been the company phone since cell phones did not yet exist. The first cell phone was sold in 1983 and the cost per minute was way too high for anyone to have been able to be on it for hours.

[Morose]

He also says a space campaign had begun, one wonders what ruleset was used for that.

[Morose]

He also notes that even before the Braunsteins by David Wesely, that in the mid 60s a Medieval Battle with each person represented an heir to the throne faced with a barbarian attack.

Sounds like a lot of mostly unknown history dating back earlier than we ever knew.

[Morose]

Why did it catch on so quickly? Because it offered almost pure escapism and the ability, in the game, to do anything and everything you wanted too! Gads! Who wouldn't get hooked on game playing nirvana like that after years of charts, tables, painting figures, etc. ... It was like a breath of fresh air.

Sounds like the things that made OD&D explode in the beginning are the same things, the game "designers" and companies have been trying to strip out of the game ever since then.