Remembering the Fallen

Dungeons and Dragons AD&D version one is back.  Well in retro form anyways.  I know a lot of Christians say role playing games are evil.  To an extent I would agree, but I would say it depends on the game.  Role Playing games are neutral, but many role playing games are based on fantasy settings that incorporate a lot of occult and alternative religious thought.  I do struggle with this, as I think that regardless of whether it is a computer game, a role playing game, a virtual environment, real life, a web post, whatever...whatever guise you find yourself in you should conduct yourself in a way that honors Jesus.  If you don't you sin.  I fail at that a lot. Perhaps role playing is one way that I fail.  But that is a whole other post than my intent for now, I will revisit this.

For now, I just would like to take a moment to remember some of the people who back in the early day where involved in the hobby.  To me it is fascinating to hear the human stories of all the people related to the production of something, be it a movie, a game, or something else. Sometimes I watch movies from the 80ies and I'll see someone playing a bit part and wonder, "What ever happened to that guy/gal?" For some reason I think it would be cool to find out.  I'd love a TV show that just would randomly pick bit parts out of  movies or lessor know people involved with big projects and find out who they are and where their lives lead.  Some people would go on to live very interesting lives.  Others would sadly have their lives cut short. 

Dungeons and Dragons, love it or hate it, had a lot of people involved with it's creation.   One such person was David Sutherland. I remember being a kid and picking up a box of some sort of dungeons and dragons supplement.  I just couldn't understand how role playing could work.  "You mean it is like you are there?"  "How could that be?" "How does that work?".  The artwork on most of the early dungeons and dragons / TSR stuff was amazing.  I loved just looking at it in hobby and toy stores and fantasizing about experiencing a world where you could be a mighty knight slaying wicked beast and saving a kingdom.  David Sutherland was one of the early game illustrators for TSR.  His work proliferates the Dungeons and Dragons early lines, and he was one of the guys who's art I would stare at.  Even today seeing his and other's of his era's illustrations brings back memories to me.

Well, I heard a little chatter about how Mr. Sutherland dropped off the radar.  I guess his story is one of the bad ones.  After TSR was bought he lost his job, and I guess lost his marriage right before.  Unable to find additional work, I guess he did a bad spiral downward.  Allegedly someone found him driving a cab.and his name once again kind of surfaced.  Ultimately, he died in 2005, sounds like he might have had a drinking problem.

This makes me sad as again, hate or love D&D, those pictures shaped the adventuring minds of millions of kids my age.  He had talent.  To see someone who had a great talent, and that talent go into disuse and the owner of that talent dying on the inside because of life circumstances saddens me.  David Sutherland should have been appreciated more for his talent.

So here, almost seven years too late, I'll honor Mr. Sutherland by posting a link to his story.  I hope his daughters which he seemed to care about a great deal a prospering. I hope he also found Jesus and is in a much better place.

http://slick.org/deathwatch/mailarchive/msg01752.html

Via Con Dios.