Geeks everywhere are crying.

Gary Gygax, co-creator of the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, has died at age 69.

It is not an overstatement to say that Gygax and his colleagues did more to change our culture than any single artist, filmmaker or songwriter of the last few decades.

Simply put, he made it good to be a geek. It's because of him that Barack Obama can label himself a "nerd" with pride rather than shame. It's why tends of thousands of people flock to Indianapolis every year for Gen-Con and similar events.

I haven't played D&D in half a lifetime. But it's easy to look around and see the influence of the game in so many things we do. Without D&D, a new generation wouldn't have discovered Tolkien, and there wouldn't be any "Lord of the Rings" movies. Without "Conan," Arnold Schwarzenegger would be a little-known muscleman who once appeared in a bodybuilding documentary. It's doubtful that video games would be as prevalent in our society as they are.

Without him, I doubt I'd still be reading fantasy novels and daydreaming about adventures.

So, a salute to an innovator. Gary, that which sprung forth from your fertile mind was definitely a critical hit.