As creators of the original pen and paper game, they will provide the game's first celebrity "Dungeon Master" voiceovers for certain in-game adventures. Dungeons & Dragons is under license from the Hasbro Properties Group, the intellectual property development arm of Hasbro, Inc.
"Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson are icons within the gaming community, and their roles in Dungeons & Dragons Online will resonate with players everywhere," said Jeffrey Anderson, president and CEO of Turbine, Inc. "We are striving to adapt online gaming to the true D&D experience and the involvement of the original D&D creators is absolutely thrilling."
In the early 1970s, Gygax and Arneson revolutionized tabletop gaming when they created Dungeons & Dragons, combining tactical elements of war-gaming with complex storylines and player-driven characters. Since its publication in 1974, D&D(R) has become an international phenomenon and is widely credited as the inspiration for the modern gaming industry.
Gary Gygax has been writing and developing games for more than 30 years and, in 1968, founded GenCon, now the world's largest annual hobby gathering. He has also authored multiple games and books, including seven bestsellers. For over three decades, Dave Arneson has worked as a game designer, reviewer, video historian and lecturer. He has also appeared in Dungeons & Dragons: The Movie, published the Blackmoor fantasy campaign with his game company Zeitgeist Games, and currently teaches computer game design at Full Sail Real World Education in Winter Park, Florida.
Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach[tm] is the first and only online roleplaying game based on the world-renowned Dungeons & Dragons brand franchise from Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro.. This unique online world features highly customizable characters built from authentic Dungeons & Dragons races, abilities, skills and feats; real-time action combat; dangerous dungeons with devious traps; hand-crafted, private adventures; monsters and stories from the action-packed and intrigue-laced Eberron campaign setting; and award-winning visuals. Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach[tm] is being published by Atari, Inc. and is scheduled to ship this winter.