Independent videogame designer, writer and creative director Harvey Smith

When we got the report that Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Gary Gygax had passed away, we first shared our own reminiscences on The Pen-and-Paper Game That Started It All . Then we reached out to some of the top computer and videogame developers--those who either work in the role-playing game genre or whose titles are clearly inspired by RPGs--to find out how D&D influenced them both personally and professionally. Our next respondent is independent videogame designer, writer and creative director Harvey Smith, who parted ways with Midway after completing Blacksite Area 51, but is better known for his work on such titles as Deus Ex and Deus Ex II: Invisible War. Here's what he told us.

What do you remember about your first experience with Dungeons & Dragons?

I was camping on the night of my 11th birthday. I'd been hearing about the game for months and could not stop thinking about it. Late at night, I joined a group of guys who played together regularly. We were sitting at a picnic table under an awning out in the woods. I was utterly captivated: imagining the visuals, savoring the story, thrilled by the game mechanics, feeling completely immersed in the virtual environment. One of the guys had to work, so he showed up at the campsite around midnight with a to-go container full of steaks, smothered in mushroom gravy. We sat there playing all night, eating steak with our hands, as I turned 11 and experienced a life-changing moment.

How did your parents feel about you playing D&D?

The morning after each game, my redneck dad used to ask me, "Did you win?"

Were you primarily a dungeon master or a player?

I always ran the games, just because I burned to describe locations and settings. I loved describing 20 percent of what I had planned, letting the players discover the rest through exploration. I also played a lot, because our group merged with a group run by another professional video game designer, Steve Powers. We're both still working in the industry today, but the two of us have been playing RPG's for 27 years.

How has D&D influenced you as a game developer?

The game was super influential, teaching me concepts related to interactive storytelling and game mechanics. I've just benefited so much from those experiences. Fortunately, a few years ago, I had the opportunity to actually interview Gary Gygax for Game Developer Magazine, which was thrilling, actually.

What was gained and what has been lost over the years as videogames have supplanted pen-and-paper RPGs?

Well, first off, a lot of people still play pen-and-paper RPG's. There's a new version of Dungeons and Dragons coming out soon. I think the pen-and-paper RPG will always been socially and creatively richer than the video game variety; it's just infinitely more flexible and open to expressive input from the players.

Next: Bethesda's Todd Howard and Silicon Knights' Denis Dyack.