R.I.P. Jennell Jaquays

Grognard GM · January 11, 2024, 08:54:54 AM

Quote from: JeremyR on January 11, 2024, 03:41:53 AM
Also worked for Coleco, which was the Xbox of its day, basically producing near arcade (at least if you quint) versions of games of the day

The Jaws arcade game?

GhostNinja · January 11, 2024, 09:51:35 AM

Sadly I have never heard of this person before this but...

R.I.P

Cathode Ray · January 11, 2024, 11:28:50 AM

Quote from: GhostNinja on January 11, 2024, 09:51:35 AM
Sadly I have never heard of this person before this but...

R.I.P

Many old-school people know him by his given name: Paul Jaquays. Many gaming news sites have created confusion by referring to him with female pronouns, so some readers may have thought they were writing about a woman with the same last name, like a sister or wife.

Rob Necronomicon · January 11, 2024, 12:58:28 PM

RIP a very talented lady.

Valatar · January 11, 2024, 02:16:58 PM

I hadn't heard of him, but I've definitely played some of the games and those were classics. It's always a shame when one of the pioneers goes out, my condolences to friends and family.

Persimmon · January 11, 2024, 03:52:26 PM

Quote from: Cathode Ray on January 11, 2024, 11:28:50 AM
Quote from: GhostNinja on January 11, 2024, 09:51:35 AM
Sadly I have never heard of this person before this but...

R.I.P

Many old-school people know him by his given name: Paul Jaquays. Many gaming news sites have created confusion by referring to him with female pronouns, so some readers may have thought they were writing about a woman with the same last name, like a sister or wife.

Yeah, for quite awhile I assumed Jennell was Paul's daughter or wife.

pawsplay · January 11, 2024, 05:53:24 PM

Quote from: Valatar on January 11, 2024, 02:16:58 PM
I hadn't heard of him, but I've definitely played some of the games and those were classics. It's always a shame when one of the pioneers goes out, my condolences to friends and family.

The friends and family would definitely appreciate it if you expressed your condolences using her correct name and pronouns.

Venka · January 11, 2024, 06:33:54 PM

Quote from: pawsplay on January 11, 2024, 05:53:24 PM
The friends and family would definitely appreciate it if you expressed your condolences using her correct name and pronouns.

We made it pretty far guys, it was a good thread, but now it will be about virtue signalers coming in and policing speech. The memorial is over; it is time for performative politics now.

pawsplay · January 11, 2024, 06:53:47 PM

Quote from: Venka on January 11, 2024, 06:33:54 PM
Quote from: pawsplay on January 11, 2024, 05:53:24 PM
The friends and family would definitely appreciate it if you expressed your condolences using her correct name and pronouns.

We made it pretty far guys, it was a good thread, but now it will be about virtue signalers coming in and policing speech. The memorial is over; it is time for performative politics now.

I'm not policing anything. I just stated a fact. What you choose to do with that information depends on what kind of person you are.

jhkim · January 11, 2024, 07:04:31 PM

Another article about Jaquays' passing below. I only knew about her through Justin Alexander's series on "Xandering the Dungeon". I have Dragon Mountain that she illustrated the cover for, but never tried any of the dungeon designs or read her own writing.

QuoteTabletop designer and video game developer Jennell Jaquays, who created Dungeons & Dragons adventures for a leading publisher of its time, has passed away at the age of 67.

Jaquays is best known for developing the early shape of the tabletop industry during the heyday of TSR and other D&D publishers. Her most successful adventures, Dark Tower and Caverns of Thracia, were published for Judges Guild and featured both her game design and artwork.

Jaquays would go on to illustrate covers for plenty of other sourcebooks and modules, including the Dragon Mountain adventure included in D&D's 1993 deluxe boxed set. Along with Call of Cthulhu publisher Chaosium, she also worked for several video game developers throughout the 1980s and 90s - Jaquays would help convert popular arcade cabinet games such as Pac-Man and Donkey Kong to their console versions. In the late 1990s, Jaquays worked as a level designer for American video game company id Software while it developed the original Quake.

Dark Tower was the only non-TSR published adventure cited in Dungeon magazine's list of the thirty greatest D&D adventure of all time, and Jaquays' adventures would accrue several nominations for the H.G. Wells award. She was inducted in the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design Hall of Fame in 2017.

As creative director of Transgender Human Rights Institute, Jaquays helped outline and petition for the adoption of Leelah's Law in the US - the response to this activist movement led to the federal banning of conversion therapy amongst minors, which adversely affected trans youth. She was a staunch advocate for trans rights.

In a remembrance post on the EN World tabletop RPG forums fans and players shared their favourite Jaquays creations, including her Savage Frontier book and Campaign Sourcebook and Catacomb Guide, the latter of which many folks claimed was one of the best resources for running the game they had ever read.

https://www.dicebreaker.com/categories/roleplaying-game/news/jennell-jaquays-dungeons-and-dragons-designer-obituary

Now I'm curious about the Campaign Sourcebook and Catacomb Guide, here:

https://preview.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/16887/DMGR1-Campaign-Sourcebook-and-Catacomb-Guide-2e

Grognard GM · January 11, 2024, 07:19:31 PM

Quote from: pawsplay on January 11, 2024, 05:53:24 PM
Quote from: Valatar on January 11, 2024, 02:16:58 PM
I hadn't heard of him, but I've definitely played some of the games and those were classics. It's always a shame when one of the pioneers goes out, my condolences to friends and family.

The friends and family would definitely appreciate it if you expressed your condolences using her correct name and pronouns.

Oh you ran a survey?

What a cool, uniform group of folks. Turns out not a single one of them prefers to remember them as Paul.

BadApple · January 11, 2024, 07:36:22 PM

F

Venka · January 11, 2024, 07:36:40 PM

Quote from: Grognard GM on January 11, 2024, 07:19:31 PM
Oh you ran a survey?

What a cool, uniform group of folks. Turns out not a single one of them prefers to remember them as Paul.

I mean, it would have to be an anonymous survey to get honest results....
I just take umbrage at the idea that if I don't believe in trans ideology, I can't be sad about an objectively shitty event. Like the most important detail is to bring up some controversial topic or position and play king of the hill.

BadApple · January 11, 2024, 08:19:47 PM

Quote from: pawsplay on January 11, 2024, 05:53:24 PM
Quote from: Valatar on January 11, 2024, 02:16:58 PM
I hadn't heard of him, but I've definitely played some of the games and those were classics. It's always a shame when one of the pioneers goes out, my condolences to friends and family.

The friends and family would definitely appreciate it if you expressed your condolences using her correct name and pronouns.

Here we are expressing our shared feeling of loss over someone who gave many of us gamers so many hours of fun and joy. Many of us go to enjoy Jennell's work even if we had no idea who she was. Valatar was making an earnest statement of respect.

Your attempt to enforce your gender ideology here is hurtful and repugnant.

Cathode Ray · January 11, 2024, 08:20:43 PM

Quote from: pawsplay on January 11, 2024, 05:53:24 PM
Quote from: Valatar on January 11, 2024, 02:16:58 PM
I hadn't heard of him, but I've definitely played some of the games and those were classics. It's always a shame when one of the pioneers goes out, my condolences to friends and family.

The friends and family would definitely appreciate it if you expressed your condolences using her correct name and pronouns.

I used his correct pronouns.