The evolution of the games industry is rooted in pen and paper gaming. We explore the effect these games and designers have had on the industry in this issue of The Escapist: The Gamemasters.

Each week we publish letters sent to us regarding previous issues. If you'd like to comment on an article, send your letter to editor@escapistmag.com.

In Part I of Death to the Games Industry, Greg Costikyan outlined the problems inherent in the current state of the industry. This week, he focuses on potential solutions.

In this edition of The Contrarian, John Tynes discusses his past as a pen and paper designer, and how these designers impact the design of today's, and the future's, games.

It all started with pencils and dice. Allen Varney takes a look at the heavy influence pen and paper gaming has had on modern video games, and at the strong presence of former pen and paper designers at all levels of the industry.

As the games industry matures, its history is beginning to be recorded. Joe Blancato discusses the book Dungeons and Dreamers, which tells the stories of some of the most influential game designers in history.

There is something special about the opportunity that a pen and paper game experience allows that has yet to come through in todays electronic games. Julianne Greer relates her first pen and paper experience, with Feng Shui.

In "Don't Roleplay the Bugs," Max Steele related his difficulties adapting pen-and-paper gaming to Neverwinter Nights. Bruce Nielson responds, with a very different set of experiences of his own.