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I really am going to expose my geekiness here, but here is what you need to know: D&D (TSR and Gary Gygax), GURPS (Steve Jackson Games in general), Pallidium, Wizards of the Coast, the phenomanon of the convention, and GenCon (biggest one there is), and war games; brief history and how it evolved into RPGs.

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Repost from general comments and expanded from above (I was having problems with my browser, forgive the waste of space):

Palladium, Steve Jackson Games, TSR, Wizards of the Coast, White Wolf, Steve Jackson Games, Steve Jackson, Gary Gygax, GURPS, Dungeons and Dragons, conventions, GenCon, and war games; brief history and how they evolved into RPGs.