Originally Posted by GhanBuriGhan
were they themselves ever really passionate about (RPG) gaming?

I think so, at least Ray.. He hang out quite a lot on comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.rpg in the '90's, remember speaking to him there a few times. He always came off like someone who was quite passionate about RPG's, and he also listened to input / suggestions from the fans (BG period).