He basically lived a rockstar life while making millions of dollars.
Creative-wise, I mean. He will die a very wealthy man, but an influential one? Up in the air.
Before PS:T, RPGs -- even Infinity-engine RPGs -- were primarily about combat, traps, navigating tricky dungeons, building an adventuring party, etc., and their plots were essentially hero journeys about defeating a demon or dragon of some kind. After PS:T, RPGs are primarily about dialogue, lore, building a debating society/salon, and their plots typically subvert heroic tropes and explore an guilt-ridden protagonist overcoming his
inner demons. Some of that may have been inevitable (other media and genres have certainly moved in similar ways), but to trivialize the role Chris played in that sea change is unfair; it diminishes his legacy. I would even go so far as to say you couldn't have something like the new Star Wars trilogy without Chris first fatally undermining the morality and heroism of the setting. So I think his impact even outside of RPGs is significant.
Aside from changing the nature of RPGs, he changed the composition of the people who made them. Again, I think the Codex generally doesn't love those personnel decisions, but he went out of his way to promote an advance young women as game writers, which was a real change -- older RPGs were typically written by men who were steeped in grognard culture. I don't want to enter the debate as to his motives; the practical effect is undeniable though. Again, this is something that was happening across the genre and may have happened without him, but it's unfair to not recognize his role in pushing for this change.
Whatever his shortcomings, I think his influence is enormous. It may be that he changed the industry in ways that will lead to his own obscurity, but I think, as his drawing above indicates, his hope and joy was to have a drink in the Zoe Quinn bar, and I'd like to think he's achieved that.
