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Posts Tagged “

Death

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rest in peace

Gary Gygax, Co-Creator Of D&D, Dead At 69

The rattling of dice across tabletops around the word falls silent today with the news that co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons and TSR, Gary Gygax, has passed away at the age of 69. The news came via the forums of Troll Lord Games, who publish Gygax's Lejendary Adventures and Castles & Crusades sourcebooks, delivered via his son Ernie Gygax. He died in his home, having been in failing health for some time, suffering several strokes and a near heart-attack. Gygax was an inspiration to the gaming industry, with his work directly or indirectly influencing entire genres - role-playing games and MMORPGs specifically. I probably wouldn't be writing this right now if the thought of missing my weekly D&D games hadn't kept me from allocating my 6'6" frame towards more sporting endeavors. Gary Gygax may have passed on, but the legacy he leaves to gaming will live on forever. Rest in peace, Dungeon Master.

Gary Gygax [Troll Lord Games Forums]
Photo by Alan De Smet

12:20 PM on Tue Mar 4 2008
By Mike Fahey
11,267 views, 206 comments

Latest by rayna: I play 8 to 12 hours 1 or 2 days a week with a group of friends that all have emotional disabilities. All of us have problems with group counseling. Each of our phyciatrists has said that they think our more »

game cake

The Boo Mario Cake Symbolizes Death

Back in high school I had this one English teacher who was obsessed with death, or so it seemed. Every story we read in class, she could find something that symbolized it. A broken coffee mug, a handful of balloons, a newborn baby - all symbolized death. I'd like to say that this Boo Mario cake symbolized triumph over death, but I'm afraid she'd find me on the internet and come to my apartment to chastise me. She was scary. This cake was actually submitted to me via GameCakes.com, but I've not had too much time to work on that site lately, and it is due for a good spam-comment cleaning. Still, this cake had to be seen. Excellent job, despite a little sloppy tongue-work - but who hasn't been guilty of that?

11:20 AM on Mon Dec 3 2007
By Mike Fahey
2,569 views, 43 comments

Latest by PlatinumS: @TheDollHouse: Sweetheart? No offense and sorry to say this but you two, this isn't the Red Light District. more »

death

Teen Dies Claiming Wii Prize

I say this without a hint of sarcasm or humor, but it would seem that we have another fatal Wii contest on our hands. In the case of Patrick Coulter from Scituate, Massachusetts, however, it wasn't due to negligence on the part of others, but a longtime heart condition. The 14-year old was attending a Providence Bruins game and was the winner of a Nintendo Wii giveaway. Coulter suffered from a fatal heart attack while running to claim his raffle winnings following the American Hockey League game.

More on this sad story at the local Fox News affiliate.

Scituate Boy Dies at Providence Bruins Game [MyFox Boston - thanks, Andrew.]

6:40 PM on Mon Nov 26 2007
By Michael McWhertor
7,475 views, 94 comments

Latest by Zombie_Crunch: @malachii: Beat me to it. more »

overgaming

Another Chinese Man Dies From Gaming

Someone really needs to tell the people in East Asian countries to stop gaming before they die. Perhaps a series of helpful public service announcements featuring a cuddly mascot could have prevented this Chinese man, this South Korean man, and now another Chinese man from keeling over dead after marathon gaming sessions. Maybe a free latte policy for the 100 or so patrons who fled the cybercafé in Guangzhou this weekend after witnessing the death of the 30 year-old man who had been gaming for three days straight. Watching a person die from lack of common sense always makes me thirsty. Paramedics quickly arrived on the scene but could not resuscitate the man. I know the loss of a human life is never a laughing matter, but I just cannot fathom gaming to death. Back in 2001, there where weeks when I would spend every waking hour playing EQ, but I at least took chair naps and tried my very best not to die. Worked for me. *sigh*
Chinese Man Dies From 3-Day Gaming Binge [Fox News - Thanks Kris]

1:30 PM on Mon Sep 17 2007
By Mike Fahey
9,861 views, 79 comments

Latest by kftgr: Dying of thirst or starvation? Come on, get real and don't think the guy that stupid. Blood toxicity from holding in urine? Umm, there could be better and more likely causes. Ph / electrolyte imbalance. Now that's a possibility. Nobody more »

rest in peace

Codemasters Remembers Colin McRae

The company behind the Colin McRae series of rally car video games remembers the racing legend.

Colin McRae, 1968 - 2007

Everyone at Codemasters, especially those who worked directly with Colin McRae, is deeply shocked and saddened by the tragic events of this weekend.

The loss of Colin McRae is deeply distressing. That it involved his son and another so young makes it even more tragic. Our thoughts are with his family and those closest to him and we share in their pain.

For over ten years, Colin was part of the Codemasters family and it was a privilege to have a man recognised as a true legend on the team. He always took a keen interest in the game experience, wanting to make sure it was without equal in its portrayal of the sport.

His contribution was inspirational and brought his technical expertise and passion for rally driving to each and every McRae game. Through the popularity of those games, he brought a whole new audience to the sport itself.

Codemasters' relationship with Colin began through Jim, David and Richard Darling and their condolences, along with ours, are passed to Colin's family. We are heavy of heart at his passing but we are also brimming with pride at knowing him and to have played a small role in his life.

He will never be forgotten by all at Codemasters.

Photo courtesy of Cursa Models

8:00 AM on Mon Sep 17 2007
By Mike Fahey
3,171 views, 15 comments

Latest by Franco Forelli: Sebastien Loeb Rally will never have that "ring" to it. Maybe Tommi Makkinen Rally just might, but it would only come close. Rest in Peace, Colin. more »

rip

Colin McRae Dies In Helicopter Crash

A bit of sad news today. Colin McRae, the British rally car driver who lent his name to a series of racing games by Codemasters, died yesterday in a helicopter crash near his home in Lanark, Scotland yesterday afternoon. McRae was Britain's first World Rally Champion in 1995 and has been confirmed by his manager to have been piloting the Squirrel helicopter that was carrying him and three other passengers. It is believed that one of the passengers was McRae's five year old son, Johnny who is also feared dead although this has not been confirmed as of yet. The identity of the other passengers is still unknown due to extensive fire damage.

Our hearts go out to Colin's wife, daughter and the rest of his family and friends.

Rally champion Colin McRae dies with son in helicopter crash [Times Online]
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]


6:00 PM on Sat Sep 15 2007
By fdemarco
21,052 views, 93 comments

Latest by carrierj1: It's like being a rally car driver, and dying in a helicopter.Isn't it ironic.Don't you think? more »

e307

March of the Unfit Gaming Press

Why does this man hate freedom? Perhaps it is because after four days of rushing about from appointment to appointment, walking countless miles across the city of Santa Monica, the promise of a party finds him walking a long and lonely mile down a deserted beachfront along with hundreds of others doing exactly the same thing, which technically negates the deserted and lonely bits I know, but it's my narrative and you can't have it. At roughly 5PM on Friday, July 13th, Gamecock and a couple hundred friends mourned the death of the annual E3 'make the gaming press walk around for days' festival with another mile of walking. More »

8:10 PM on Mon Jul 16 2007
By Mike Fahey
2,517 views, 28 comments

Latest by baxterpunch: @adamcole: Nice! I was actually referring to Irixyu, topaz420, Chilly Hollow, and Hagglegaggle (who knows Gamecock is a publisher, but compares them to a developer, Ion Storm). I just think that this publisher is doing what a publisher should do, more »

fable 2

Up Close With Fable 2 on Death and Combat

When last we saw Peter Molyneux and his promise-filled Fable 2 at GDC, he just would not stop talking about his dog. I should know, I was there. And you know what? He made a believer out of me. But this time, in a hotel room at E3, he showed off two things teenage boys are probably much more interested in: fighting and death. More »

Feature

9:41 PM on Wed Jul 11 2007
By Jason Chen
16,947 views, 45 comments

Latest by Awesomo: I loved Fable and even though it didn't deliver on some of its promises it was still a very good game. So I think all the nay sayers should just shut up and wait for the game to come out more »

marvel

Captain America: The Games Live On

Captain America may be dead, but his video game legacy will live on forever. Just this morning, after playing through a game of TMNT on the 360, my first thought as the credits rolled was, "Now we need Captain America and the Avengers." That classic four-player fistfight was just one of a long line of games featuring the star-spangled Avenger, dating back to 1987's Captain America Defies The Doom Tube for the Amstrad, Spectrum, and C64. More »

10:20 AM on Wed Mar 14 2007
By Mike Fahey
5,517 views, 44 comments

gaming

Large Chinese Man Dies, Gaming Blamed

A 330 pound (150 kilogram) Chinese man spends "almost all" of his seven day holiday playing online computer games and dies. And guess what's blamed for the 25 year-old's death? Yup. Says a local teacher in LIaoning province where the man passed away: More »

2:00 AM on Thu Mar 1 2007
By Brian Ashcraft
3,666 views, 26 comments

gamecube

The Gamecube Lives On!

Hear that knocking sound? That's the GameCube, desperately kicking at the underside of its coffin lid as the gaming community tries to bury it based solely on the word of one woman - Nintendo of America's VP of Marketing and Corporate Affairs, Perrin Kaplan. Silly us. What would a VP of marketing know about console and software production? Not much at all apparently, as Nintendo has confirmed with Eurogamer that the platform is still alive and well.
"I can confirm that globally, Nintendo is still continuing production of GameCube hardware and GameCube software," a spokesperson for Nintendo UK told us.

Judging by this flub as well as the rather goofy interview she gave IGN earlier this month, Nintendo might want to consider hiring a rotating stable of Perrin handlers ready with cattle prods, just in case she starts molesting the press or pushing consoles into open graves again. Michael Fahey More »

8:20 AM on Fri Feb 23 2007
By Mike Fahey
2,077 views, 33 comments

Latest by coolyfooly88: @anemone: my neighbor at my dorm goes through two a month i think... i won't let him near my wavebirds or the wiimotes for that matter. more »

moscow times

Lineage II Gamer Kicks Player to Death

A 22-year-old Ukrainian gamer, considered one of the top Lineage II players in Europe, stomped another gamer to death after the man tried to stop a fight between rival clan members, The Moscow Times reports. More »

10:00 AM on Wed Jan 31 2007
By Brian Crecente
10,567 views, 35 comments

contest

Criminal Investigation Into Radio Wii Death

A criminal investigation has been launched by the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department into the tragic water intoxication death of Jennifer Strange (left, with her family), who died hours after participating in KDND-FM's "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" contest. This follows the firing of 10 of the radio station's employees, including the three morning DJs, and the cancellation of the morning show. More »

1:40 PM on Thu Jan 18 2007
By Mike Fahey
1,567 views, 167 comments

wii

Station Fires Ten Responsible For Deadly Wii Contest

According to the Sacramento Bee, ten employees of the radio station KDND (107.9, the end) have been fired for their role in a contest for a Nintendo Wii which allegedly lead to the death of one listener. In addition to the firing of the DJs and radio "personalities", the station also saw fit to cancel the "Morning Rave" program. More »

8:40 PM on Tue Jan 16 2007
By Michael McWhertor
1,253 views, 57 comments

wii

Woman Dies Participating In Wii Contest

Wow, this is a weird one, but so many people sent it in I figured I should share. A 28 year old Rancho Cordova woman has died from her participation in a radio contest to win a Wii. Some clever monkey at station KDND 107.9 out of Sacramento, thought it would be hilarious to hold a "Hold your Wee for a Wii" contest (get it?). Contestants were given water to drink and whoever could drink the most without peeing, would get the Wii. More »

8:00 AM on Sun Jan 14 2007
By fdemarco
3,525 views, 80 comments

Latest by AM_Islander: From other reports I read, not only did the DJ know of this risk, since he mentioned an earlier death due to a college hazing, but a nurse called in during the contest to warn about the hazard. IMHO more »

stupidity

Games Make You Drive Like an Idiot

Three teens in New Zealand died on Christmas Eve when they led the police on a high speed chase which ended with a crash into a pine tree and a roll down a gully. Now the New Zealand Herald reports that a national transport spokesperson is blaming bad teen driving on video games.
National's transport spokesman Maurice Williamson says today's young people think they are bullet-proof. He blames Playstations and X-boxes for making teens think they can drive stupidly and just push the reset button if anything goes wrong.

Not sure I buy his conclusion there. I thought scientists had conclusively proven that stupid teen driving is caused almost exclusively by being stupid and a teenager. I'm not even seeing any proof to indicate that these kids even owned video game systems. I mean hell, if they did they'd be home playing, not leading the police on a 190KPH chase through downtown Auckland. I suppose something has to be a scapegoat in situation like this. It's not PC to just call the kids retarded and be done with it. Michael Fahey

Computer games blamed for teen road deaths [NZHerald.co.nz via Destructoid]

3:40 PM on Wed Dec 27 2006
By Mike Fahey
2,661 views, 49 comments

Latest by Mike Brown: Marilyn Manson was responsible for the crash, not dangerous video games. Yay, scapegoats! more »

wiimote

Wii Injuries - The Inevitable Conclusion

Finally the Wii related injuries come to a head! More »
gaming

Gamers Getting Older, More Womanly

Analysts at TNS Worldpanel Entertainment have released research indicating that over the past four years the number of female and older gamers is on the rise. Old codgers (here interpreted as over 45) buying games for personal use has risen over 40%, while the female figure (rawr) is up 67%. They didn't say how many women over the age of 45 were buying games for themselves, which just goes to show I should be a market analyst, since they obviously didn't follow through here. Slackers. More »

11:40 AM on Mon Dec 11 2006
By Mike Fahey
160 views, 19 comments

Latest by Candle: That's not photoshopped, that's Old Grandma Hardcore! She's awesome! more »