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Gearbox to honor late fan as an NPC in Borderlands 2

Sn4ke_911

If I ever post something in Japanese which I don't understand, please BAN me.
Update:

Panel is now up with sound!

2:48:40 starts Randy's touching story.

http://www.twitch.tv/2k/b/332293176


To clarify, the article is old, but at the Borderlands 2 launch party they went into more detail about it.

The friend is a NPC who will give you good loot to help you out, Blue or better, and was made to be someone the player can look forward too whenever they meet him.

Very cool story indeed. He's actually got an achievement associated with him as well.





This story is unbelievable. Nothing but love for the guys at Gearbox! <3

This morning, we received an email from a Destructoid fan named Carlo who shared a story about his late friend Michael John Mamaril. Last month, Michael passed away due to cancer at the young age of 22. Both were huge Borderlands fans, so Carlo thought a great way to honor his buddy's memory would be to shoot Gearbox Software an email asking for a short eulogy to be read by the game's smart-mouthed robot mascot Claptrap. Not only did Gearbox comply with the request, it also promised to insert Michael into the upcoming Borderlands 2 as an NPC.

This is, without a doubt, one of the most heartfelt and generous acts of fan appreciation ever. For Gearbox to extend such an honor demonstrates how serious the company is in forging meaningful relationships with the people who play its games. This certainly isn't the first time Gearbox has gone above and beyond, and I guarantee it won't be the last.

You can listen to Claptrap's eulogy for Michael below. And thanks for sharing this touching story with us, Carlo. You have our deepest condolences.

http://www.destructoid.com/gearbox-to-honor-late-fan-as-an-npc-in-borderlands-2-215160.phtml
 

Grisby

Member
Yeah, it's a great story.

It was first run a couple of months ago I think. Maybe last year? Big ups for the claptrap eulogy though and I had been thinking about this event on the rise of BL2 release. Gearbox is pretty awesome.
 

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
To clarify, the article is old, but at the Borderlands 2 launch party they went into more detail about it.

The friend is a NPC who will give you good loot to help you out, Blue or better, and was made to be someone the player can look forward too whenever they meet him.
 

Izick

Member
RVyP9.gif
 

Sn4ke_911

If I ever post something in Japanese which I don't understand, please BAN me.
Randy's speech at the panel a few minutes ago was very emotional, he almost teared up. Such a great, great guy.
 

Foffy

Banned
Randy's speech at the panel a few minutes ago was very emotional, he almost teared up. Such a great, great guy.

I didn't see the panel, but now I want to. Not to see tears, of course. Personally, I have very little interest in Borderlands 2, but to see how fucking awesome the people at Gearbox are, I'm willing to buy the game to support great people. I'm sure the games good, but I'm not feelin' that type of game is for me right now.
 

Sn4ke_911

If I ever post something in Japanese which I don't understand, please BAN me.
I didn't see the panel, but now I want to. Not to see tears, of course. Personally, I have very little interest in Borderlands 2, but to see how fucking awesome the people at Gearbox are, I'm willing to buy the game to support great people. I'm sure the games good, but I'm not feelin' that type of game is for me right now.

You can find it on this channel under "videos" pretty soon.

http://www.twitch.tv/2K

The whole panel was really awesome.
 

Nekrono

Member
Wow that was pretty amazing, mayor props to Gearbox and RIP Michael.

Even though I don't really know much about the game and I got a bit bored of the original after like 20 hours I think I'll will buy the game, developers like Gearbox need our support.
 
The fact he will live on, in a way, within the sequel to the game he loved so much is nothing short of amazing. Kudos Gearbox, and whenever I happen to play BL2, and I meet this NPC, I will fire my ridiculous gun into the air in memoriam.
 

Gen X

Trust no one. Eat steaks.
I know this is on a different level, but it also reminds me of the marriage proposal Claptrap did for a fans girlfriend. I love these kind of stories, shows that some devs really go that extra mile for the fans. RIP Michael, you get to please a lot of gamers with your awesome generosity!

Ffs, who put onions in my hot coffee? *sniff*
 

Tenck

Member
I didn't play the first Borderlands, but I remember telling myself when the news of this was first told, that I would buy BL2 just because GB did something incredibly awesome.
 

abrack08

Member
I don't really like FPS games very much and never got very far in the first Borderlands, but stories like this (and the claptrap marriage proposal) make me really like Gearbox.
 

spirity

Member
This is, without a doubt, one of the most heartfelt and generous acts of fan appreciation ever. For Gearbox to extend such an honor demonstrates how serious the company is in forging meaningful relationships with the people who play its games. This certainly isn't the first time Gearbox has gone above and beyond, and I guarantee it won't be the last.[/B]

That is awesome, props to Gearbox for that.

But - and I hope this doesn't make me the bad guy here - but Gearbox aren't the only ones who pay tribute to their fans in this way. Gearbox are awesome for doing it, but they're not the only ones who do. Just wanted to make that point, but still not take anything away from Gearbox. The Destructoid piece makes it sound as if its rare, which isn't fair to other studios regularly involved in stuff like the Make A Wish foundation and various other projects.
 

Sn4ke_911

If I ever post something in Japanese which I don't understand, please BAN me.
That is awesome, props to Gearbox for that.

But - and I hope this doesn't make me the bad guy here - but Gearbox aren't the only ones who pay tribute to their fans in this way. Gearbox are awesome for doing it, but they're not the only ones who do. Just wanted to make that point, but still not take anything away from Gearbox. The Destructoid piece makes it sound as if its rare, which isn't fair to other studios regularly involved in stuff like the Make A Wish foundation and various other projects.

I've never seen something like that. There's a NPC named after Michael in the game that will give you blue loot or better everytime to go see him... So that way Michael will always help you and have your back. Amazing of them to do that.

I've seen people get listed in the credits but a whole new NPC dedicated to a fan? and he's not just a useless NPC standing around in town, he can actually help you. That's new for me.
 

spirity

Member
I've never seen something like that. There's a NPC named after Michael in the game that will give you blue loot or better everytime to go see him... So that way Michael will always help you and have your back. Amazing of them to do that.

I've seen people get listed in the credits but a whole new NPC dedicated to a fan? that's new for me.

Yeah, Blizzard did it as an example. If anyones played through the Tauren starter area, there's a Tauren that asks you to chase a dog to feed it. That Tauren was named after a young Blizzard fan, and its the boys real voice too. He sadly had a terminal illness but loved WoW, and Blizzard invited him in for a day, gave him the VIP treatment, got to do some voice work and design the quest. Sony Online does that sort of stuff too.
 

Sn4ke_911

If I ever post something in Japanese which I don't understand, please BAN me.
Yeah, Blizzard did it as an example. If anyones played through the Tauren starter area, there's a Tauren that asks you to chase a dog to feed it. That Tauren was named after a young Blizzard fan, and its the boys real voice too. He sadly had a terminal illness but loved WoW, and Blizzard invited him in for a day, gave him the VIP treatment, got to do some voice work and design the quest. Sony Online does that sort of stuff too.

Wow, that's great. I love to hear stories like that. Glad Gearbox are not the only heartful developers out there.
 
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