[My statement to the community at LaveCon 2019]
Hi.
I promise I won't keep you long.
I was kindly invited here along with my nephew Nathan following recent events that you may have read about in recent social media coverage.
In case you haven't, I'll try to give you a TLDR.
I'm also uncle to CMDR Michael Holyland, Nathan's older brother who died in May this year after six years of illness.
Don't worry, It's not my intention to get everyone on a downer today. I think Michael's story has already generated enough tears. I'm hoping to achieve the opposite. I'm here to focus on the positives.
Throughout his years of illness, gaming was a lifeline for a boy who from the age of 9 spent much of his time in hospital or stuck at home, unable to enjoy a normal childhood.
Most of all, Elite Dangerous became a vital common ground that allowed Michael, Nathan and I to have fun together (instancing permitting) and he could transcend his illness as CMDR Michael Holyland.
So the primary reason for me asking for a few minutes of your time today was to say thank you.
When I shared Michael's plight online, the community outreach was incredible. I still remain genuinely a little nonplussed by the generosity and empathy of a group of strangers.
As I've written elsewhere, the burden of trying to keep Michael buoyant in his last days was made infinitely more manageable by everyone from Frontier, the Elite Dangerous community and beyond.
As I said to Zac and Ben earlier, in times past, communities were built around churches, now they're often built around games. [It takes a village…] And this community is testament to the fact that they can be wonderful and empathic and generous. Thank you all. You are a credit to gaming communities.
In particular, I'd like to thank Zac, Paige, and Sally for coming to the hospital and really putting a spring back in Michael's step with the swag, the ingame gifts and most importantly, your time. (Although Michael would probably say it was mostly the swag)
Which brings me to my final round of thanks. I want to talk about Michael's Story. Not the story of a boy from Norfolk, but the space pilot from the Amber system.
On top of everything, in an incredible act of generosity, creativity and some - quite frankly - god-level organisation and time management, Zac masterminded the creation of a 40-minute professionally written, acted and edited mini-audiobook all about Michael's adventures in Elite from beginning to end in less than 3 days.
Drew Wagar authored the entire 7000-word script in a day, which I still maintain is not possible by normal humans. In the story, Drew's brilliant writing works on multiple levels, managing to effortlessly be a fun adventure that delighted a 15-year-old autistic boy, while simultaneously touching deeper, bittersweet notes with a subtlety and sensitivity that is appreciated by the rest of the family.
Those words were done absolutely justice with stunning deliveries from some familiar voices in the acting talents of Richard Reed, Jay Britton and Amelia Tyler, and I believe - channelling Stan Lee - a cameo from Drew. It was all put together with polish and panache by Joe Hogan. A huge thank you to them all for being so talented, so generous, and so available.
The story was presented to Michael as a personal gift to keep by Zac and Paige the day before he died.
Michael loved it. It was an incredible gift created by many for one.
But it was Michael's wish to give it back to the community that gave him so much.
So as of this afternoon, I'd like on Michael's behalf to give Michael's Story back to the Elite Dangerous Community with eternal gratitude.
I'll share the YouTube link on Twitter as soon as I'm finished here, and I'm hoping to arrange a charity pay-what-you-want download for the original audio, to be announced.
First, I'd like to play you a couple of quick clips. The first showcasing the villain of the story, one of three characters played by the talented Amelia Tyler and the second, a more sombre moment.
Before I do, I need to apologize for the quality of the very last-minute video component. I spent yesterday pillaging the internet for vaguely appropriate images to accompany the audio. It is my hope that the community may be able to improve on that and I'd love to talk to folk afterward about it.
In any case, once again, a heartfelt and abiding thank you to everyone.
You make gaming important.
Source: https://youtu.be/F_Q7JB-ku-Q