Testimonials

[dwturducken]

I don't have anything to add, but this thread needs to stay near the top. So there.

[Arctic Force.]

Way back when I was a wee little lad... wait that might be a bit to far back. :)

In August of 2003 I got a call from my mother saying that she got a letter in the mail from the daughter I had given up for adoption when I was 18. She was excited and told me that she wanted to get to know me I was flabbergasted and in shock. We conversed a few times via AIM and then she cut contact with me until after she graduated from high school in 2004.
A year later she moved in with me so we could get to know each other better. In July of 2005 a friend of hers sent a copy of COH so she could play I saw it and was like wow you can fly I must try this game. So I created a toon on her account and put him on the Guardian server his name was Mr. Walrus I huge Ice/Ice Tank I got him to level 10 and decided to purchase my own copy so we could play together I rolled a new toon an Ice/Ice Blaster on my new account and he landed on Liberty we played everyday for weeks on end then COV came out and we each purchased a copy and kept playing it took forever to get him to 30 which is when we stopped playing the game in the beginning of 2006 due to financial constraints.

I was saddened I was unable to play I would get the emails telling me of new additions to the game every free weekend I would try and play but the computer It had would laugh at me when I tried to load it up. In 2008 I finally got a new job with better pay and started buying the pieces for a new computer to build it myself ( I still use that computer and it does a great job 4+ years later). A free weekend comes up and I load up the game get my account information log in and jump on my blaster. My daughter comes home from work her account is already updated and ready to play on her pc. By the end of the weekend blaster was 46 and I needed sleep :) I paid for both accounts and we started playing again as much as we could. She started a new Villain toon on the Justice server named Fiery Aries I wanted to play with her but I didn't want to start a new one so I transferred Arctic to Justice because he was my main and I wanted my main on the server that I was going to be spending most of my time. In

December of 2008 I lost my job due to the economy (I worked for an Engineering Consulting Firm) construction of new projects died. With my severence package I purchased two 6 month subscriptions so we could continue to play I was fortunate because that was when I could get the extra month woohoo. I would spend four hours a day scouring the web for work submitting resumes to every engineering firm within a 250 mile radius (Portland To Seattle) nothing surfaced. So the 7 months passed and I got the same 7 for 6 deal again so I purchased them those months soon passed with not so much as a nibble COH has become the only entertainment I could afford, 30 dollars a month is really cheap when you think about it. It has been 21 months since I became unemployed I am on the last weeks of my unemployment extensions and scared of loosing everything when I get a bite, it is not exactly what I have done for the last 16 years but it is a job and I can start earning money again. That was October of 2010 so I go to work.

During those 22 months of unemployment if it was not for COH/V I would have gone nuts I met and teamed with a lot of great people from Austrailia, South America, Canada all over the US.
I got into base building pretty extensively (its kinda what I do in real life so) I built the Land of Oz in the Warriors of OZ SG on Justice with Dorothy's house and all the people I teamed with on my Ice/Ice/Ice Blaster Arctic Force. running 19 minute ITF's 28 minute Lady Grey's, master of tf's. Duo'ing the ITF with Trichster (my daughter's widow) on my origin enhanced Kinetic/Ice Defender "Raumur" it took hours but we did it. The badging. Demon Farming/ pl'ing with my Fire/Kin Nuclear BBQ. Beta testing, the AE exploits being on Austrailian time in the Pacific Northwest O.o If I turned the settings to low I was able to run 8 accts at one time and PVP farm under the map in Warburg yes I was one of those guys. Going Rogue, Ultra Mode, The Incarnate Trials, new tf's the game was building speed and expanding with explosions of content and graphics.

November 2011 restructure time again my department is cut hooray back on unemployment I go, but since I was recently receiving benefits my benefit is considerably less so I am no longer able to afford VIP for the game I try to play but I feel gimped so I get depressed and stop. I start looking for work there has to be something out there now I see construction sites are picking up heck is building a whole new fab building in Hillsboro, Or. 25 miles from me. Nothing...wtf
are people with better qualification than me taking the positions something has to give its been six months and not so much as a nibble. I have tried recruiting agencies all kinds of things. Finally I find a really good one and start in July I figure I can start the accounts back up the end of August that didn't work out to well...

All in all the game has been an anchor for me the community is supportive, dynamic and family oriented. A rare find in this day and age and a shame to lose. When the game is saved from being turned off I will be buying a year subscription for each of the accounts that have.

Arctic Force.

[ObsidianPhoenix76]

This is part of the letter I sent to NC Soft:

I begin my story in May of 2004.  During the day Monday, it had been a bad day.  I had to say goodbye to my little girl when I dropped her off with her mother the day before.  I needed something to elevate my mood.  Work that day dragged on and on.  Fix this computer, fix that computer.

That evening I was poking around the internet looking for a decent comic book shop or resource.  I was reviewing the results when I saw one of them was advertizing a comic book super hero game.  It was called "City of Heroes".  Suddenly, my apathetic mood turned around.  A game that I could play as a super hero, and interact with other super heroes.  Wow!  It seemed too good to be true.

The next day at lunch I bought a copy of City of Heroes.  Thus, it began.

I installed it and was completely blown away at the choices I had for powers, costumes, etc.  I think the first night I took 3 hours to create my first character.  I finally got to bed at about 2 in the morning.  But the following night, I started it up and entered Paragon City.

The following months were much the same.  Playing as much as I could.  So much that my wife and sister teamed up and did an intervention, mainly because I was neglecting sleep.  Now mind you I was still going to work, eating, stretch breaks etc.  But my world had become dedicated to 3 things.  My Daughter, my new wife, and City of Heroes.  I finally came to a compromise. I would spend time with them first, then play until about 11pm, and go to bed for work the next day.  In August of 2004, I went to Wizard World Chicago.  It was there I met Jack Emmert, who had led the original design team for City of Heroes.  We chatted, I told him how much I enjoyed the game, and how I would play it until it would go offline, and they had to pry the keyboard from my hands, and only over my dead body.  He laughed and thanked me for my devotion to the game.

In October of 2004, I made a new friend at work.  He and I had talked a few times politely in the past, but we had never really connected as friends, until he asked me one day why I was looking so tired.  I grinned and said I was up late playing a new MMORPG.  His face lit up and he asked which one.  I said "City of Heroes".  His demeanor became like a kid in a candy store and he asked every single question he could possibly ask.  I think he actually started drooling at the prospect of the game.  Less than 2 days later he proudly told me that he had purchased the game as well.  I asked if he wanted to team up, but he said that he needed a few days to get familiar with the game first.  By the third day after he bought the game, our small but faithful Supergroup was born.

That was my routine for almost the next year.  Then something happened.  My little angel of a sidekick, who would sit on my lap and help me play City of Heroes, drowned in a terrible accident.  I was devastated.  My world had come crashing down.  I did not know what to do next.  I sat in front of my computer screen staring at it, and looking down at my lap.  She would never sit there and cheer me on while I fought to protect Paragon City from the big bad bullies.  She would never help me with my next action to make the streets safe.  She had always said that she wanted to be a hero like that someday, and I would tell her she already was.  She was my hero.

So there I sat, looking at the screen.  The login screen for City of Heroes begging to be interacted with and for me to play.  I logged into my ventrilo channel and just sat there and listened to my friends happily saving the day.  They had noticed I had jumped into the channel, but they held off asking what was wrong since I usually would come in guns blazing with some witty remark about one of them, trying to get a laugh.

While they were saving the day, I was busy creating a new character.  The hero's name is Crystallum, the latin word for Crystal.  She has angelic wings, blond hair just like she did.  Her life story is typed into the description.  I logged her in and stood in Atlas Park.  Finally my friend from work and my best friend whom I had convinced to play noticed I had logged in, but had not said anything.

The asked me what was wrong, as I had not said anything.  I instantly broke down into tears.  I could not speak.  I vaguely remember somebody saying something to me in the chat window, asking if what was in the character's story was really true.  It took everything I had to type the word "yes".  I instantly got a private message back expressing their sorrow for my loss.  Then another came in, and then others after that.  I finally composed myself enough to tell my friends what had happened.  They were horrified.  The character Crystallum became a pseudo mascot for the supergroup.

After a few days, I received a private message on the forums from Jack Emmert himself.  He told me he remembered the adorable little girl that was with me the day we met at Chicago, and he was sorry for my loss.  My wife and my supergroup I helped lead pulled me from a deep, dark depression.  My main character had a different name before, but I renamed him to Obsidian Phoenix.  With the help of this community, I pulled myself from the ashes of a place no parent should ever have to be in.

Time went on and I kept playing.  I still bring out Crystallum here and there, just to see the way I would like to remember her.    Every couple of days I still hear from my friends I have made in the game.  One of the people I met early on, she is now the godparent to one of my children.

This community means so much to me as well as everyone else in the game.

[DrakeGrimm]

...stupid onion chopping ninjas. *sniffle*


Thank you for sharing, Obsidian. That couldn't have been easy for you. Which server do you play on? I'd be honored to meet Crystallum before November 30th.

[Soundtrack]

I really need to keep a box of Kleenex at my computer. Seriously.

Obsidian Phoenix, I can't even imagine the pain. No pain quite as unbearable.

Please know that my prayers are with you and your wife and that it's also my prayers you'll be reunited with your Crystal.

Your daughter was right...you ARE a hero...and I'm sure she's very proud of you.

[Globetrotter]

Respect for sharing this, Obsidian.

[QuantumHero]

Obsidian, there are no words to express my sorrow and respect for you.

My eyes are brimming with tears...in the middle of a restaurant.  I too would be honored to meet the homage to your little girl.  We must save this game...for all of us, but especially for that tiny blessed spirit...and you.

Virtual hugs are all I have to send...wow.

[ObsidianPhoenix76]

Thanks gang.

She is on Guardian, and I will be having her standing vigil in game for a while.  I wish I had the time to get her to 50,  But at the rate I get to play her, I don't think it will happen.

[Soundtrack]

Thanks gang.

She is on Guardian, and I will be having her standing vigil in game for a while.  I wish I had the time to get her to 50,  But at the rate I get to play her, I don't think it will happen.

Miracle happen.

Every day.  :)

[Victoria Victrix]

Should anyone pause for a moment and ask "Is it right, with everything that is terrible about the real world, that we should have the temerity to pray that this game be saved?" I would answer this.

Would saving it harm anyone?  Cause anyone to lose anything?

No.

Would saving it preserve a place where precious memories can be preserved, where little boys that can't run can fly, where the fearful can be brave, the sorrowful comforted, the lonely find companionship--where all the things that are good about humanity can be shared and celebrated?

Yes.

The fact that this is a world of electrons and pixels is meaningless in the face of what this thread has told us.  It is virtual, but it is real.

And it is right we use every tool we have to save it.

[DrakeGrimm]

Should anyone pause for a moment and ask "Is it right, with everything that is terrible about the real world, that we should have the temerity to pray that this game be saved?" I would answer this.

Would saving it harm anyone?  Cause anyone to lose anything?

No.

Would saving it preserve a place where precious memories can be preserved, where little boys that can't run can fly, where the fearful can be brave, the sorrowful comforted, the lonely find companionship--where all the things that are good about humanity can be shared and celebrated?

Yes.

The fact that this is a world of electrons and pixels is meaningless in the face of what this thread has told us.  It is virtual, but it is real.

And it is right we use every tool we have to save it.

Damn. Straight.

[blue storm]

Unbelievably sad and moving. That took an incredible amount of courage and strength to overcome that kind of pain: Obsidian. Thanks for sharing...

You ARE a Hero and I'm sure you're making her proud.

[DrakeGrimm]

I regret that, to my everlasting sadness, I just discovered it is impossible for me to roll a character on Guardian due to the cancellation of my VIP just days before the sunset announcement. Know that it would have been an honor to meet Crystallum, and again, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing your story with us, Obsidian.

[QuantumHero]

Its time I added to this thread...my story isn't as powerful and moving as that of Obsidian Phoenix and I am thankful it is not nearly as heart-rending and yet I have been holding back for the wrong reasons.  I think here alone no one will think less of me for knowing the truth.  For this to go to NCsoft well I would recommend only excerpts...I'm not writing this for them...I'm writing this for all of you.  I don't want to craft a piece of marketing material...this is about opening my heart.

Today I am a trained public speaker, a sometime actress on the local level, a karaoke singer, a fan fiction writer, a poet, a person who works in a office...and a female gamer.

Once long ago there was a little girl with an invisible disability who did not have an easy life....and was told a great many things she would never have, never find, and never do.  She was horribly uncoordinated to the point that video games started out as a prescription to try and build hand-eye coordination.  That little girl went through motor skills tutoring and found out that she was paradoxically good at many athletics...she had great reflexes, good instincts, and balance...but the lack of spacial perception would always get in her way.  And so despite of being a born athlete in many ways she was never going to really be one...still she managed to get on several high school sports teams and do well enough to compete, never win but compete.  She learned to be content with that because there really was no other choice...she could never compete against others, only herself.  She prided herself on those athletic achievements, paltry though they were, because the only place she had ever been encouraged. 

That little girl learned to know frustration very well.  She had so many potential talents but the only thing that she was ever encouraged in was trying to appear "normal".  She was very, very good at reading from a very young age and lost herself in a world of books by many authors (including one on this board.)  There she learned that different could mean special not broken and that maybe the world could actually accept her for who she was.  It was a wonderful difference from the discouraging and hateful words that often filled her daily life, including from people who were supposed to love her. 

She had a singing voice but struggled with rhythm and of course being a singer was not a practical profession...neither was acting, or writing...the things she actually loved doing and maybe would have had a chance of making it if actual training had been given.  So upon reaching adulthood she finally was able to join a local semi-professional theater company, get positively acknowledged in the local papers, and then have to quit because she had to get a second job.

She was good with computers, largely because she was told to learn typing so people would not have to read her horrible handwriting and has the sort of mind that assimilates concepts rapidly.  She had an early knack for programing and wanted to take further classes but kept being told to wait for another year...until the field left her completely behind.

Her focus in school was on learning to appear normal...dumb down her strengths and camoflauge her weaknesses until she looked like every other drone...dreams were something to be immediately squashed and broken

She used to be painfully shy not because it was her nature but because the world had stomped so hard and often on her individuality that she had learned to be ashamed of it.

So she sang quietly to her self but never believed she was any good, wrote stories but showed them to no one. 

She was a desperately unhappy child always afraid that someone would see through the facade she had been forced to build, always working on a new mask.

She loved animals because there was never a need to hide with them...she loved music, video, games, books, being outdoors, anything and everything that let her escape from the constant and oppressive *assault* of reality.

She was a sensitive child who cared about others and then learned it only got her hurt and betrayed....yet still kept trying.

She considered ending it, but she was far to stubborn for that...she refused to surrender and made a vow to herself that she would not give in.  She would not let people who set out to destroy her have the satisfaction of winning.

This little girl eventually grew up, she left that town full of hate and pain, she found new friends people who did not ridicule her at every turn and reaffirmed that every single interest she had was not worthy only of mockery...every opinion she had was not wrong.  It is still hard for her to trust people, she has been through far to much, but she slowly learned to peal away the layers one by one.

She found new role models and started to unearth the shattered remnants of her dreams.  Maybe it was far to late to ever be famous or successful in any way her family would acknowledge but she vowed to stop being ashamed of herself, to embrace acting, singing, and writing as wonderful hobbies that she wishes were more but probably would never be.  She hiked the grand canyon because it was a tangible achievement.  She learned to drive a car even if it was a far years later then most.  At first it was hard to pick up a karaoke microphone, give a speech, lead a group, step on a stage or show anyone something she had written...the newest illusion is one of confidence something that becomes a little more real every day.

Eight years ago she picked up her very first MMO, she made a decision for herself that she wanted to be a hero and that she would not be afraid of joining an online community...and they accepted her.  They did not care that she got lost easily on maps, they laughed with her at typos, they affirmed that video games were not just a childish pastime...after a hard day npc and player alike were there with a word of thanks.

When she needed to get rid of anger, this young woman could find a villain worthy of destruction.

When the weather was awful outside or she was sick the vistas of paragon city provided a wonderful place to explore.

When she could not seem to do anything right there was always a successful mission.

When she needed a friend...her real life friends and husband were on the same team because she had successfully shared something she loved and had it echoed rather then being ridiculed or ashamed.

Today I am no longer that little girl.  It would be impossible to heal every scar without losing the sensitivity and compassion that are so much a part of me.  But I have come a very long way toward paving over that road of pain.  My life is far from perfect but before this announcement about City of Heroes I was happy.  I am very proud to be a gamer and a member of the wonderful community that is city of heroes.

City of Heroes may not be the source of that healing but it has been a true and lasting inspiration...and the people of this community are among those who have given me the courage and strength to start making something of my life.

So here I stand before you...stripped of my armor, acknowledging my flaws...and why I will fight  till the bitter end for a game.  Because City of heroes IS far more then a game.  It is a community, where I am accepted....and can be the hero....I have always *wished* I could be.

[Vee-chan]

I found out 2 years ago I was transgender it came as a shock to me because I was raised to be homophobic and to be like every other straight man my parents and most of my family don't know yet but all my friends know and this game has let me be me my friends on City of Heroes treated me like a girl and it means the world to me that they mean the world to me and i wouldn't know how to take it if I lost touch with them i would die i was actually thinking of suicide before I got into this game because if I came out to my parents I would be homeless this game brings me a piece of mind that I need in my life i literally couldn't live without this game.

[ObsidianPhoenix76]

I regret that, to my everlasting sadness, I just discovered it is impossible for me to roll a character on Guardian due to the cancellation of my VIP just days before the sunset announcement. Know that it would have been an honor to meet Crystallum, and again, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing your story with us, Obsidian.

Drake.  Crystal Says Hi!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10207725@N08/8015504748/

EDIT:  For some reason I cannot get the photo to display in the message.  But the link to the photo is above!

[DrakeGrimm]

Its time I added to this thread...my story isn't as powerful and moving as that of Obsidian Phoenix and I am thankful it is not nearly as heart-rending and yet I have been holding back for the wrong reasons.  I think here alone no one will think less of me for knowing the truth.  For this to go to NCsoft well I would recommend only excerpts...I'm not writing this for them...I'm writing this for all of you.  I don't want to craft a piece of marketing material...this is about opening my heart.

Today I am a trained public speaker, a sometime actress on the local level, a karaoke singer, a fan fiction writer, a poet, a person who works in a office...and a female gamer.

Once long ago there was a little girl with an invisible disability who did not have an easy life....and was told a great many things she would never have, never find, and never do.  She was horribly uncoordinated to the point that video games started out as a prescription to try and build hand-eye coordination.  That little girl went through motor skills tutoring and found out that she was paradoxically good at many athletics...she had great reflexes, good instincts, and balance...but the lack of spacial perception would always get in her way.  And so despite of being a born athlete in many ways she was never going to really be one...still she managed to get on several high school sports teams and do well enough to compete, never win but compete.  She learned to be content with that because there really was no other choice...she could never compete against others, only herself.  She prided herself on those athletic achievements, paltry though they were, because the only place she had ever been encouraged. 

That little girl learned to know frustration very well.  She had so many potential talents but the only thing that she was ever encouraged in was trying to appear "normal".  She was very, very good at reading from a very young age and lost herself in a world of books by many authors (including one on this board.)  There she learned that different could mean special not broken and that maybe the world could actually accept her for who she was.  It was a wonderful difference from the discouraging and hateful words that often filled her daily life, including from people who were supposed to love her. 

She had a singing voice but struggled with rhythm and of course being a singer was not a practical profession...neither was acting, or writing...the things she actually loved doing and maybe would have had a chance of making it if actual training had been given.  So upon reaching adulthood she finally was able to join a local semi-professional theater company, get positively acknowledged in the local papers, and then have to quit because she had to get a second job.

She was good with computers, largely because she was told to learn typing so people would not have to read her horrible handwriting and has the sort of mind that assimilates concepts rapidly.  She had an early knack for programing and wanted to take further classes but kept being told to wait for another year...until the field left her completely behind.

Her focus in school was on learning to appear normal...dumb down her strengths and camoflauge her weaknesses until she looked like every other drone...dreams were something to be immediately squashed and broken

She used to be painfully shy not because it was her nature but because the world had stomped so hard and often on her individuality that she had learned to be ashamed of it.

So she sang quietly to her self but never believed she was any good, wrote stories but showed them to no one. 

She was a desperately unhappy child always afraid that someone would see through the facade she had been forced to build, always working on a new mask.

She loved animals because there was never a need to hide with them...she loved music, video, games, books, being outdoors, anything and everything that let her escape from the constant and oppressive *assault* of reality.

She was a sensitive child who cared about others and then learned it only got her hurt and betrayed....yet still kept trying.

She considered ending it, but she was far to stubborn for that...she refused to surrender and made a vow to herself that she would not give in.  She would not let people who set out to destroy her have the satisfaction of winning.

This little girl eventually grew up, she left that town full of hate and pain, she found new friends people who did not ridicule her at every turn and reaffirmed that every single interest she had was not worthy only of mockery...every opinion she had was not wrong.  It is still hard for her to trust people, she has been through far to much, but she slowly learned to peal away the layers one by one.

She found new role models and started to unearth the shattered remnants of her dreams.  Maybe it was far to late to ever be famous or successful in any way her family would acknowledge but she vowed to stop being ashamed of herself, to embrace acting, singing, and writing as wonderful hobbies that she wishes were more but probably would never be.  She hiked the grand canyon because it was a tangible achievement.  She learned to drive a car even if it was a far years later then most.  At first it was hard to pick up a karaoke microphone, give a speech, lead a group, step on a stage or show anyone something she had written...the newest illusion is one of confidence something that becomes a little more real every day.

Eight years ago she picked up her very first MMO, she made a decision for herself that she wanted to be a hero and that she would not be afraid of joining an online community...and they accepted her.  They did not care that she got lost easily on maps, they laughed with her at typos, they affirmed that video games were not just a childish pastime...after a hard day npc and player alike were there with a word of thanks.

When she needed to get rid of anger, this young woman could find a villain worthy of destruction.

When the weather was awful outside or she was sick the vistas of paragon city provided a wonderful place to explore.

When she could not seem to do anything right there was always a successful mission.

When she needed a friend...her real life friends and husband were on the same team because she had successfully shared something she loved and had it echoed rather then being ridiculed or ashamed.

Today I am no longer that little girl.  It would be impossible to heal every scar without losing the sensitivity and compassion that are so much a part of me.  But I have come a very long way toward paving over that road of pain.  My life is far from perfect but before this announcement about City of Heroes I was happy.  I am very proud to be a gamer and a member of the wonderful community that is city of heroes.

City of Heroes may not be the source of that healing but it has been a true and lasting inspiration...and the people of this community are among those who have given me the courage and strength to start making something of my life.

So here I stand before you...stripped of my armor, acknowledging my flaws...and why I will fight  till the bitter end for a game.  Because City of heroes IS far more then a game.  It is a community, where I am accepted....and can be the hero....I have always *wished* I could be.

Your story is just as valid, just as important, as any other here. So yes, here you stand, stripped of armor, acknowledging flaws, and to that I say: thank you.

* DrakeGrimm offers QuantumHero a great big hug

I found out 2 years ago I was transgender it came as a shock to me because I was raised to be homophobic and to be like every other straight man my parents and most of my family don't know yet but all my friends know and this game has let me be me my friends on City of Heroes treated me like a girl and it means the world to me that they mean the world to me and i wouldn't know how to take it if I lost touch with them i would die i was actually thinking of suicide before I got into this game because if I came out to my parents I would be homeless this game brings me a piece of mind that I need in my life i literally couldn't live without this game.

Vee, believe me when I say I know exactly how you feel. Also, punctuation. Please. Gods. Punctuation. :P

* DrakeGrimm offers Vee a great big hug, too.

[DrakeGrimm]

Drake.  Crystal Says Hi!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10207725@N08/8015469548/

EDIT:  For some reason I cannot get the photo to display in the message.  But the link to the photo is above!

Thanks for sharing Obsidian. Excuse me while I go find those onion chopping ninjas and throttle them. ;)

* DrakeGrimm offers Obsidian a great big hug, too.

[EventHorizonMan]

I can't even come remotely close to what I've read here. For all of you who have posted how much City Of Heroes helped you and your family during the tough times, you were all heroes long before you started playing one on the game. You have my respect and admiration.

My tale is no so impressive or epic. All I can say is I have a personality flaw that makes me afraid to tackle tough problems or make hard choices when needed. In the face of those things I would put it off, or simply not do them at all. This sometimes led to disasterous outcomes. That was before City of Heroes. That was before I began to say, in the face of these real life challenges, "What would Event Horizon Man do?".

My alter-ego is a defender, and quite squishy, so he'd die a lot as a result. Yet, whether on a solo or in a team mission, he'd always (well, with the help of his player) overcome these tough odds. He'd keep running right on back to the mission door and keep at it until the mission was done. In my eyes, he was persistence personified. Almost like Wile E. Coyote, except Event eventually caught the road runner.

(TMI Alert on the way! If you are squishy like a defender on stuff like body functions, stop reading!)







One time after a "number 2" to the men's room, I noticed some blood, and it didn't happen once, it happened every time I went. As per my personality flaw about being fearful and afraid to tackle the things that needed to be tackled, I was going to consider just ignoring it. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe it was just something I ate. It will fix itself. Or perhaps not. Maybe it's cancer, maybe a bowel blockage, or a rupture. In that moment of fear and doubt I was paralyzed and my mind was racing. Out of that racing a silly and irrational phrase popped up in my head:

"What would Event Horizon Man do?"

We think silly things in moments like this, and it could have just been a mental ramble born out of nervousness. But this one stuck. What would Event Horizon Man do? Well, he certainly would not have let fear stop him. He's persistence personified. He would find out the cause of the problem, keep at it and at it until he knew the answer and got it fixed. I found asking that question a few times helped me get a handle on it, and try to come up with the next course of action. That next course of action was a trip to the doctor, followed by a long wait to see a gastrointestinal specialist. But that's okay, as long as I keep that question framed in my mind, the wait was not so bad. It even got me through the colonoscopy, which for obvious reasons is a scary thing but really not as bad as my fearful nature made it.

The colonoscopy found two small harmless polyps, and one hemorrhoid fairly up the pipe that was the source of the bleeding. All three were removed and I was given a clean bill of health. No more blood during a Number 2.

That little "Event Horizon Man" inside me helped me get through this tough time. "He" was that part of me I always had, but it was buried. The game helped unearth and personify that trait into something I can visualize.

That was the first time I ever used that kind of introspection to tackle a problem, but it wouldn't be the last. Whether it was a project at work, or a difficult situation with my friends and family, I'd ask myself, "What would Event Horizon Man do?". and I'd get something I could start with in order to get the problem done. I'm still a bit of a "fraidy cat" when it comes to tackling things but now I got someone at my back.

And he does not live in the character selection screen. He's right here in my head, and my heart. He's me.

Event Horizon Man

[Vulpy]

The colonoscopy found two small harmless polyps, and one hemorrhoid fairly up the pipe that was the source of the bleeding. All three were removed and I was given a clean bill of health.

Good on you. The uncertainty can be the most terrifying thing, and you faced it.