I picked up the Grim Dawn kickstarter two pack because it looked like the perfect game for myself and my dad. He always loved the Diablo style games so I thought he’d like this.
Once he activated his key he never stopped playing. Every time a new feature would roll out he would delete all his characters and start over to experience the new content and let me know what I had to look forward to. He always fell back on playing a soldier character with a sword and board because I think he just liked wading into the fray and smashing stuff up. My son loved watching his Gramps play his zombie/demon killing game anytime we came over and seeing all the new swords and guns he had gotten.
This last month my father became very sick with lung cancer and when stuck in the hospital, I brought him my spare iPad and the first thing he asked help for was finding the browser so he could log into this forum. He didn’t care about getting on facebook or checking his email or the weather, he said he needed to see when the next update was coming. He went by the name Zedlee and I know he didn’t post much but he followed this game more than he followed his own work. He was mad he couldn’t see the “new since you were last here” posts because he wasn’t on his own machine.
He passed away yesterday and looking back at the 30+ years of gaming I had with him I can easily say that this one caught his imagination and attention more than anything else. I can’t remember a time in the last year that when I came over he wasn’t booted into this game or just getting finished. During his first stint in the hospital he even left himself logged in so he wouldn’t lose the map he was on. He was logged in for a week before he came home and finished his quest and logged off for the last time.
I just want to pass along my heart felt thanks for the game you have made because it was honestly such a happy bright spot for him. This is the one game where the only complaint was that he played the newest content too fast and was just eager to play more. It will always be one of my happiest memories of him and I owe Crate for basically making the perfect game for my father. I plan to start a new soldier in his honor and play through the game with my son enjoying everything about that my father did. Not sure if this post belongs in this section but this game was truly something special to him and I will never be able to thank all the developers and community enough.
Thanks for all the good memories of evil smiting,
Zedlee’s son.
Hello Shacklefurd,
We are terribly sorry for your loss. Everybody here at Crate sends their condolences.
Thank you for sharing this story with us. It is truly inspiring to hear that our work can touch a person in such a way. We are glad that we could brighten up your father’s last days.
As a small token…I wish to present you with this:
Praetorian Zedlee will be forever on guard duty at Homestead, as an honorable member of the Black Legion, starting with Build 28.
sniffles (I’m no good at sympathy, and don’t understand empathy, but I feels something for you and this story. I’ll visit Praetorian Zedlee every now and then.)
My deepest condolences, Shacklefurd. It’s terrible that you have to lose your father like that, but at the same time heart-warming that you were sharing the passion of playing computer games. Even more so because his grandson admired it. Keep the faith !!!
My condolences, it must have been great to play video games with your dad. And what a great gesture from Crate honoring your dad like that. i couldn’t stop it but i shedded a tear.
Sorry to hear about your loss, Shacklefurd. I certainly appreciate the involvement some games can have between family members (it was Mario Kart and Space Invaders for me and my dad).
Here’s hoping the future of Grim Dawn is everything you and your father would want it to be. Take care!
my condolences for your loss and your father proud of soldier that you do made in her honor. They also say that great detail by Crate. a hug. sorry for my English.
I opened this thread and thought it was about how your dad was enjoing Grim Dawn, like most people tend to show their appreciation to the game every now and then… untill I read the rest…
My condolences to you and your family… cancer is such a terrible disease, and I hope that someday, humanity can just laugh at it… May god watch his soul from now on… not sure if you are a religious person, but It’s my way of showing my condolences to you…
On a sidenote, that is a really awesome thing you guys did there, Zantai…
I do not think there are good words to use here. I am glad that you father enjoyed games so much and that you were able to share that with him. I am also sorry that had to come to an end.
Dang. Very sorry to hear about your fathers passing. And so glad to see Zantai and the team honor him in this way. Now I will know what that NPC stands for. Keep the faith.
Zantai, thank you and the team from Crate for this doing this. It means more to my family than you will ever know and now we will still have a little bit of my father to visit and talk to when we need to.
