With the recent terrorist attacks in mind, I send out my condolences to all of those who lost or even have an injured loved one. In real life, we tend to stick together in such tragedies, give each other a pat on the back and help each other out of these tough times. On the other side, in the world of video games, it’s not that different, since it’s the same people in real life who play them.
That’s why I decided to bring you 5 incidents where MMO players stood in solidarity against real world tragedies, to show that the human race is united no matter what happens. Prepare your feelings, because this can get a little bit emotional if you personally took part in any of these situations.
1. 2004’s City of Heroes Memorial for the loss of Christopher Reeve
City of Heroes was an MMORPG which allowed you to create your own super hero and save the world alongside your fellow online super heroes. However, it got shut down in 2012 due to NCsoft terminating its Paragon Studios development team. During the game’s life, Christopher Reeve left the world, who was most known for his role in 1978’s Superman. City of Heroes’ players decided they should pay an honorable tribute to one of the most iconic Superman actors, so several players, a bunch of them dressed as Superman, stood together in front of what looks like a town hall, saluting or just standing quietly, mourning the death of their beloved Christopher Reeve.
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2. Final Fantasy XIV’s Tribute to Codex Vahlda
Codex Vahlda was a Final Fantasy XIV player and his friend posted on Reddit asking people to pray for him as he is suffering from a serious renal failure condition. Unfortunately, Vahlda couldn’t fight it and he passed away at 29 years old. Final Fantasy players wanted to give him a proper farewell, and they did. The following days Final Fantasy XIV players gathered outside the Night Sirens Free Company house on the Gilgamesh server, where Vahlda used to play. They didn’t just stand there too, they lined up themselves to form the word Codex and performed an impressive light show similar to the one held during an in-game event called “The Rising,” which is held to commemorate those who died in the Calamity.
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And this YouTube video:
3. World of Warcraft raises more than $2.3 Millon for Hurricane Sandy victims by selling kittens
Hurricane Sandy or Superstorm Sandy reportedly killed 233 people throughout the eight countries it passed through. Not only that, but it managed to do damages worth about $71.4 billion in the United States alone. It was a devastating time for US citizens and Blizzard Entertainment wanted to help them get through it. So they decided to sell kittens, well, not real kittens, but fiery Cinder Kittens on World of Warcraft. Blizzard announced on December 4th that the $10 fee you will pay to adopt this fiery little kitten will go to the American Red Cross’s efforts to help Superstorm Sandy victims. On December 31st, the offer ended, and how much did World of Warcraft raise? They raised $2.3 Million, yes, $2.3 Million just by selling virtual kittens. This just shows World of Warcraft players’ love for kittens and their kind hearts that wants to help a stranger wherever they are.
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4. Star Trek Online builds a Leonard Nimoy memorial
We all know Star Trek fans’ hearts stopped for a second when they heard Leonard Nimoy’s death at the age of 83. Nimoy, or Spock, was seen as an icon to Star Trek fans. That’s why Star Trek Online Executive Producer Steve Ricossa announced they were building memorials on Vulcan and New Romulus, as well as hanging black flags on Earth Spacedock, Qo'noS, and New Romulus.
"Through the next week we will also hang black flags of mourning in Earth Spacedock, Qo'noS, and New Romulus, so everyone that passes through those hubs will know we have lost someone important to us all," Ricossa said in a post on the Arc Games site.
The two memorials turned out great, immortalizing Nimoy in digital form, wearing his traditional Vulcan robes and giving the Vulcan salute. The first one in Vulcan had the inscription of "Live Long And Prosper," while the one in New Romulus said “The Needs of the Many Outweigh the Needs of the Few."
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5. WoW, Final Fantasy XIV, Guild Wars 2 and Rift players mourn Paris tragedy
Paris and Lebanon’s attacks were the most recent events, and their representation in MMORPGs wasn’t different than the others, in fact, it was the biggest. In the following days, World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy XIV, Guild Wars 2 and Rift players decided to mourn those who were lost in the incidents. First off, WoW players gathered at two different places, Stormwind and Darlan so both factions, Horde and Alliance, can have the chance of mourning together.
Then there was Rift, whose players organized a vigil at the Main Plaza in Tempest Bay, however, it wasn’t that successful since apparently this place needs high-level characters and is a bit notorious. In addition to that, French Guild Wars 2 players organized a gathering on Saturday.
Moving on to the biggest one of them all, Final Fantasy XIV, which had the most spectacular mourning scene I have ever witnessed. Hundreds of players gathered across Final Fantasy XIV’s servers and Reddit user Falmenel was able to gather some photos, which look magnificent.
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Finally, I would like to say that as much as I like to see MMO players stand together against real world tragedies like these, I never want anyone to get hurt in real life, because no matter how many tributes or memorials get held in any video game, a loved one is irreplaceable.
