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A very special place
anarchyart
Member Posts: 5,378
I was pouring over the Vanguard official forums yesterday, and reading all the posts and happened upon the dedication by Brad Mcquaid to the late Keith Parkinson, much beloved fantasy artist and art director of Vanguard.
It was a really moving remembrance of the man, and a personal friend of Brads. I was moved to tears by his fond words, and it really brought home the way in which these games and the people who make them have the ability to affect our very lives.
In another forum on this site, I had been proclaiming that these are just games and that people need to get a grip and not take them so seriously. But the fact is, these aren't just games at all. These are places created by people. Places we spend part of our lives. Places we can get away to have an out of body experience without leaving the comforts of our own homes. A virtual adventure, the likes of which we are unable to have on earth, where we can risk it all and defend what we think is worth defending and possibly even be our true selves as we cannot possibly be in the real world.
Brad Mcquaid put together a veritable "dream team" of designers, developers, programmers and artists to make their dream game. This is not some money hungry board of directors looking to raise the stock value of their company and make a quick buck off of a burgeoning industry. This is a game made by people who love games and fantasy and are attempting to make the ultimate fantasy MMORPG.
In reading Brad's dedication to Keith Parkinson, it really brought that all home to me in a way I have never experienced. And in doing so, Brad gained a lifelong fan in me. Not only to celebrate the last works by Keith Parkinson, but also to experience all of the effort of all of his friends and staff. He is the boss, but you can tell he is a real human being; one of us, not some walking suit.
I absolutely salute Brad and all of the wonderful people at Sigil working to make us their ultimate adventure. Because of them, Vanguard will truly be a very special place.
Comments
And that was a very good OP anarchyart. Touching indeed, mate.
"(The) Iraqi people owe the American people a huge debt of gratitude." - George W Bush.
Oh. My. God.
I hear you, im so hyped up about this game its bringing so many good factors to the table. Im cancelling subscriptions my current mmorpgs im playing 2 months prior to release lol just so I can prepare
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laff. I tried to get my now ex to start playing games, but sadly... it just didn't work out between us
Yep, I read the post as well. Sad thing is, I had NO IDEA Keith Parkinson had died (probably due to the fact that up until a couple of weeks ago, I had not been following Vanguard at all). Talk about an artist among artists--you don't get much better than Keith. I was the same way Anarchy, that post totally choked me up.
Here's hoping that Vanguard will be a game that Keith would have been proud of
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Yep, I read the post as well. Sad thing is, I had NO IDEA Keith Parkinson had died (probably due to the fact that up until a couple of weeks ago, I had not been following Vanguard at all). Talk about an artist among artists--you don't get much better than Keith. I was the same way Anarchy, that post totally choked me up.
Here's hoping that Vanguard will be a game that Keith would have been proud of
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I know it will be Darq, and yes he was just so awesome. I was looking at his personal website and he has some paintings that I didn't even know were made by him that I remember from long ago. And to hear how he was as a person from Brad Mcquaid just about tore my heart out. Just have to appreciate people when you can, and remember that these games aren't just a piece of software: they are the culmination of tens and hundreds of thousands of man hours of blood sweat and tears, and some very special peoples lifes work.
Yep, I read the post as well. Sad thing is, I had NO IDEA Keith Parkinson had died (probably due to the fact that up until a couple of weeks ago, I had not been following Vanguard at all). Talk about an artist among artists--you don't get much better than Keith. I was the same way Anarchy, that post totally choked me up.
Here's hoping that Vanguard will be a game that Keith would have been proud of
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Yes Keiths passing affected many people last year and it was a very sad time, Glip (Nick Parkinson) , Donna (Keiths wife) and many others at sigil are no doubt still coping with this loss.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />
While it is such a terrible thing that he had to go at an early age, it is also important that we remember him and cherish his works because through his works we can gain a little insight into the person.
We can also take a little comfort that in a sense he may live on in vanguard: Brad stated early in development that they wanted to create a world in the vision of Keiths art and to bring his paintings to life in this world they are creating. When his passing was announced, people on the forum suggested that they make keith's character part of the lore and maybe have a statue in New Targonor or another large city and more recently there have been suggestions of a shrine or memorial of some sort. This idea was never commented on by a dev so it may have been discussed since then and implemented, so while wandering the vast lands of Vanguard and you happen upon a statue or shrine dedicated to Elandar the Mighty wizard, stop and reflect as to never forget who that great magician once was. If your art is a window to the mind then keiths contribution to this project as art director will live on as a little glimpse into his imagination, and indeed it was beautiful. So when we first step foot into Telon, may we think a minute of Keith the artist, the person and enjoy his imaginative genius as we live in his amazing paintings until we may one day meet with him in another place. Until then as the memory of him may dim in the minds of others, may we have at least the world Telon to keep his soul shinning on in ours.
~Dunadurium
"Silly rabbit, WoW's for kids"
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Currently I'm playing World of Warcraft (mainly because it's the only MMO my girlfriend will play) Yes, I got her into the MMORPG world now. She used to hate it and not really care for games. Now she loves to get onto WoW. I introduced her to EQ2, but she hated it...mainly because it was too difficult for her (she's new to RPG/MMO games). So my plan is, and she knows this, that I'm training her with WoW, mainly because it's the easiest game out there. Then when Vanguard comes out, hopefully by then she'll be bored with WoW because I'm going to cancel it, and I'm going to get Vanguard. I hope she likes it, because I'm so hyped up about it.
This game is bringing back my old day UO memories. Ah yes, killing people out in the ocean, how fun.
Total time played: 9125 Days, 21 Hours, 29 Minutes, 27 Seconds
Time played this level: 39 Days, 1 Hour, 24 Minutes, 5 Seconds