WASHINGTON ? A senior US State Department official killed late Tuesday at the US consulate in Benghazi, Libya has not been just a diplomat in real life but in the virtual world also.
Sean Smith, an info management officer, was better called Vile Rat on EVE, a well known online science fiction game in which nearly 400, 000 players explore, fight and build communities in space.
As news of his death broke, popular gaming sites and forums exploded with outpourings of grief at the lack of a prominent part of the EVE community.
Mark Heard, another EVE player who passes Seleene, noticed something was wrong when he saw Vile Rat type an expletive and then gunfire around the instant messaging service Jabber.
In an online tribute, Heard says his first thought was, Oh, hell, hes within one of those places with spotty Internet and lax security, like Smiths previous post in Baghdad. But this time through was different.
Heard as well as other EVE players say they have got lost one of their most important members.
Sean was one of the most well known and respected diplomats for starters of the very most powerful alliances in EVE. He helped shape the universe all of us play in, said Heard, adding that diplomacy hanging around is really as complex as whatever you would see locally.
Powerful alliance representatives communicate using from game chat clients, serious [real] money is used on securing forums to protect from informational #39; espionage#39; as well as the leaders of alliances can, over years, acquire a cult of personality status which is analogous with what the thing is in real life politics, he said.
Smith, a member in the GoonSwarm alliance, was among those personalities.
Sometimes the fortunes of tens of thousands of people can make on the words of just a few, or even one, player. Sean was this type of player, in addition to the years, he directly or indirectly touched the virtual lives of countless people, said Heard, who says he considered Smith a friend after meeting him face-to-face initially in an EVE summit in Iceland a year ago.
A Florida-based EVE player who passes by the handle Bagehi and says he saw Smith in Iceland a few months ago, describes the gamer being a good guy.
His work in true to life appeared to influence his play-style. I wouldn#39; t say having been against violence amongst people, nonetheless it was clear that his actual life experiences gave him a heightened sense of compassion, Bagehi said in a exchange on Reddit, a web based forum.
Smith leaves a legacy of morality within a gaming world also occupied byless savory people who build relationships rivals in true to life to advance in the virtual world, says Bagehi.
EVE attracts both elements and everything in between since it is both an extremely cerebral game and a game requiring good social skills to achieve success, he said. It truly is like combining chess with poker, then having 350, 000 people all playing exactly the same game against/with each other.
News of Smiths death has pushed tributes on blogs and forums over the Internet, and Heard says he expects the web community will see approaches to pay their respects and provide help to Smiths family.
To start with, Heard says, greater than 200 player-built space stations in the gamechanged their names to Sean or Vile Rat on Wednesday in remembrance.
EVE#39; s community is well known to be a dark and cutthroat place but , all together, In my opinion everyone realizes that real life takes priority over anything within the virtual world, Heard said. It#39; s impossible not to relate to this tragedy. Even with the persons that did not know him personally, having been lsquo; among us.
Smith leaves behind a wife and two children.
Source: http://www.9tharkansas.org/2012/09/21/us-diplomats-death-shakes-online-gaming-world/
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