An online petition sparks the initiative to memorialize the comedian and Oscar-winning film star in the virtual planes of Azeroth.
The immediate death of Robin Williams on Monday was a painful shock, and the vast outpouring of love for the popular comedian and Oscar-winning film star over social media in the days after only proves how truly loved he was to people of all ages. Especially, for fans of Blizzard Entertainment’s popular MMORPG, World of Warcraft.
Days after his untimely passing, an online petition on Change.org was made to ask Blizzard to “create an NPC within the game that memorializes the actor/creator.” Williams was a huge WoW compatriot himself and even admitted as much in frequent interviews.
World of Warcraft, which has a player base of about 6.8 million people, has been known to build the kind of tight-knit communities that mirror large, loving families, and like they would for one of their own, the turnout to support the online petition was very successful. In mere hours the petition reached over 10,000 signatures, gaining the attention of media outlets across the web.
Awesome for sure, but without the blessing of Blizzard themselves, no amount of signatures or Kotaku blogs could magically make their collective request become true. Thankfully, in this age of social accessibility, someone on Twitter managed to ask a technical game designer on World of Warcraft if they had seen the petition, and their response confirms – while not outright – that their wish will be granted.
Again, not an official commitment, but creating an in-game memorial to a person has never been out of the question for Blizzard.
In the past, the developer has posthumously honored many people of importance, e.g., the Shrine of the Fallen Warrior, an in-game memorial dedicated to nineteen-year-old Michel Koiter, who was a World of Warcraft illustrator at Blizzard and died of heart failure during the game’s development in 2004.
Here’s hoping Blizzard comes along and shares their plans for a Robin Williams memorial NPC quite soon – one Blizzard employee, lead game designer Ion Hazzikostas, has confirmed to the Assoicated Press that memorial ideas are being considered as we speak.
If done, it would be an amazing gesture for an amazing person who brought so much laughter and happiness to people across this blue little orb we call Earth. Be sure to follow the Robin Williams WoW memorial Change.org petition through this link, and we’ll be sure to keep you in the loop on any further news on this story.
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