Post by Avacyn on Mar 29, 2015 19:16:37 GMT
Mike McArtor isn't a name readily known to MTG players, but he was the Editor for the MTG Online website for Wizards. The announcement came out 14th March, and there has been an outpouring of tribute to him from friends and colleagues. I decided to pick one:
SOURCE: magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/mike-mcartor-2015-03-24
This is something that will start happening, i guess. As time goes on, more and more of the key people to MTG will die, and an era will end. Already it is over two decades for the game... how many more is there before all of the original design team are no longer here? A sobering thought.
Sunday was a perfect day.
The Community team had descended on Seattle from all over the world for Global Summit—a week of discussions and meetings on Magic's inner workings. It was tradition for the American community team to treat them all to a day on the town. In the moment, it was a fun casual outing with friends from near and far, but I cannot think of that day now as anything other than the ideal send-off for a wonderful friend.
Mike and I split some pineapple bread while casually exploring Pike Place Market that morning with our small group. Our team adventured into subterranean streets and secrets on the Seattle Underground tour. We sang 'Happy Birthday' to Community Manager Davidé in terrible Italian. And then, to top off the perfect day, we drafted Conspiracy.
Mike loved Conspiracy. I started at Wizards shortly after its release and learned very quickly that, beneath the surface of Mike's kind and apologetic nature, lurked a charmingly vicious streak that only manifested in multiplayer games. I remember that Sunday when Mike drafted the Mike-iest deck imaginable; a blue-black monstrosity with more counterspells than pity. He proceeded to systematically mill me out of the game without attacking once. I remember laughing uncontrollably as he forced me down to my last two cards, too amused by his mock-cruelty to be genuinely upset. I called him terrible names. He smiled and shrugged and reminded me I should not be surprised. Underneath Mike's gentle demeanor he was a black mage through and through, and he adored reminding us of this whenever possible. We all laughed and ordered more food and immediately started a rematch.
Mike lived for multiplayer games in every sense of the term. He was witty, gentle, but above all else I believe what he loved most was being and playing alongside his closest friends. A mutual love of the work and the game brought us together, but what made that draft and those games special was a genuine companionship we all shared.
I will never forget the last draft we shared, and I will never forget our dear friend. I'm happy that the last day he shared with us was—truly—a perfect one.
-Alison Luhrs, associate community manager for Magic Online
insert quote here
The Community team had descended on Seattle from all over the world for Global Summit—a week of discussions and meetings on Magic's inner workings. It was tradition for the American community team to treat them all to a day on the town. In the moment, it was a fun casual outing with friends from near and far, but I cannot think of that day now as anything other than the ideal send-off for a wonderful friend.
Mike and I split some pineapple bread while casually exploring Pike Place Market that morning with our small group. Our team adventured into subterranean streets and secrets on the Seattle Underground tour. We sang 'Happy Birthday' to Community Manager Davidé in terrible Italian. And then, to top off the perfect day, we drafted Conspiracy.
Mike loved Conspiracy. I started at Wizards shortly after its release and learned very quickly that, beneath the surface of Mike's kind and apologetic nature, lurked a charmingly vicious streak that only manifested in multiplayer games. I remember that Sunday when Mike drafted the Mike-iest deck imaginable; a blue-black monstrosity with more counterspells than pity. He proceeded to systematically mill me out of the game without attacking once. I remember laughing uncontrollably as he forced me down to my last two cards, too amused by his mock-cruelty to be genuinely upset. I called him terrible names. He smiled and shrugged and reminded me I should not be surprised. Underneath Mike's gentle demeanor he was a black mage through and through, and he adored reminding us of this whenever possible. We all laughed and ordered more food and immediately started a rematch.
Mike lived for multiplayer games in every sense of the term. He was witty, gentle, but above all else I believe what he loved most was being and playing alongside his closest friends. A mutual love of the work and the game brought us together, but what made that draft and those games special was a genuine companionship we all shared.
I will never forget the last draft we shared, and I will never forget our dear friend. I'm happy that the last day he shared with us was—truly—a perfect one.
-Alison Luhrs, associate community manager for Magic Online
insert quote here
SOURCE: magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/feature/mike-mcartor-2015-03-24
This is something that will start happening, i guess. As time goes on, more and more of the key people to MTG will die, and an era will end. Already it is over two decades for the game... how many more is there before all of the original design team are no longer here? A sobering thought.