Famed "Last Lecture" Gaming Prof Passes Away

July 28, 2008

Last October GamePolitics reported on Randy Pausch, the Carnegie-Mellon University professor whose "last lecture" touched millions of people and gained international fame.

Pausch, suffering from pancreatic cancer, died on Friday at the age of 47. He told USA Today earlier this year that his last lecture was really for his kids

I knew what I was doing that day," he wrote in the introduction of his best-selling book, also titled The Last Lecture. "Under the ruse of giving an academic lecture, I was trying to put myself in a bottle that would one day wash up on the beach for my children."

Posted in Academia Gamers Doing Good Games & Education People Serious Games

Comments

Re: Famed "Last Lecture" Gaming Prof Passes Away

Submitted by Brendan (not verified) on Tue, 07/29/2008 - 04:51.

Wow.... words do no justice to that man.

Truly one of the most inspirational people I have ever had the pleasure of listening to. The world would be a much better place if everyone would take even one bit of information away from his speech.

I just can't get over how amazing Randy was. Even when faced with the horrible knowledge of when he was going to die, he continued to have fun doing what he loved, treating the world with the same kindness he expected in return. His will and perserverience is a testment to what human beings are capable of, even in the face of unbeatable odds.

Your message has inspired millions, myself included. You can consider me your new friend and admirer, one of many I am sure.

RIP Randy <3

Re: Famed "Last Lecture" Gaming Prof Passes Away

Submitted by Twin-Skies (not verified) on Tue, 07/29/2008 - 02:22.

I believe this is what it truly means to die with dignity.

Carnegie-Mellon, we salute you.

Re: Famed "Last Lecture" Gaming Prof Passes Away

Submitted by MonkeyPeaches (not verified) on Mon, 07/28/2008 - 16:15.

*Raises Dualshock 3 in Respect*

Re: Famed "Last Lecture" Gaming Prof Passes Away

Submitted by joetron2030 (not verified) on Mon, 07/28/2008 - 14:31.

I'd read the news on Friday. I tend to not get weepy over sad things I watch (in movies, etc.) but watching that speech, I got weepy. When I read that he'd passed away, I got weepy all over again.

My condolences to his family.

Re: Famed "Last Lecture" Gaming Prof Passes Away

Submitted by BlackIce on Mon, 07/28/2008 - 11:38.

*raises glass* Rest In Peace, good sir. ~You Could Be Mine, But You're Way Out Of Line..~

~You Could Be Mine, But You're Way Out Of Line..~

Re: Famed "Last Lecture" Gaming Prof Passes Away

Submitted by GPrime (not verified) on Mon, 07/28/2008 - 10:59.

His last lecture is very touching. The world is poorer for this tragic loss. And our hearts go out to his family and friends.

Re: Famed "Last Lecture" Gaming Prof Passes Away: RIP, buddy!

Submitted by Smarty Pants (not verified) on Mon, 07/28/2008 - 09:37.

RIP, he was truly a good man. What makes me even more sad is the fact that JT could blame this on games for some insane reason.

Re: Famed "Last Lecture" Gaming Prof Passes Away: RIP, buddy!

Submitted by Brokenscope on Mon, 07/28/2008 - 09:41.

Jesus Christ, please don't bring Jack into this.

Re: Famed "Last Lecture" Gaming Prof Passes Away: RIP, buddy!

Submitted by SounDemon (not verified) on Mon, 07/28/2008 - 09:57.

If he does, he will burn in hell for eternity.

Re: Famed "Last Lecture" Gaming Prof Passes Away

Submitted by doewnskitty (not verified) on Mon, 07/28/2008 - 08:49.

*removes hat*

Shout box

DorthLous: Passed 1.5M$. And I'd also say that Brutal Legend is far from being a bad game. I just think it was a few levels under what people expected from the people working on the project.02/11/2012 - 8:25am

Technogeek: Brutal Legend wasn't bad so much as "marketing had no idea how the game actually played", causing it to suffer accordingly.02/10/2012 - 10:38pm

RedMage: It looks the CIA's website has been DDOS'ed. Anon?02/10/2012 - 7:52pm

RedMage: Brutal Legend.02/10/2012 - 7:52pm

ddrfr33k: Has anything Tim Schafer ever made been of crap caliber? I'm struggling to think of one...02/10/2012 - 7:37pm

Guamish: I think it is in good hands. Tim did a game for the GDC award show and that was fun for how short it was.02/10/2012 - 12:22pm

Andrew Eisen: It'll be tragic if the game ultimately sucks.02/10/2012 - 12:17pm

james_fudge: $1.3 million02/10/2012 - 11:32am

Uncharted NES: Germany Says It Won't Sign ACTA [Update: ... Yet]- http://tinyurl.com/7r2twrg02/10/2012 - 11:21am

Andrew Eisen: Damn. Double Fine's Kickstarter fund has already passed a million dollars.02/09/2012 - 8:16pm

Andrew Eisen: Audrey didn't quote the sassy parts. Here's IGN's article: http://wii.ign.com/articles/121/1218359p1.html And here's my original post: http://tinyurl.com/7y68a3902/09/2012 - 7:50pm

james_fudge: I hope you some said something sassy! Where's the link?02/09/2012 - 7:46pm

Andrew Eisen: Hey, neat. IGN quoted a blog I had writen only two hours earlier. I certainly timed that one pretty well.02/09/2012 - 7:38pm

Andrew Eisen: Toki Tori has been added to the Humble Bundle for Android.02/09/2012 - 5:11pm

james_fudge: Thanks for the heads-up DorthLous02/09/2012 - 4:33pm

DorthLous: Will do, my apologies.02/09/2012 - 4:14pm

Andrew Eisen: I appreciate the heads up but please keep typo alerts to the specific article's comments or PMs.02/09/2012 - 3:33pm

DorthLous: The title says 30, but in the article, the developer says it's like a 20% net tax http://www.gamepolitics.com/2012/02/09/developers-call-facebook-currency-transaction-fee-thirty-percent-tax02/09/2012 - 2:43pm

Uncharted NES: If they actually release Final Fantasy XI for PlayStation Vita, then I will consider buying one.02/09/2012 - 12:13pm

Uncharted NES: Customers Petition Apple to End Worker Abuse with 250,000 signatures- http://tinyurl.com/6vpuom202/09/2012 - 11:28am

All shouts

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