Would-be Video Game Designer is Killed in Afghanistan
Would-be Video Game Designer is Killed in Afghanistan
October 19, 2008
Another in an all-too-frequent series honoring gamers who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country...
A dedicated soldier who wanted more than a virtual war experience has been killed in Afghanistan.
As reported by the Boston Globe, Army Specialist Stephen Fortunato was killed on Tuesday when his vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb. From the newspaper report:
According to his family, Fortunato's decision to enlist into a war-time Army was driven by a powerful feeling of patriotism; a desire to experience war personally, not only through a video game; and the opportunity to use the GI Bill to pay for college.
"He wanted to change the world," his father, Richard, said in a phone interview from his Florida home yesterday. "How he was going to do it single-handedly, I don't know. But he wanted to change the world."
The Boston Herald reports that Fortunato planned to return to school, possibly for training in video game design.
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LOGINGamePolitics ShoutBox
Posted 11/22/09 at 11:48pm
ZippyDSMlee: AE:they feeding you well? I am enjoying win7 and heading to bed...uhg I need to get up early and start back to cleaning/painting blahg >< need tog et stuff done befor thanksgiving....
ZippyDSMlee: AE:they feeding you well? I am enjoying win7 and heading to bed...uhg I need to get up early and start back to cleaning/painting blahg >< need tog et stuff done befor thanksgiving....
Posted 11/22/09 at 11:41pm
Andrew Eisen: Just got home from an eight hour recording session at Capitol Records. A lot of fun but damn exhausting.
Andrew Eisen: Just got home from an eight hour recording session at Capitol Records. A lot of fun but damn exhausting.
Posted 11/22/09 at 08:44pm
BearDogg-X: 10 N. O. Who Dat?
BearDogg-X: 10 N. O. Who Dat?
Posted 11/22/09 at 09:45am
ZippyDSMlee: JD:I think doc phill is still sout about the break up with his wife he dose not fill holes as much as make them bigger these day
ZippyDSMlee: JD:I think doc phill is still sout about the break up with his wife he dose not fill holes as much as make them bigger these day
Posted 11/22/09 at 12:06am
JDKJ: You should get Phil McCraken to help you spackle those banisters.
JDKJ: You should get Phil McCraken to help you spackle those banisters.
Posted 11/21/09 at 11:57pm
ZippyDSMlee: Oh in the pirate hunter article I need my song ieda heckled DS,JD,Beemon sic im !!!
ZippyDSMlee: Oh in the pirate hunter article I need my song ieda heckled DS,JD,Beemon sic im !!!
Posted 11/21/09 at 11:56pm
ZippyDSMlee: JD:no I am tried from prepping the banisters for painting , worked on them from 12 to 4 and 6 to 8...after I got back from the store...got up early got ready...blah...been up all day..I need a nap...
ZippyDSMlee: JD:no I am tried from prepping the banisters for painting , worked on them from 12 to 4 and 6 to 8...after I got back from the store...got up early got ready...blah...been up all day..I need a nap...
Posted 11/21/09 at 11:42pm
JDKJ: No. You gonna stay up late tonight soldering?
JDKJ: No. You gonna stay up late tonight soldering?
Posted 11/21/09 at 11:41pm
ZippyDSMlee: JDKJ:Don't you mean Mctite?
ZippyDSMlee: JDKJ:Don't you mean Mctite?
Posted 11/21/09 at 11:33pm
JDKJ: @Zip: Neil, Bob, and Lik McTaint. The McTaint brothers. LOL!!!
JDKJ: @Zip: Neil, Bob, and Lik McTaint. The McTaint brothers. LOL!!!
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:44pm
Flamespeak: I still think military personell, killing other military personell, on a military complex should be handled by military courts.
Flamespeak: I still think military personell, killing other military personell, on a military complex should be handled by military courts.
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:43pm
Flamespeak: I could see this a mixture of the two charges rather than just one or the other.
Flamespeak: I could see this a mixture of the two charges rather than just one or the other.
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:43pm
Flamespeak: I think this was mainly a person who snapped, but evidence is showing he definitely had strong inlinations to islamic-extremism.
Flamespeak: I think this was mainly a person who snapped, but evidence is showing he definitely had strong inlinations to islamic-extremism.
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:41pm
Flamespeak: People are trying to claim that Hasan's actions were not terrorism. I don't jump on the 'terror train' like others, however
Flamespeak: People are trying to claim that Hasan's actions were not terrorism. I don't jump on the 'terror train' like others, however
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:38pm
mentor07825: Britain certainly does deserve it! And the French! God damn it, it was a hand ball!!!
mentor07825: Britain certainly does deserve it! And the French! God damn it, it was a hand ball!!!
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:34pm
ZippyDSMlee: mentor07825:Well Brittan dose deserve it....
ZippyDSMlee: mentor07825:Well Brittan dose deserve it....
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:33pm
ZippyDSMlee: Alyric:I don;t hasliburton having to pay back billoins... don;t you love it when the rich roll over the goverment without a care?
ZippyDSMlee: Alyric:I don;t hasliburton having to pay back billoins... don;t you love it when the rich roll over the goverment without a care?
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:32pm
mentor07825: I say we nuke the whales, for the benefit of both mankind and the environment.
mentor07825: I say we nuke the whales, for the benefit of both mankind and the environment.
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:28pm
Austin_Lewis: I say we try Al Gore too. I always said he was in on the racket.
Austin_Lewis: I say we try Al Gore too. I always said he was in on the racket.
Posted 11/21/09 at 09:16pm
Alyric: The leaked information proves these organizations knowingly defrauded governments (i.e., taxpayers) out of billions of dollars. Yet there will probably never be a trial.
Alyric: The leaked information proves these organizations knowingly defrauded governments (i.e., taxpayers) out of billions of dollars. Yet there will probably never be a trial.
Copyright © 2007 ECA. All rights reserved.
Game Politics and Game Politics logo are trademarks of the ECA.
Game Politics and Game Politics logo are trademarks of the ECA.
Comments
Hmmmm... Maybe it is just me but the player is not scaling correctly if at all.
Update: It appears th eplayer has been removed.
On topic:
It is really sad to hear another trooper paid the cost for Bush & Cheney's grossly mismanaged war on terrorism.
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"The most difficult pain a man can suffer is to have knowledge of much and power over little" - Herodotus
Tarosan - enjoy your week off.
If I have to do this again, it's perm.
Seems awfully rude.
Thank you so much for your valued contribution to this article.
To quote Bill Hicks, "What a tragedy? What a dick."
In all seriousness, though, this is pretty tragic. Just as tragic as it is when a non-gamer dies in Iraq. Why don't we just start a sidebar honoring all the young men and women that give their life in the Middle East for this "country" we call home, regardless of their gaming habits?
No, Luke, I AM the Walrus
Sad thing is, he's right, though. It's only a matter of time before Thompson barges in here to claim another victory for his cause.
Back on topic, my condolences go to this brave man's friends and family.
What did he say about JT, other than what you said?
And my condolences go out with yours, VF.
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I AM DOOMED TO HAUNT JACK THOMPSON'S DREAMS UNTIL HIS CRUSADE AGAINST VIDEO GAMES ENDS.
Whatever he said, its got to be worst than what i said about JT.
Again, my heart goes out to the troops family.
Another lost in a qugmire of lies and decit.
War is a necessary evil but unnecessary ones are truly viscous...
I raise mew water down morning brew to thos that have fallen for the sake of order.
I is fuzzy brained mew =^^=
http://zippydsmlee.wordpress.com/
(in need of a bad overhaul)
May he rest in peace.
A moment of silence for a fallen soldier, a fellow gamer, an American, and, above all else, a human being dying for a cause he felt was bigger than himself.
Not a nice thing to hear, may he rest in peace.
Thoughts are with his family.
God, how i hate our goverment and bush and darth cheney
Um, Stephen WANTED to go to Afghanistan to fight in the war; says so right in the article!
Bush and Cheney didn't "force" him to do anything.
/lrn2readkthxbai
_______________________________________________________
Jack Thompson: future Good Burger employee of the month
That may be, but as it is, bush and cheny got us into the war.
*sighs* our country is a mess.
May your soul rest in peace, Fortunato.
My heart goes off to the family and the US itself for losing an honorable warrior who will continue to be in our hearts.
God Bless
Hey, did anyone else notice he has the same name as the guy Narrator killed in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask Of Amontillado"? That's one hell of a f***ing coincidence.
Anyway, in all seriousness, it's a shame he died. I wonder how many good games he wouldve made?
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I AM DOOMED TO HAUNT JACK THOMPSON'S DREAMS UNTIL HIS CRUSADE AGAINST VIDEO GAMES ENDS.
Off Topic: Shadow, that's pretty creepy.
On Topic: If experiance is worth coin, then he has plenty to cross the Styx.
1. Yes, it's creepy. That's how I noticed it.
2. Nice.
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I AM DOOMED TO HAUNT JACK THOMPSON'S DREAMS UNTIL HIS CRUSADE AGAINST VIDEO GAMES ENDS.
Rest in peace, brosef.
So let me get this straight - this was a guy who 'may' have intended to go to college 'possibly' for training in video game design? Can the link to GamePolitics be any more vague? I mean what next? Are we going to hear about a voter in the next election whose vote 'may' be the key to the election, and whose deciding vote might lead him into politics and to overturn all the gaming legislation, potentially leading us into a utopian gaming fantasy world?
I just wonder how far down the path of pure speculation GP needs to go. Another slow news day I guess.
Ya know im going to say this plainly and simply: screw you. If your going to rant about how pointless you think an article is on someone elses website, then go do it somewere else, besides the least you could do is resist the urge to post a rude comment.
On a lighter note I feel for this guys friend's and family. He could have been a great game designer.
$70q (0emq1_41/v1/v6
Vaya con dios, amigo. May you rest in peace.
Game on, brothers and sisters.
Okay. So? A soldier died. Last time I checked that's how they kept score. Soldiers have exactly two purposes and he's upheld one of them.
CAN YOU BE ANY MORE OF A JACKASS!?
Seriously. Don't post shit like that.
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I AM DOOMED TO HAUNT JACK THOMPSON'S DREAMS UNTIL HIS CRUSADE AGAINST VIDEO GAMES ENDS.
Yes I can.
POST IN HUGE CAPS
JUST LIKE YOU, YOU
DOPE.
But I won't.
(See what I did there?)
This is hardly the time, or the place.
Agreed. Get him out of here.
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I AM DOOMED TO HAUNT JACK THOMPSON'S DREAMS UNTIL HIS CRUSADE AGAINST VIDEO GAMES ENDS.
Oh, hearken to him: 'Get him out of here' he says, as if he were someone of importance.
Tell me; has your swelled head caused you any balance issue as of late?