Would-be Game Designer Lost in Afghanistan

August 5, 2009

….another in an occasional series of reports about gamers who gave their all:

A U.S. Army soldier killed in Afghanistan last month was a lifelong gamer, reports the Washington Post.

Army Spec. Anthony Lightfoot, 20, of Riverdale, Georgia died along with three comrades in a roadside attack on July 20th in Wardak Province.

According to his family, Lightfoot beat Mario Bros. as a small child and hoped to become a game designer some day:

He was a video game devotee who beat a Mario Bros. game at age 4 and never looked back, his brother said. "Ever since then, you couldn't move him from the TV," his brother said. "Everything he touched he tried to master, and that was an awesome quality about him."

Lightfoot's passion for video games grew into a desire to study animation and design a game. He drew a lot as a youngster and befriended other fans of Japanese animation and video games.

"He was always happy to meet people, befriend people and help people," his brother said. "He was a giving person."

Spec. Lightfoot was buried at Arlington National Cemetery on Tuesday.

GP: Rest in peace, Anthony...

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Comments

Re: Would-be Game Designer Lost in Afghanistan

Submitted by Bennett Beeny on Thu, 08/06/2009 - 12:13.

I don't know why they bother saying that soldier-gamers want to be a game designer when they get out of the military. Seems I've seen that a couple of times recently. It seems 'game designer' is the new 'fireman' - it's what kids want to be when they grow up.

Re: Would-be Game Designer Lost in Afghanistan

Submitted by PumaFau on Thu, 08/06/2009 - 12:07.

He is in the great arcade in the sky rest in peace

Never underestimate the power of idiots in large amounts.

Re: Would-be Game Designer Lost in Afghanistan

Submitted by Charax on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 16:30.

"Soldier dies in Warzone", News at 10

Re: Would-be Game Designer Lost in Afghanistan

Submitted by Evil Toothpick on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 13:31.

The hell man, why do all the awsome people always have to die.

Rest in peace Anthony may your memory live on.

Re: Would-be Game Designer Lost in Afghanistan

Submitted by hellfire7885 on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 12:06.

Game on in the beyond brave soldier.

Re: Would-be Game Designer Lost in Afghanistan

Submitted by jake1123456 on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 10:31.

Thanks for your service. Rest in peace.

Re: Would-be Game Designer Lost in Afghanistan

Submitted by TBoneTony on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 09:34.

Rest in peace Anthony

Us gamers here would have really loved to know you.

Your game may be over, but your replays will live on forever.

TBoneTony

Re: Would-be Game Designer Lost in Afghanistan

Submitted by Pierre-Olivier on Wed, 08/05/2009 - 09:26.

He sounds like a nice fellow.

May his soul rests in peace.

Poll

Shout box

Andrew Eisen: Here's the full quote on EA making Wii U games according to Neogaf: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=56112105/21/2013 - 8:19pm

Andrew Eisen: Xbox One may not be always on but that doesn't mean you can use it without an internet connection. http://kotaku.com/xbox-one-does-require-internet-connection-cant-play-o-50916410905/21/2013 - 7:39pm

Andrew Eisen: Polygon says EA's CFO says it is developing games for Wii U but doesn't provide that quote. http://www.polygon.com/2013/5/21/4351844/ea-developing-wii-u-games05/21/2013 - 7:11pm

Andrew Eisen: Well, I was right. Both Sony and Microsoft's consoles will be out by the year's end and both will be significantly more powerful than the current gen.05/21/2013 - 5:06pm

james_fudge: thnx05/21/2013 - 4:47pm

Zen: Just to let ya know...you called it the "Xbox 260" in the backwards compatibility article lol.05/21/2013 - 4:26pm

Zen: @PHX Awesome, I will hit those up after class tonight. Going back to college finally! :) My kids have had a blast telling ME to do my homework now lol.05/21/2013 - 4:19pm

PHX Corp: @Zen I sent you a friend request on both PSN and XBL, just a heads up05/21/2013 - 4:16pm

Zen: I noticed it with the football players when EA showed off Madden as well.05/21/2013 - 4:11pm

Zen: Is it just me or is call of duty hitting the "uncanny valley" with their nicely modeled faces and dead looking eyes? I found it distracting and seemed actually "less" real to me lol.05/21/2013 - 4:10pm

james_fudge: it sounds like if you have an HD reciever you'll be able to use it with a pass-through cable... not 100 percent sure yet05/21/2013 - 2:41pm

james_fudge: happening now http://majornelson.com/2013/05/21/xbox-one-architecture-panel/05/21/2013 - 2:20pm

E. Zachary Knight: Some reading material for Microsoft on its used games blocks. That will hurt the console more than helping. http://ezknight.net/?page_id=20505/21/2013 - 2:18pm

james_fudge: yeah good luck with over the air TV05/21/2013 - 2:12pm

E. Zachary Knight: But what if I want to only watch over the air tv? I don't subscribe to pay tv. I never will. If that is a requirement, then MS wasted 45 minutes telling me how great TV will be.05/21/2013 - 2:08pm

james_fudge: EZK it will depend on your provider, just like HBO Go i'd imagine.05/21/2013 - 2:05pm

PHX Corp: @IanC there's also a chance that those titles might be Xbox one exclusive, but it's too early to tell afaik05/21/2013 - 2:03pm

IanC: @E. Zachary Knight - MS certainly got the checkbook out for EA, so no surprise on how negative they are over the Wii U.05/21/2013 - 1:54pm

MaskedPixelante: So now I have to wonder, how many of EA's games are skipping the PS4 because of their pro-used stance?05/21/2013 - 1:53pm

E. Zachary Knight: On the TV front, does the XBox One require a cable/satellite subscription or will I be able to use my over the air channels?05/21/2013 - 1:48pm

All shouts

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