In tribute to a player's departed baby son, Old School RuneScape players turn out in 'hundreds' to pay respects to his namesake: 'It was so overwhelming seeing so many people at Zeke's shop'

(Image credit: Jagex)

MMOs tend to function, more or less, as enormous mechanisms for competition. PvP, being the first to a particular raid, pulling off troubling works of deception in EVE Online—this is what I associate with the phrase 'massively multiplayer'. But sometimes, the stars align and players come together to do something truly nice for each other.

A Reddit user and Old School RuneScape player going by Gr3g1n4t0r posted to the game's community subreddit yesterday that it had "been a year since my son, Zeke, has passed away." The player's son had been born prematurely, but "held on for almost 4 months until he sadly passed away."

To pay tribute and mark a year since their son's passing, the player announced they would be making a trip to see Zeke, owner of the store Zeke's Superior Scimitars, in World 388 shortly after the post went up.

And then, well, you can probably guess what happened next: players turned out in impromptu throngs to join Gr3g1n4t0r in their tribute to their child.

Numerous screenshots posted to Reddit show great crowds of people gathered around Zeke's store using the Redemption prayer—which triggers a large green heart to manifest above your avatar's head. Meanwhile, chat abounded with messages like "Hell yeah Zeke lives on," and "Here for you and Zeke <3". Even a Jagex staff member—Mod Sarnie—turned up.

Thank you guys for honoring our Zeke from r/2007scape

"Thank you for hosting," wrote another player on Reddit. "Hundreds of people came to support your beautiful tribute. My condolences, and I hope this community brought you some happiness."

In a post after the event, Gr3g1n4t0r wrote their thanks: "Thank you to everyone who saw the post and paid their respect. It was so overwhelming seeing so many people at Zeke's shop. It was so nice to hear your stories as well. We have such an incredible community with the biggest hearts."

In a separate post, they wrote "The community is the best in the world. Love you Zeke ❤️".

One of Josh's first memories is of playing Quake 2 on the family computer when he was much too young to be doing that, and he's been irreparably game-brained ever since. His writing has been featured in Vice, Fanbyte, and the Financial Times. He'll play pretty much anything, and has written far too much on everything from visual novels to Assassin's Creed. His most profound loves are for CRPGs, immersive sims, and any game whose ambition outstrips its budget. He thinks you're all far too mean about Deus Ex: Invisible War.

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