EVE Community Mourns for "Vile Rat" as US Diplomat is Killed in Libya
Tributes decorate the vast reaches of virtual space.
Developer CCP and EVE Online players worldwide are mourning the death of 34-year-old US State Department officer Sean Smith, who was killed in Libya with three others in an attack on an American consulate. For as well as a loved husband and father, he was also a popular EVE player known as "Vile Rat".
Smith, a foreign service information management officer, played as a cunning diplomat in the galactic MMORPG - having served in the game's virtual government and been integral to the disbanding of some of the community's biggest alliances.
Upon hearing of his death, space stations were named in his honour, message boards and Twitter became rife with tributes, and CCP issued a special statement.
"I can tell you that CCP Games and its employees are overwhelmingly saddened by the news of Sean Smith's passing, as we are when we learn of any player who is tragically lost," said spokesperson Ned Coker.
"Many of us interacted with him professionally and personally and, honestly, it feels like our words are lost - adrift amongst such a tremendous, soul-affirming outpouring from the EVE community."
Read more on Sydney Morning Herald.
Smith, a foreign service information management officer, played as a cunning diplomat in the galactic MMORPG - having served in the game's virtual government and been integral to the disbanding of some of the community's biggest alliances.
Upon hearing of his death, space stations were named in his honour, message boards and Twitter became rife with tributes, and CCP issued a special statement.
"I can tell you that CCP Games and its employees are overwhelmingly saddened by the news of Sean Smith's passing, as we are when we learn of any player who is tragically lost," said spokesperson Ned Coker.
"Many of us interacted with him professionally and personally and, honestly, it feels like our words are lost - adrift amongst such a tremendous, soul-affirming outpouring from the EVE community."
Read more on Sydney Morning Herald.
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