Giant Bomb’s Ryan Davis passed away on July 3, 2013. He turned 34 a mere four days after I turned 34 myself.
I was supposed to post this news article as it was breaking yesterday, but felt that it wasn’t in our website’s best interest to “report” what transpired, leaving all the other outlets to do what they do. Instead, I’ve decided to write an editorial about this man and what he meant to me personally and to the vision of Gamer Horizon as whole.
Anyone taking a passive glance at Ryan will immediately judge him by what he looks like. What these people don’t get by doing this is the joyous and often humorous nature that Ryan brings to the table. Ever since Giant Bomb was founded in 2008, I’ve been exposed to Jeff and Ryan’s hijinks on the site and admired the work ethic and the chemistry they had together. This was when you knew that they weren’t just co-workers, but good friends. I’ll be the first to admit that of the two, I knew Jeff more back in his GameSpot days. But Ryan really changed when he transitioned to Giant Bomb and, since the team was so small, had increased exposure in terms of everything the site does. And that, in itself, was awesome.
It’s tough to talk about him from a perspective of being a fan of his work, given that I never knew the guy personally. But I can tell you that much of his ideas and thoughts live on in many different ways. At the end of this editorial, I’ve included many tributes his friends have written or made thanking the man in inspiring them in their own lives and careers. A part of his legacy lives in Gamer Horizon, in a way, with the podcasts we do, the videos we’ll be producing, and the idea of working with friends and enjoying a whole new generation of video games with them. Ryan had the pleasure of not only working with some of the best content creators in the industry, but also some of his closest friends. This is the driving force that makes us push Gamer Horizon into many different ways, and it’d behoove me to say that Ryan’s insight influenced our site’s direction.
The Saturday before his passing marked the day that he got married to his wonderful fiancee. And though she seems to be taking it in stride, she’s using her humor as armor. Many of the things she’s posted as a way to cope with her loss, I felt, showed why Ryan loved her deeply. Most of Ryan’s mention of Anna was through their annual trips to Disneyland, where Ryan would “defend” Disneyland to his friends at Giant Bomb – often to hilarious extents. Being an annual passholder at Disneyland myself, this was probably the closest I’ve felt to Ryan since he loved going to the parks and knew so much about it.
And yet here we are today, Tuesday, a day after the news broke and the news is still spreading about the loss of this wonderful man. Tonight is usually the time when the rest of the Giant Bomb crew gather around to record the latest episode of the Giant Bombcast. I was waiting for this week’s episode so that I could hear Ryan talk about his wedding and all the shenanigans that happened. And of course, as always, he’d always open up the show with his jolly greeting, “Hey everybody it’s Tuuuuuuuueesday!” Whether the rest of the crew record a show this week isn’t important to me… but the thought of what they’re going through right now, and everyone who had the pleasure of knowing Ryan, has probably been a difficult thing to bear.
And, in my own little way, I guess I’m saying, “Thanks Ryan. Thanks for all the memories you’ve given all of us. The videos people have been passing around for the past 24 hours will forever remind us of your presence in the video game industry and how amazing you are as a person.”
Our sincerest condolences to Ryan Davis’ family and friends who have been affected by this tragedy.
Tributes
Gamer Horizon 