Sometimes, Twitch streamer lucent_beam decides to take on what she calls ‘The Tower Challenge,’ a game where she picks a low-level Destiny player to help out. After some research, the plan unfolds with a message.
“The reality is that a lot of people won’t respond to a random message from someone in the Tower, thus it being a ‘challenge,’ lucent_beam told Kotaku. Luckily, in this case, it worked:
The player, who had put in over 600 hours into the game, had three characters — none of which had completed a nightfall or a raid at that point. Mostly, he was playing solo, and had only recently gotten a mic to play with others. You see, this player was not like most Destiny fans. He didn’t go online to learn the ins-and-outs of how Destiny worked, as lucent_beam tells it. He was a retired man, who preferred using auto rifles because they were the most accurate to play with hand tremors. He was the sort of player who solved Destiny’s big Sleeper Simulant riddle by “working on it a couple of hours a day for a few days, just randomly entering the code via process of elimination until it worked.” Not a usual fan, but definitely a dedicated one.
As they played together, the man started sharing his life story with lucent_beam. It’s honestly heartwarming to hear how a game like Destiny had provided him comfort during hard times, and you can hear that in the video below:
“This game actually kinda saved my life,” he said. “My wife actually passed away Christmas 2014…all my family is already passed away. My son passed away nine months ago. This game keeps my mind — I’m retired, so — this game keeps my mind pretty sharp. I feel like I live here. I have lucid dreams about living here. And those are really exciting. It’s so exciting. Most exciting time of my life, being in here.”
“I know there is a strong Sherpa community in Destiny, but those always seemed to be helping people who helped themselves,” lucent_beam told Kotaku. “Somewhere out there, there are people who don’t or can’t sign up for a Sherpa raid or don’t read the subreddit. Same thing with people who stream Sherpa raids: that person needed to know to get there to play. So then I made a hobby of finding people.”
Lucent_beam says she played with the grandfather for about two hours, during which they completed a Nightfall strike. Shortly afterward, she started sharing her adventures with the grandfather on social media. The tale has gone on to catch the attention of other Destiny fans and Bungie itself. Fans were so touched by the tale that they started raising money to send the player to GuardianCon 2017, a Destiny convention:
Over $3K was given… We are in the process contacting him… If he can’t/won’t make the trip, we will send him GuardianCon/Destiny swag…
— Say No To Rage (@SayNoToRage) February 10, 2017
Better yet, others have come forth with their own uplifting Destiny stories too:
Damn.
Comments
16 responses to “Grandfather Shares How Destiny Helped Save His Life”
Just when I needed my faith in humanity restored a little, along comes a story like this.
keep being awesome people, one small gesture can and will make a difference to someone !
Nice!
And please keep adding stories like this – very inspirational!
People are basically decent. It’s nice to have a reminder, even a bittersweet one.
I haven’t lost anyone close to me to death, but I’m currently going through a really tough time myself. I’m in the middle of a divorce, and now live by myself in a very shitty house in a very small town. I’m a bit of a recluse and only go outside when I have to, don’t answer the phone to anyone either, even if it’s my best (and only) friend. I also lost my job on Friday because it stresses me out too much and I just can’t cope anymore. Had a very stressful night at work on Friday, so I just left my keys behind, walked out and told them I wouldn’t be back. They tried to help me and made an appointment for me, which I’d gone to on Thursday, they gave me medication, but after reading about all the side effects I’m too scared to take it. I have internet, phone, electricity bills and a personal loan payment coming up, but the only money I have I will have to reserve for food. I’m about to lose my only forms of communication with the outside world and it scares me.
I feel like I won’t ever get better.
I’m really sorry to hear you’re having a tough time buddy.
I know words are rather meaningless. But if people are trying to reach out to you don’t shut them out, if it wasn’t for other people there is no way I’d still be here. As for medication it takes time but it can save your life, I have bipolar affective disorder and for years I refused to take my meds which only ever put me into really nasty places either in my head or in the world.
I won’t go into details because well this, this isn’t about me, it’s about you. Make time for yourself, do what you need to do to. But at the same time don’t refuse help when help or support is offered… I know I’m just rambling, and I’m just another random person but believe me when I say even though I don’t know you, my thoughts and care is with you. And as a community of gamers I’m pretty sure I’m safe in saying we are here for you.
Hi dude, living in a small town can be very hard and isolating but there are people you can talk to, people who won’t make judgments or try and push you to do anything, groups like lifeline and beyond blue have helped me immeasurably, try giving them a call or visit there websites. I am living with mental illness and know how frightening medicines can be, but the side effects don’t necessarily occur and if you do get side effects you can ask your Dr to try something else, the medicines while far from perfect can make an amazing difference. I am very isolated by nature, so talking to someone was very hard for me but it helped, on my own I just dug myself into a deep hole and it seemed like I would never find a way out, talking to people helped me find a way out. I don’t know if there are any groups like Wellway’s where you live and services vary from state to state, but if your doctor can get you into a support group go for it, they are also far from perfect but can be amazingly supportive. And there are many people here on the web who will offer you support. Take small steps dude break the problem into pieces and it will slowly become easier to move forward. We are here for you dude;-)
Evil Monkey, I’m so so sorry to hear that. I’ve been in that place, and know how it feels. Seeking help is a much better idea than trying to off yourself (which I’ve had a good go at on two occasions). Fuck the debt, your life matters much much more than any bill. If you have any local community mental health care services, use them. Australia is still a social-democracy, and the support services may not be as good as they ought to be, but they are there. I have some links with the Victorian psychiatric services, and also the Queensland ones to a lesser extent. Please contact me if that’s of any use, or even if you just need someone to talk to.
Ed Mullen
0433273590
You’ll definitely get better my dude. We aren’t defined by the sum of our material possessions but instead we are defined by who we are.
You may think you’re losing it all but really you’re just freeing yourself of some unwanted history, “you’ll get back to where you were” is the wrong saying, instead you are already on the path to a better future, despite how you currently feel. Be positive, help is all around you.
“you’ll get back to where you were” is the wrong saying, instead you are already on the path to a better future”
Agree with this completely, the things we choose to learn from in these experiences can help drive us to have our feet land in a happier place then where we once were. The key word here being choice
Heya EM
I apologise if I’m coming across as a bit full on but you need to reach out to a decent psychological service asap, go see you GP for a referral or at least give Life Line a call on 13 11 14.
A run like that will knock anyone for six and the best /only way to get back on your feet is with the support of others. A good psych is a perfect unbiased non-judgemental listener / support person who can help you navigate these tough times.
Never be ashamed to ask for help, sometimes it’s the only way forward.
@zadapow @edski @cctrbro
I’m not suicidal, in fact I’m quite the opposite, the thought of dying actually scares the absolute shit out of me. I do drink though, and lately have been thinking about taking up smoking dope again (which I haven’t done in over 20 years) just to help me cope.
Thanks for the kind words.
I wasn’t necessarily talking just about suicide. The last thing I want to be doing right now is preaching and please don’t think I’m coming from that angle, this is just my own personal experiences.
Drugs is the thing that has impacted me more than anything else, while smoking a J here or there is fine and I still do from time to time, you have to be of stable mind and at a stable point in your life, otherwise it can turn into a crutch or much worse, not saying it will happen just that it can, and you don’t want to go down that road especially when it involves harder drugs.. it can destroy your life and leave you in a place worse then death.
I guess all I’m saying is please just look after yourself.
Take care of yourself man. Blow a joint or two if you want to (best done with a mate over a beer or glass of vino).
Be well Mr Monkey. I posted my number above, which isn’t something I usually do on the internets. If things are going south for you, I’d be happy to take a call.
Lucky he did not decide to play DOTA2………..