R.I.P. Shawn Noel 1988 - 2006

[stanchat]

One of the up and coming game designers has passed away at the tender age of 17yrs. I met Shawn last year when I approached him to buy the rights to MiniGolf Pro.

Shawn was one of the most talented game designers around and had a very bright future ahead of him. His latest game Street Bike Fury is available at his website.


This comes as a complete shock to me. I had been inudated with emails the last two days about whether this was true or not and I refused to speculate one way or the other until it was officially confirmed. The apparent cause of death appears to be suicide.

JournalStar Obituary

R.I.P. Shawn Noel 1988 - 2006

[kimkallstrom1]

Here's everything I could gather.

[soniCron]

Jeeze. That's a really telling interview.

[David De Candia]

It's all very sad. Thanks for posting this.

[Sirrus]

Jeeze. That's a really telling interview.

Man, that sure is a telling interview. Really sad stuff there.

[Bmc]

from playing his games it's obvious the kid had some talent, it's too bad he couldn't get the help he needed before he resorted to suicide

[Christian]

OOhh noooou, what bad news, i remember him years ago when we where on the game maker forums, and he was really growing as a game designer, he really had a future...its a real shame, what a shock...

[PoV]

I think what's really creepy is interview is dated 1/17/2006, and the obituary is dated 1/18/2006.

I wouldn't want to be the interviewer right now.

[papillon]

I don't think that interview date is accurate though. It talks about Street Bike Fury as not yet released, but he released that game on Jan 3rd. It may simply have taken them a while to get around to printing the interview.

[g666]

That is really tragic.

[DangerCode]

Suicide at 17? That's awful. Things certainly can seem bleak at that age.

My thoughts are with his friends and families.

[Kestral]

That poor kid :-(

[moshboy]

I am the guy that did the interview. Yes your right the date on the interview is not accurate. Oddly enough it was actually published somewhere in the range of one to two months ago or so. Not long ago I had some trouble with my site and lost a lot of data, hence I had to get some stuff out of an old back-up. This means I had to 'replublish' almost all my interviews, hence the innacurate dates.

It is very sad that he did this. I knew he sounded rather depressed in the interview and sent him a couple of encouraging follow-up e-mails, just telling him how awesome I thought his games were and stuff. Never knew he was feeling bad enough to committ suicide though. He will be sorely missed - he was a nice kid.

[AVataRR]

omg... such a tragic waste. I've been a huge fan of his ever since I came accross Rampage 2. I'll miss him.

[sparkyboy]

It is very sad that he did this. I knew he sounded rather depressed in the interview and sent him a couple of encouraging follow-up e-mails, just telling him how awesome I thought his games were and stuff. Never knew he was feeling bad enough to committ suicide though. He will be sorely missed - he was a nice kid.

Unfortunately we are not all psychologists who are able to read between the lines and see what's really going on inside someones head!!!!!!!!!

17 years old.......Jeez.........makes my problems over the past 6 months or so pale into insignificance compared to the loss of such a young and obviously talented young man.

Just shows ya guys..............bless every morning that appears, because life is certainly way,way too short!!!!!!


All the best

Mark.

[Anatoly]

Unfortunately we are not all psychologists who are able to read between the lines and see what's really going on inside someones head!!!!!!!!!

Strange, but when I've read the interview from tigsource.com I knew what he felt like! Probably because that's exactly how I feel!!! I've been reading it and I thught - it's just like if I wrote it! I'm a little older - I'm 19... But he is obviously is more talanted - he finished his games while I couldn't make anything in the last 3 years! So he did commit suicide after all... I was close. I even did a farewell cartoon based on the song "Mad World" (it can be seen on my website), but I could never find a way to go that would fit. I guess nothing is quick and painless... Anyway, he definetly was a very talented independent game maker and it is a big loss for a community. Hope he is better where he is now.

[kimkallstrom1]

Suicide is never the answer to anything. Everyone just feels sorry to hear that Shawn threw his life away, especially when he had so much to live for.

[Fabio]

I really wanted to not post for a matter of respect towards Shawn.. but I really feel I have to, this time:

Hope he is better where he is now.

How could nowhere be better?
Death will come by itself, sooner or later. I can think only of very few reasons why it should be better to make it come sooner. Shawn's misluck was primarily of being an adolescent. I recall 17 being the very worst period of my life, and I too came close to kill myself (I was very consciously reckless with my motorbike, etc.. I made things with it I cannot believe today). So many things can change in your life in 5 years.. that never one should think it's time to end it. I can only imagine it being an option for people who have terminal cancer, zero hopes and in perspective only more pain, etc.. Shawn was certainly a very unhappy fellow, but I think his life may have been ok++ in ten years. Too bad he won't have the chance to prove himself wrong. So, please, Anatoly, since you can, wait and see..

[papillon]

Oh, come *on*. Don't we have enough problems on this board without getting into a flamewar about the existence-or-not of an afterlife?

[Savant]

Please don't do that. This thread doesn't deserve to be dragged off into religious debate land.

[Fabio]

I think atheism says "do not kill yourself". I think agnosticism says "do not kill yourself". I think all monotheistic religions say "do not kill yourself". So I don't think religions matter here. At least I didn't have this intent when I (sigh!) wrote my post.
I didn't like the Anatoly's post's tone that nearly *justifyes* what Shawn did. And I hope that Anatoly will think carefully about what he wrote, for his own good primarily. It's easy to do very wrong things when you're a teen. Much easier than at other ages.

[Anatoly]

I didn't try to justify anything. Of course I'm thinking, but depression makes it really hard to look clearly at things. Suicide is not a solution, it's more like an exit. And I agree - let's not discuss religion here.
I, in fact, remember that my teen years were the best I have and perticulary when I was 17 years old. I had a load of friends, great life. My friends were good enough for me to trust my life to. I'm not kidding. I hang out with them EVERY day of my life. I knew mist of them for ten years. And then I had left my country ... Now my life is not the same. I have no social life. I rarely leave the house. I quit my job last july because my depression is so bad I can't concentrate on work. I don't live. I just exist. Even the game ideas - I could get five good game concepts a minute, but now... I can't even come up with anything. If any of you have GOOD friends (not just co-workers, neighbors or class-mates) for many years and managed to keep them imagine losing everything in one day. It's horrible. I'm living just because I can talk to them online and on the phone. They still support me and they are still together. That's a grate friendship, only I'm not in it anymore. I'm turning twenty soon, but my life stopped on 18-th of august 2003.

[Matthew]

This postcard was in the latest update of PostSecret. I thought it was sadly applicable.

[Fabio]

Hi Anatoly,
I've been very depressed and I know the feeling. I moved 1600 Kms away when I was 11 and lost all my friends, those I knew since I was born. I moved back to my birth place when I was 19 and lost all my new friends (but I'm still in contact with them, and meet them at least once every year), but didn't get back those I had before I first had to leave. During 11..19 I've felt a lot of unjust prejudices and racism towards me (I'm from Sicily, I moved to the north of Italy, in a place where racism against southern Italians was at its top), those friends were my only ones (but very good ones). I could go on with my story but there's no reason to, and it's probably also boring anyway.
What happened to you is a tragedy, and I fully mean it, a tragedy if I understand it well whose culpage is of our modern societies, but please never forget that life can still have big gifts planned for you, maybe not this year, maybe not in 5 years.. maybe even not in 10 years, who knows.. I got my life back when I was 27 (I met the girl that now is my wife, and the mother of our little daughter). I am now 31 BTW, but before 27 believe me, although I wasn't going to commit suicide anymore, I wouldn't have bet one dollar on my future, and I really mean it, neither one single dollar.
About your depression, don't be afraid to get some cure, expecially in winter where low levels of melatonine make it even easier to get depressed. You risk it becoming something organical: if you feel worse than you think you're supposed to, then some anti-depressive drugs (for some months) is not cheating with your mind, is removing a "cheat" that already exists.
Also, I don't think that being a good game developer or not qualifies to have a "wasted life" (not saying here you're affirming this!).
The meaning of life is also fighting.. be yourself and fight, 'till you have life left to do it. Committing suicide is like going to bed with the enemy IMHO. I'm glad you are distant from the thought of suicide, for a moment I thought you may not be.
Keep the fight..

[Anatoly]

I'm glad you are distant from the thought of suicide

Bwah! I'm not all that distant! I'm actually feel even closer by telling the story. But the truth is - I don't have enough courage to slit my wrists - so it's very unlikely for me to turn up dead any time soon. My dream is to go visit when I get a citizenship. That's what keeps me alive (meaning that at least I have something to look forward to).

[Savant]

Life's too short guys. Don't waste it sitting around pissing and moaning. Do what you need to so you enjoy life again.

[Bmc]

Life's too short guys. Don't waste it sitting around pissing and moaning. Do what you need to so you enjoy life again.

yes you will die soon enough, no need to rush it.

[dxgame]

As a parent of 3 kids I can say this...

If you are a parent.... GET INVOLVED!!!!!!!!!

This was a waste and is very tragic.