I just found out that John Hall, one of the guys who worked on Spider-Man with me, died yesterday - his cancer killed him - it came as a shock to me, because everytime I talked to him he seemed to have such faith that he was either out of the woods or he'd get out of the woods soon.
I've been rereading his blog about cancer - http://overcode.yak.net/3.
For some reason, one of the things that really gets to me is he mentions reading the Harry Potter series and I'm bummed that he'll never get to find out how it ends. I'm sure that was the last fucking thing on his mind, of all the zillions of things he'll never get to do that was probably pretty low on the list, but there it is.
One thing about John was he kept working, on and off, on Ultimate Spider-Man, during the course of his illness. How awesome is that? I'd probably curl up and mope in my home all day. I hope everybody loves that game just for John's sake: he could have spent the last years of his life doing other stuff, but he kept working on Ultimate Spider-Man.
Rest in peace, John.
Posted by: Rich | September 18, 2005 at 08:53 PM
He sounded like a guy who loved what he did for a living. I'm sorry to hear about his passing.
Posted by: Mr. Mechanical | September 19, 2005 at 01:11 PM
I think there was an earlier discussion almost philosophical in nature on this very blog about what would you do if? I guess John gave the answer to us all.
RIP hope he continues to play more immortal games beyond the pearly gates
Posted by: Apar | September 19, 2005 at 01:25 PM
Perhaps someone should post an update to his blog? There seems to be quite a few folks who watch in the comments section and who are wondering about when he is going to post next. I'm not going to do it because I didn't know the guy and overall I'm not even sure if it is a great idea.
This is really sad. A young guy at our studio passed away this week as well. :-( It really puts all your little aches and pains and nuisances into perspective.
Posted by: Zack Hiwiller | September 20, 2005 at 07:45 PM
I didnt notice the huge blurb at the top. Color me dumb. I do too much skipping.
Sorry
Posted by: Zack Hiwiller | September 20, 2005 at 07:46 PM
Just got USM, playing around, liking it so far. Except for the ads.
Posted by: zachary j. gamedesigner | September 23, 2005 at 10:58 PM
Really sorry to hear this. I remember him too.
Posted by: obi busta nobi | September 30, 2005 at 01:49 PM
I'd say people liked USM.
I just got fanboyed at a restaurant when a guy recognized my Ultimate Spidey shirt.
He said he couldn't get enough of the game, wanted to buy the shirt off my back.
Posted by: Scott Perry | May 27, 2008 at 03:52 PM
John Hall is (was) a stranger to me.
I was looking at programming articles on the internet when I opened one of his pages; I thought it was very well-written and decided I would proceed to his homepage. What I found there shocked me to the core of my being. Enticed yet saddened by such a surprise, I proceeded to read his entire blog, and although I never knew him, I now know: he was a great guy. This hit me harder still because, due to some twisted irony, my friend's mother is also battling melanoma. Utmost condolences to everyone who knew him, and everyone who never did.
Rest in Peace, John Hall.
Posted by: Peter Lapets | July 21, 2011 at 08:10 PM