A 45-year-old director and cameraman shared on reddit that he has invested over $31,000 in the MMO Star Citizen. The reason is a near-death experience that brought him face to face with the transience of existence.
Where does the man tell his story? On reddit. He says he is a 45-year-old cameraman and director. He is successful in his job, and money is therefore not a major issue. He has been playing games regularly since he was 5 years old; an incident some time ago changed his life.
What was that incident? As a director and cameraman, he was on a 10-day shoot in Idaho. He wanted to film adventurous people enjoying life. The plan was to film a fly fisherman at a river by a waterfall with his team. However, due to unfortunate circumstances, the plans had to be changed at short notice as the area was flooded.
A small group of 4 people, including the cameraman, tried to reach a dry spot with some kind of canoe from which they could film.
In the picture, the man is on the left, and the team’s photographer is on the right:
The man recounts on reddit his near-death experience when the canoe got caught in rapids that were not visible before. He ended up in the water, his life flashed before his eyes, and he was about to drown.
Just as he was about to give up his life in the icy water, he was pulled out by his colleagues and then collapsed on land in tears.
Star Citizen as the closest thing to a journey to the stars
This is how he came to Star Citizen: The man explains that this intense experience completely changed his perspective on the world and life: He became aware of his own mortality. His time on Earth was limited.
He developed an obsession to make the most of every remaining hour. It grew into a neurosis. He felt depressed when he realized what opportunities he no longer had at 45 years old.
This led him to desire to fly to the stars, but he understood that this would not be possible during his lifetime. He would not experience space travel. During this time, a friend introduced him to Star Citizen:
“I dove into it as if there would be no tomorrow. I read every article, watched every video, started watching streams. That was exactly what I needed.”
He says Star Citizen comes closest to the experience of actually flying into space. That is now his therapy.
His career keeps him busy, but as soon as he has a free minute, he is “in the stars.”
The man has invested over $31,000 in Star Citizen. He says that’s the best money he has ever spent.
This is how people react: Many feel encouraged by the man’s story to share their own transformative experiences that led to a “You only live once” decision.
Some view the story critically: The man needs therapy, which Star Citizen cannot provide. But the 45-year-old reassures people: He has already spoken with a therapist and continues to do so.
Star Citizen has raised over $250 million through crowdfunding and continues to generate large sums. The story of the 45-year-old shows the impact that the game can have on people.
