Aaron "DemonSphere" Emge has passed

[Ralphis]

For those that don't know, Aaron "DemonSphere" Emge passed away yesterday morning. DemonSphere was arguably the best 1v1 Doom player on the planet in the past couple years, placed 3rd in the Quakecon Doom 2 tournament years ago, and has a number of other accomplishments. Above all of this, he was a really great kid and he is going to be sorely missed. Below is the cross posted announcement from the WDL forums: 

 

It is with much regret and sadness that I have to report that a pillar of our community, Aaron "DemonSphere" Emge, passed away early on the morning of September 24th, 2017.

 

In our community, Aaron excelled at everything he attempted. He was an excellent player, a great teammate, and a beloved captain. Above all of this, he was a true friend to many of us and his absence will resonate with us for eternity. May he rest in peace.

 

For anyone struggling with depression, know that you are loved - by your family and friends. Please never give up - this is a mistake that you won't have an opportunity to regret. In the United States, there is a free suicide prevention line at 1-800-273-8255. 

 

When more details become available regarding services, this post will be updated.

 

[antares031]

Heard this tragic news yesterday, and it's still hard to believe that we lost one of the best classic doom deathmatch players.

 

Rest in Peace, DemonSphere

[Decay]

Thanks for the cross-post, Ralphis.

 

Although I only really just started getting to know him in the past couple years, DS was a fantastic person to play with. Easily one of the best I've ever played with, yet still welcoming to players who aren't so great and quite humble. Very respectful of other players, whenever he came into our duel/dm/tdm sessions, it was always a great time, and I always enjoyed speaking with him. Always willing to try something new, not very picky on who or what he played. Echoing the sentiment of some others, he was the kind of guy who made you want to keep playing Doom, even when you thought you were done with it. His loss will be felt in the community for a long time, and I expect to see an annual tournament on Judas23_, the map he vowed never to lose on again after Quakecon 2013.

I will miss playing with him, one of the few Doomers I would have liked to meet IRL, and condolences to his family. Rest in peace, DS.

[Benjogami]

I didn't know him very well. We rubbed elbows in some Twitch chats but I'm not sure if I even talked to him. This has me pretty emotional though. His last tweet really got to me.

 

"Snakes in the grass beneath our feet, rain in the clouds above"

 

Take care of yourselves.

[RjY]

He was always up for a duel, his "duel anyone?" messages in #odamex were a frequent sight and I used to often spectate his matches against whoever answered, on zddl4.wad. Great player too, sadly not being much of a duellist I only played him once, where he wiped the floor of moo2d with my purple-suited corpse, but was never smug about it. He came third in the Quakecon Doom 20th anniversary tournament; his appearance on IDL Radio the week after, talking about the event and its behind-the-scenes, was hilarious. Really sorry to hear this.

[Tristan]

I never knew him, but the name DemonSphere is one I've been aware of for at least the majority of my time in the Doom community (and what a cool username it was, really.)

What I can say though, is that he gave us this, one of my favourite clips of Doom gameplay, and it never fails to make me smile. Condolences to his family and those who knew him.

[dew]

Thanks for the info, Ralph. This was shocking news to me on today's gloomy and sad morning. He always seemed so chill, gentle and pulling his punches when it came to the usual multiplayer bragging and horsing around. This is probably more hard-hitting for you guys who knew him more closely, but he will be missed by all of us. Rest in peace, DS.

[Widow]

Rip, DemonSphere.You will be missed.

[Memfis]

Are his relatives aware that there is a whole community of people who really cared about him? Would it be possible for someone to come to the funeral and maybe give a little speech or just talk to his parents? Perhaps it would soothe their pain just a little bit.

[Ralphis]

I've been in touch with his family, as well as a few others. A lot of us have also started a donation drive to help his family through this time - fortunately we've already raised over $500. More information regarding donations and his family in this post: http://doomleague.org/forums/index.php/topic,915.0.html

[Major Arlene]

Wow. Didn't really know the guy but I did bump into him at Alfonzo's and 40oz's match. He seemed cool. Condolences to his family, may he rest in peace.

[Scotty]

Rest in peace. Although i didn't know him personally, this is tremendously sad to hear.

 

4 hours ago, Ralphis said:

For anyone struggling with depression, know that you are loved - by your family and friends. Please never give up - this is a mistake that you won't have an opportunity to regret. In the United States, there is a free suicide prevention line at 1-800-273-8255. 

 

Quoted for emphasis.

[40oz]

Holy shit, this was really unexpected. He was a regular streamer and I checked in pretty often to watch him play. Very sad news :(

[Zakken]

This is still unbelievable... :( I remember my first times playing CTF with/against him back in 2012. He was already really good at the time, yet he continued to get even better, and quickly became one of the best duelers to ever grace this game, and a top-notch WDL captain to boot. He was also really friendly, passionate and funny to everyone outside of the game; it was a genuine pleasure to have him around, regardless of what we were up to.

 

One of my fondest memories with DS and many others was when we played priv right after the second WDL draft, and then practised a lot throughout the season. Everyone was clearly enjoying the game so much, and I'm sure we were all happy to have him be an invaluable part of this competitive community for many of those years.

Rest in peace, DemonSphere. You're an inspiration to me in and out of the game, and you will be painfully missed. Thanks for all of the games, friend...

 

 

[Alfonzo]

I feel that it must be considered poor form to copy and paste from an earlier status update on such an occasion, but I do not think that I could summarize my thoughts more succinctly...:

 

DS was an inspiration for me when I first started taking an interest in duels a few years ago. He was such a class act, always willing to take the time to play with us less-skilled players and chill over voice chat (never mind that he wiped the floor with us!). A very kind and patient man.

 

Doomworld may not be familiar with what he meant to the competitive scene and the people in it, yet it is not a tragedy that's unfamiliar to us. Doom has a very storied history, now, and the passing of people who mean so much to so many is, regrettably, something we may have to come to terms with as we move forward. May we find solidarity in such times.

 

Thank you, DemonSphere. GGs.

[Vorpal]

I have a hobby of starting to write and then not finishing articles, and was just doing research on one yesterday watching this video:

 

 

I remember thinking, "this guy is everywhere"

[LexiMax]

Found out about this last night.  Hasn't gotten any easier.

 

Rest in peace dude.

[Doomkid]

This is simply tragic.. DS was a quality person. His skills in Doom were out of this world yet he never had an ego about it, always a nice dude. He's badly missed by us all, he will not be forgotten. Rest in Peace, man :(

[MTrop]

This is a tough one. I haven't been really paying attention to the multiplayer scene but I'd run into him and talk about it a bunch at Quakecon. One of the nicest people I ever met. Damn good source of old-school DM knowledge.

 

It's gonna be tough not seeing him next year.

 

That's all, I guess. Hope he's found some kind of peace.

[Koros]

Sad to hear this.      Rest in peace.

[Reisal]

Never heard of him in 22 years of Dooming, but this is always bad to hear things like this.

[MFG38]

Never heard the name, but it's a shame to lose a fellow member of the community either way.

 

May he rest in peace.

[Fluffles]

RIP, one of the greatest duelers and a great character. You will be missed ds

[Pirx]

Feels weird to like a post announcing someone's passing.  I remembered the name from some youtube videos of dm games I watched.  Rest in peace fellow doomer. My condolences to his family and friends.

[Pure Hellspawn]

31 minutes ago, Pirx said:

Feels weird to like a post announcing someone's passing.  I remembered the name from some youtube videos of dm games I watched.  Rest in peace fellow doomer. My condolences to his family and friends.

 Was going to like the post too but I don't think I "like" hearing that a fellow Doomer has passed. Not something to like.

 

This is a huge tragedy and I think there should be more awareness about depression in general. Frequently the deadliest illnesses are the ones that are invisible and you can't tell someone's depressed just by looking at them.

[Memfis]

Well, in this case "like" means: thanks for informing us \ I agree with everything you said. No need to take it so literally.

[R1ck]

hats off for the best Sigma male in the community. I don't know (nor care tbh) about him, but respecting the dead is courtesy. RIP man.

[obake]

Condolences go to him and his family. Rest in peace, Demonsphere. You are missed.

[RottKing]

Definitely a person who won't be forgotten, a real cool dude and a great player. Pretty awful he's no longer with us.

[Mechadon]

Very sad news :(.  Condolences to his family and friends.