Games

I have a screenshot from a time in an MMORPG where a member died before they could do a global event quest they'd always wanted to do. There was a player-driven server-wide memorial event where her character was run through the quest by friends so that her name could be honored by a global broadcast message.

The game and the servers are now gone, but that screenshot of everyone holding torches for her character on that day still means a lot to me 20 years on.

So yeah, I think a steam account can fit that billing as a memorial.

This is a really interesting question. In my opinion, absolutely yes. It's a piece of someone's hobby, a passion large or small. A time capsule of things that made someone happy.

Beyond that, in cases like the authors friends love of Sea of Thieves, it can show a bit of the community they sought, the people they interacted with. A small tendril of ourselves, reaching out and entwining with others.

And, for those who maybe only knew the person online, never had the chance or want for an in-person meetup, it's a place to mourn. A digital marker of a life once lived, a finished book of memories. The games themselves may come and go, but the traces they left will be there, captured in achievements and screenshots, to be shared as long as a copy exists.

accounts are "non-transferrable," but how would they actually know if you handed over your login info to someone

Holy shit that referenced poem hits fucking hard.

Not as long as a Steam account can't be part of an inheritance. At least not legally so. At best, it just becomes a historical note.

Interesting article