Friend: Livestreaming gamer 'in rough shape' before death

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press


Ben Finley and Sarah Brumfield, Associated Press Updated 1:11 am, Saturday, February 25, 2017



VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) — A Virginia man who died at home while playing a 24-hour video game marathon was part of an online livestreaming community where members sometimes go to extremes to build their audiences, experts say.

Brian Vigneault, 35, had spent about 22 hours playing the online wargame "World of Tanks" on the streaming platform Twitch.tv. He told followers watching him play the game that he was raising money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

But early Sunday, he stood up from his computer to take a smoke break. The father of three who played under the name PoShYbRiD never appeared on screen again.

"He was in rough shape," said Jessica Gebauer, 29, a friend of Vigneault's and fellow streamer who lives in Humboldt in Canada's Saskatchewan province.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Friend-Livestreaming-gamer-in-rough-shape-10958729.php

[HoneyBadger]

1. RIP

[Midnight Writer]

2. Is this cautionary tale about:

a) The dangerous addictive nature of video games?

b) The health risks of smoking?

c) The perils of a sedentary life style?

[JNelson6563]

3. I think A is only true for those with the tendency.

With that in mind I would answer "all of the above" to your listed options.

[cstanleytech]

6. Option d) doing stupid shit.

Sorry to be blunt that is just my opinion and this guy is not the first person I have read about over the years to do stupid shit and die because of it be it playing video games for days on end or be it messing around with sting rays and getting killed.

[Midnight Writer]

7. Yes. I guess I should have included d) Poor life choices

[snort]

9. Krikey

[Chemisse]

24. I file it under 'sometimes shit happens.'

I doubt it is a direct result of any one thing.

[chillfactor]

4. what a shame....

addiction to a video game even for a good cause.....too young to die for not taking care of himself. I am retired and on my laptop a great deal.....but I know when it is time to eat, sleep, and take care of myself. Video game addiction has been the cause of death for other people and ended in this young man's death. A death that could have been prevented. I say again.....what a shame.

[retrowire]

5. To everyone citing video game addiction...

This guy might have just been doing this as a personal challenge of endurance. Not everyone who marathons videogames is an addict. Ever heard of Extra Life? http://www.extra-life.org/

Soooo, just saying the video game addiction assumptions are mildly offensive.

Sincerely, a gamer.

[Crash2Parties]

11. So maybe personal challenges of endurance are the evil addiction?

[Docreed2003]

13. Thanks...

I'm a grown ass man that likes to blow off steam at night after the family is in bed by playing video games. I run with a group of friends from across the US that are all professionals and dads. Some of the assumptions, as you say, are mildly offensive, at best!

[Hyper_Eye]

21. I fit that description.

I work hard. I spend time with my wife and kids. I do my part around the house. I keep my yard up. Then I take some time for myself and relax. My preferred ways of doing that are to play instruments and video games. Do you.

[LanternWaste]

29. "Stop looking at my sacred cow!"

"Stop looking at my sacred cow!"

(and more accurately, 'presumptions' rather than 'assumptions')

[retrowire]

30. Nope I meant assumption.

http://blog.dictionary.com/presume-vs-assume/

"Both of these terms mean “to take for granted” or “suppose,” but presume conveys a little more confidence based on probability, reasonable grounds, or evidence. Assume is to take for granted without proof. In other words, something you presume is more likely to be true than something you assume."

There's no proof the man was an addict therefore, these are all assumptions.

Don't mock me.

[haele]

8. There could have been physical issues.

Hypertension, bad heart, deep vein thrombosis, or even just the flu.
That he pushed himself, even just staying up playing a marathon run of a video game, could just be a contributing factor when something else is wrong...

He'll, I've worked pretty much straight through with only occasional bathroom breaks and vending machine visits for up to 48 hours several times before - and one time I was up 60 hours to fix the equipment in my system before a scheduled live fire because a WWII era power transformer let out a massive power surge and blew out a quarter of our CIC. Those types of emergencies happen, and most people can handle them - so long as their bodies can hold out. The important thing to remember when you're up that long is to have someone checking in on you occasionally during the time you're up and getting you to eat and drink -or to stop and get some rest of you're starting to physically fail.

35 is not too old to be up and concentrating for almost 24 hours.

So sorry for his family.

Haele

[Ligyron]

25. Deep vein thromb ... what-ya-mah-call-it?

[Proud Liberal Dem]

27. AKA Blood clots

A potential result of sitting for long periods of time

[radical noodle]

28. That was the first thing that I thought of

It's very possible even in a man that age.

[TexasBushwhacker]

31. They said he was taking breaks to stand and walk around

to avoid DVTs.

[SunSeeker]

10. How can a father of three be so irresponsible to his own children?

Once you are a father, your children become your priority, not your dumbass hobbies. I feel sorry for his kids and wife, although it appears he left them some time ago.

[Docreed2003]

14. That's a little harsh...

The article says he took time out to take one of the kids to soccer practice. I'm not saying that pushing his physical endurance in this way was smart, but to suggest he was somehow a bad parent or husband because of gaming is insulting. I consider myself a gamer, I grew up in the era of gaming and it's always been a way to blow off steam. I only play games after the kids and my wife are in bed, I'm a night owl and it doesn't affect my world in any negative way. Not all who game are addicts.

[SunSeeker]

15. Leaving his three kids was harsh.

Taking one of the three to a soccer practice hardly makes up for it.

It is not a way to blow off steam. It is really just an escape from life. I get that it is a fun escape, but if you are foregoing sleep to play video games while your wife and kids are asleep, you are hurting your health.

[Docreed2003]

16. Wow....

Where did I say I'm forgoing sleep? I'm a night owl, my kids are in bed by 8:30 most nights and my wife usually goes to bed at 9. I'm not "escaping life" even if you can't see that. I wake up and I go to work and provide for my family and every bit of my free time outside of work is spend with my kids and family. A few nights a week I play video games, but in no way does that impact my life in any adverse way. But thank's for making assumptions and generalizations about me!

[SunSeeker]

17. When do you sleep?

If you work during the day and hang out with your wife and kids in the evening until they're asleep, then when do you sleep? If you really only play "a few" nights a week, that's still three nights a week when you are foregoing sleep to play video games. That is not good for your health, so it is impacting you negatively. I am not making assumptions, I am going by what is stated in your post. I don't know you nor do I have any way of knowing what you say is true, so don't take it personally. I am just commenting on the facts stated in an anonymous post on a discussion board.

[StrictlyRockers]

20. You're still making a bunch of assumptions in the post.

Zillions of people play computer games as a hobby and do it in a healthy way. I have an addictive personality, so I tend to obsess on things a bit. That's my nature. I'm the guy who you should give a hard time for gaming too much in the past. I used it for escapism and to avoid facing problems. This dude seems like he's got a normal hobby that he doesn't spend inordinate amounts of time on. I don't know why you have so many question for him.

I will admit that marathon gaming and gaming culture seem a bit weird to most normal people.

[wolfie001]

23. There are anit-whatever Crusaders everywhere

Judging and hand wringing 24/7.

[littlemissmartypants]

12. Previously unknown underlying medical condition?

Kicking for the fund raising efforts for his children, linked in the article. Very sad.

[StrictlyRockers]

18. I feel like I should chime in and comment since I am an avid gamer and Twitch streamer

I kind of agree with all sides in this thread. I can't defend 24-hour streams in good conscience, because I know they aren't good for your health. In the past, I have been known to sit at a keyboard for tens of hours without a break playing Civilization or other games. It's really not healthy. I think gaming is a wonderful hobby. It can be addicting and it is very fun. I think moderation is a good watchword.

You can overdo anything. My friend got totally addicted to endurance running to the point that it was a dangerous obsession and impacted his health very adversely. I expect we will see more of these deaths from gaming addiction simply because computer gaming is becoming increasingly popular. This is a cautionary tale, sure to give some pause. But I know how strong the pull can be. I'm proud to have taken the past four days off from gaming. I'm trying to go at least a few months so I can get some more things done. And, I don't want to die.

[MADem]

19. I've been awake and working for more than 24 hrs as a consequence of military duties.

More than once, too. Enough to be called fairly often, in fact.

It sucks, it's exhausting, it wears you out--but being awake and focused on a task for that amount of time isn't a death sentence in and of itself.

[Tobin S.]

22. I would guess that he had other health issues.

You can't really tell for sure by reading the article. Being a smoker is a clue, though. I have a friend who was in good shape by outward appearances and had a heart attack when he was 38. He is a runner and recently ran a marathon. The doctor told him it's just in his genes for him to develop a lot of plaque in his veins.

A local man where I live recently died of a heart attack at 37. It turns out he was an alcoholic.

[MADem]

32. I think you might have a point, there.

Or it could have been just a congenital defect.

When I was in military training a guy in the class behind me dropped dead running--he was skinny and fit and could run like the wind. When I was on ACDU a guy in his early thirties had a massive coronary and was lucky to live through it--he was under massive stress which did contribute to it.

It really is a crap shoot, especially when family history or other issues come into play....

[woundedkarma]

26. Don't pick on him, don't judge and don't read into it

My brother went into cardiac arrest at the age of 20. We both lived at my parents house at the time. He didn't smoke, he didn't drink, he didn't do drugs. He wasn't anorexic but he was thin.

If it could happen to him, it could happen to anyone whether they smoke or not. Whether they play games or not.

People are only paying attention to this because he was playing a video game at the time. This is NOT the story. The story is a father of three died in a terrible tragedy and I am so sorry for his family.