Drakedog's suicide: now on Google Video
You probably didn't know the Warlock Drakedog. You never will, as he was stripped naked and killed by his meatspace doppleganger earlier this year in a fit of nihilistic rage.
In real life, suicide is never the answer. In a virtual world that no longer offers its denizen joy, or is so addictive that it's become slavery, or has actually lost all meaning, suicide may well be the best option.
I watched this video with a mix of horror and envy. Horror as loot that took hundreds of hours to accumulate was destroyed in a few mouseclicks. Envy that only a former MMOG addict can feel as he watches a fellow addict come clean, permanently. The video reminded me of a certain quote from Trainspotting, which I'll paste here, three words strategically replaced:
"The down side of coming off WoW was that I knew I would need to mix with my friends again in a state of full consciousness. It was awful: they reminded me so much of myself I could hardly bear to look at them. Take Drakedog, for instance, he came off WoW at the same time as me, not because he wanted too, you understand, but just to annoy me, just to show me how easily he could do it, thereby downgrading my own struggle."
Drakedog also made a string of less spectacular PVP videos. Here's one. Here's another.
[Thanks, Niles]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Justin @ Mar 9th 2006 2:43AM
Anyone know what song that was?
patrick @ Mar 9th 2006 2:46AM
As I have never played an MMORPG I don't know how the things work but couldn't you just save your player before you do this just in case you have second thoughts and want to go back and play again later. If not isn't there a place online where you can sell your characters for cash he could have made a little money
vc @ Mar 9th 2006 2:46AM
"Plug in Baby," by Muse.
bv @ Mar 9th 2006 3:17AM
Hmmm...Never played World of Warcraft before or any MMO for that matter. I expected something a little more shock worthy, like a giant bahamut zero-esque dragon being summoned to fire a point blank laser beam at his head. Or maybe a mass beating from all of the female dwarves on that server. Anyways, I'm lost but it was cool to ponder on.
chris @ Mar 9th 2006 3:25AM
I've played WoW before... that video was definitely shocking. My heart's pounding.
bv @ Mar 9th 2006 3:43AM
I did a little research and came up with this :
"Drakedog got sick of WoW and decided to delete his character for good.
The caption at the end of the movie translates: "WoW's not fun anymore. tired of 24hour-long honor competitions, sick of endlessly repeating dungeon raids
Seeing my friends leave WoW one by one also was a pain.
Lastly, I'm tired of crying 'EE!!' alone now that my friends left the game
I want some rest."
Admin note:
This movie is the real thing, I have spoken to Drakedog personally. When I asked him; "Why did you delete you character? Why didn't you try to sell it? It could be worth a thousand dollars or more", he replied; "That's not ee style.. I played evil drakedog". True greatness...
Lesson learned: You can't put a price on pride. Rest in peace.." source:
http://www.warcraftmovies.com/movieview.php?id=14524
Apparently he was member of some guild called EE in Korea. They do it evil in the EE...i guess. Pretty interesting nonetheless.
Rare Hare @ Mar 9th 2006 3:43AM
i'm there with you chris.. though i've never played WoW specifically, Diablo II (another blizzard game.. those bastards) offers a similar level of addiction. i've completely stripped down all characters before, and it's hard to actually click that delete button. i actually usually have just let the characters fade away due to inactivity.
what got me in this video was the way his cursor lingered over the delete button for a moment before he did it.
UO Guy @ Mar 9th 2006 3:45AM
Sounds like the people are speaking - fix your game or risk losing more subscribers. Priest patch is nice but cmon Blizzard - battle grounds are a joke, end game content is nearly pointless and the honor system? Hah. Let's hope you can push that expansion out quickly enough to keep the sinking ship afloat.
Swegamer @ Mar 9th 2006 3:50AM
I'm playing WoW and what this guys did is crazy.
He had almost a full set of epic items. That requires a huge amount of time, effort and gold. And then he just goes on to destory them... creepy.
In WoW you can't save. Destory an item and it is gone. Delete a charater and it is gone.
So this was truly a suicide.
Dreadstick @ Mar 9th 2006 4:16AM
Blizzard can be convinced to undelete this character, but I seriously doubt he will ever get his gear back. So for future quitters, destroying your gear is probably essential.
Simon @ Mar 9th 2006 5:02AM
"keep the sinking ship afloat" ... lol ... you are a fool
anyway, as a WoW player I too felt the severity of his action. to those who understand this is as gruesome as a live execution ...
rest in peace
Rag goo @ Mar 9th 2006 5:40AM
He still should've sold it. I mean really what's more important, pride on the internet or $1000?
Lutraphobic @ Mar 9th 2006 6:32AM
Muse makes me explode in my pants.
PiNPOiNT @ Mar 9th 2006 7:53AM
He could have just been on a test server with his character, so deleting it there has no effect.
Patrick C @ Mar 9th 2006 8:09AM
It will be good for this loser to get off the computer and get some sun. Get a life people.
Swegamer @ Mar 9th 2006 8:15AM
Actually what I had done would be simply to sell all the stuff to vendors and then give away all my gold to the first best n00b that asks "Where are the wolves?" in the newbie area.
Ca-tching!
HotShotX @ Mar 9th 2006 8:17AM
Yeah, it was just a game.
Yeah, he was a total nerd.
and Yeah, not many people could give a shit.
but for those that do,
that was f*cking awesome.
To put hundreds of hours into a system where millions of sheep roam, even pay to be there, and then say "f*ck the system", even on the internet, is still cool.
~HotShotX
Rare Hare @ Mar 9th 2006 8:18AM
yet you're spending your time posting on a blog about video games?? riiiiight.
Rare Hare @ Mar 9th 2006 8:21AM
i should clarify... that reply was directed at Patrick C (#15).
ZekeS @ Mar 9th 2006 9:10AM
Wow. Forget leaving a game - I personally have trouble destroying that much time worth of work in anything, and to be doing it to an alter ego ...
I too think the hesitation at the delete button added much effect. It's final - once it's clicked, in WoW or other work, everything you worked for is gone ...
And forget pride on the internet - pride in myself is worth more than $1000 ...
Loban @ Mar 9th 2006 9:21AM
For those of you wondering, no you cannot just save your character in case you change your mind or anything like that. What you do to your character is saved to Blizzard's database essentially in real time and there's no going back.
I suppose if you really wanted to, you could attempt to bribe someone at Blizzard to tap into their database and undelete items or characters, but that would be the only way.
BTW, I played WoW every night for a good 8 months with 4 other friends, I loved every minute of it. Took a hunter to 60. Then all of a sudden it just stopped being fun, so I quit cold turkey. I didn't delete my character or anything, just stopped my subscription. So if I wanted to, I could start up my payment again and play my hunter anytime, but I've never wanted to.
Zeta @ Mar 9th 2006 9:53AM
Yeah, I kinda kno what he meant with wanting to get on with his life. I played Champions Of Norrath (it was made by snowblind) every weekend, the entire weekend, stopping occasionally to eat and sleep, for a good 5-6 months. All this to beat the main quest. Once I beat the main quest, I quit cold turkey. Unfourtunately, the next game in the series came out (Return To Arms) and I beat the thing in a month. Month After That I beat it on the next difficulty. And so on and so on, until I had completely leveled up my main character. Only to realized that the game was challenging anymore. What's the point of getting to the top, discovering your the best(or maybe one of the best) if theres no more fun or challenge left? No thrill at beating the dragon, knowing that going into a dungeon wouldnt mean death, but only more loot. It doesnt matter how much gold you have, but how much entertainment you get out of a game. Thats half the reason I never got into MMORPGs. I new I'd spend hours collecting stuff, and not enjoy a bit of it.
~Z
Harpo @ Mar 9th 2006 10:03AM
I've been playing steady WoW for a year, and it can get to you how much time you have to invest to be a high-end player. I'm in a guild that's just gotten to the point of taking down Nefarian - the very week the new Ahn'Qiraj instances came out. It's like you work hard on your game to trivialize level 60 raid zones to 3 or 4 hour encounters (we race through Molten Core at this point) to get more time back in the long run - only to face a new upward battle. Mind you - it's an extremely fun game, especially if you can find a guild that balances the discipline you need to clear high-end content with remembering that you are there to have a good time. But I'm sure I don't have long before I just want my life back. Drakedog deleting his character wasn't a big deal - Blizz can restore them - but if you destroy your gear, it's gone for good, that won't be restored.
Hats off to Drakedog - he inspired me to roll a warlock, and I've never regretted it.
Ryan Williams @ Mar 9th 2006 11:05AM
I guess I'm lucky in that despite having tried out WoW for several hours, I thought it was shit and never touched it again.
WoW addiction is a terrible thing.
Silver @ Mar 9th 2006 12:02PM
Having recently quit FFXI I know how this feels. Well maybe not so much because I didn't play much. I joined because of a friend, and he recently quit because it had become too time consuming. So we quit together.
We didn't just toss all our stuff, we sold it in-game and gave the gil to a friend of ours.
Those final moments when you're clicking 'delete character,' it's sad stuff.
DCSimian @ Mar 9th 2006 12:09PM
I was a regular on the Gilneas server. Had a good reputation there, etc. Good times, but eventually the game was the same old stuff over and over again. WoW is the only MMO I've actually played, so I don't know if this is the case in others, but it just seems that when you get into high-end content, it becomes an item grind or whatever the substitute may be in other games. You do the same quests over and over again just to get a new set of boots or helm...kinda lame in my opinion.
I ended up leaving my character, but I hope to have made a lasting impression in my deeds, rather than in the stuff I wear. Maybe not...
These types of games have so much potential to have the players generate their own stories and histories, rather than just repeat what's given to you. The ultimate MMO, in my opinion, would be one where the players shape the world, develop its history, create their own legends, etc. Community would have so much more meaning then and players would have the opportunity to actually make an impact.
It seems far off, but man that would be a wicked game. I don't know if there are games like that already...anyone wanna fill me in?
robotplague @ Mar 9th 2006 1:32PM
I was *mildly* addicted to a couple of games in high school. I know WoW would do the same if not worse, thats the reason why I've never played it.
slybri @ Mar 9th 2006 1:40PM
A guy in one of my old guilds was a bit manic and would quit the game regularly. Once, he deleted his character for good, jumping into the Molten Lava pit of IF for dramatic effect. The first time he deleted his character, he called Blizzard and asked if they could restore it. They did! He got his deleted lv45 character back, but without his items.
This Drakedog fellow made some famous PVP videos, and his toon's "suicide" video has become equally as famous. That's more than most players achieve in the WOW. GG Drakedog! Although I would have stuck around to play the expansion.
Cyberclaws @ Mar 9th 2006 1:42PM
"...The ultimate MMO, in my opinion, would be one where the players shape the world, develop its history, create their own legends, etc. Community would have so much more meaning then and players would have the opportunity to actually make an impact.
It seems far off, but man that would be a wicked game. I don't know if there are games like that already...anyone wanna fill me in?"
It's called Real Life, you have it already. All you have to do is turn off your computer or game console and not think about it (computer/game console games)...
JEG @ Mar 9th 2006 2:36PM
Note: Please respect one's right to choose how one's time is spent, whether that be playing games with other gamers on-line, or sitting at the local coffee shop discussing some other trivia. Do what you like and let others do the same. All comments about getting a life and how gamers are "wasting" time are lame! Most people are aware of the various activities how they can spend their free time and choose the one that most interests them. In reality, either activity could appear silly and pointless depending on the likes and interests of the individual. If you like to play games...play games! If you like to read books...read books! Whatever it is...do it and stop trying to label others as different and bad. Now, let's all go sit around the campfire, drink hot cocoa, hold hands and sing songs! :)
dougman @ Mar 9th 2006 3:07PM
"...The ultimate MMO, in my opinion, would be one where the players shape the world, develop its history, create their own legends, etc. Community would have so much more meaning then and players would have the opportunity to actually make an impact. "
If there was an MMO like that with a living world, it would be destroyed in a matter of months, when you finish killing off all wildlife, trees, and all organic lifeforms. Everyone would starve. Then no one would play. Because there are no gamemasters that would generate more stuff because that would be cheating.
Ryan Williams @ Mar 9th 2006 3:07PM
Patrick C is a chav. Ignore him.
Cyberclaws @ Mar 9th 2006 3:10PM
JEG, you're so easy. I didn't even bait my damn hook and you jumped for it. Ha-ha!
I can see where you thought that was an insult, but it wasn't. I was just trying to get him to see that even Real Life can be considered a game and that if you give as much time and effort into it, you could actually make it fun and accomplish things too. So there. =P
Pete @ Mar 9th 2006 3:27PM
Damn, that was something.
Which, honestly, worries me. That I felt such empathy as that cursor hovered over the Delete button...well, it tells me maybe I'm taking WoW a bit too seriously...
JEG @ Mar 9th 2006 4:07PM
Cyberclaws >> I read between the lines. You're response is good but I wasn't referring to your post specifically. Check out post #15. Yep, I'm defensive!
Abhinav Kumar @ Mar 9th 2006 4:19PM
To somone how dosnt play MMORPGS:
What this man just did was like taking you Final Fantasy 7, Super Smash Brothers, Morrowind, deleting them, then wiping your hard drive on your Xbox, PC, smashing your PS2 and gamecube memory card. Yeah.... hundreds of hours down the drain there...
Afro @ Mar 9th 2006 4:41PM
I started playing WoW the first day it came out and then hit 60 and got bored and left for eight months or so and came back recently. I started a few new toons that I play with some friends from time to time and am enjoying it again. The end game stuff of doing the same instance over and over and over again to try to get a purple (epic) item though I don't have any interest in. I hope to have a couple of L60s by the time the expansion comes out to try out the new stuff, I think it will be fun. What he did was extreme, Blizzard will keep your char but if you delete all of your items they are gone for good. I can only imagine how long it must have taken him to get all gear.
syco @ Mar 9th 2006 8:34PM
That's sort of what you do when you're tired of a charector (or the whole game in this case). What is sad is that he didn't vendor all his equipment and give the gold to a friend or something.
It's just a game anyway. Ever WoW charector will eventually be deleted.
Onkel_Hedwig @ Mar 10th 2006 3:45AM
That was an awesome piece of self-control along with self-destruction. I salute him.
kennylibido @ Mar 11th 2006 12:02PM
Suicide
NOUN:
1. The act or an instance of intentionally killing oneself.
2. The destruction or ruin of one's own interests: It is professional suicide to involve oneself in illegal practices.
3. One who commits suicide.
Deletion:
NOUN:
1. The act of deleting; removal by striking out.
2. Material, such as a word or passage, that has been removed from a body of written or printed matter.
3. Genetics The loss, as through mutation, of one or more nucleotides from a chromosome.
What's the tragedy? I suicide games from my computer all the time. Oh, wait. I meant, delete. Big deal.
Gudena @ Mar 12th 2006 10:22PM
This was a great video. Very dramatic. I don't think I'd have the nerve to delete all of my items like that. I used to play Diablo II and I ended up giving all of my awesome armor away (granted, most of it was given to me by a friend who quit so it was pretty easy to do). I couldn't imagine deleting anything off of my Shaman. No way. I played for a straight three months, eating and sleeping whenever I felt I needed it. That stuff is staying on that character until the day I die.
Kudos to you man, suicide on WoW takes some guts.
Shiv @ Mar 28th 2006 10:07PM
For those who never knew who Drakedog is, I'll put some of info on here. So, yeah he was known as one of good warlock players in WoW - which is a game. The class he is playing is a warlock, and he got very famous for it when he came up with his kick-ass-PvP video when all the warlocks thought they are broken underpowered class. According to the biggest wow related movie site called warcraftmovies.com, he is known as one of the best PvPer as well. He even made some fanbois who want Blizzard to make his statue in game. He made 5 pvp videos (plus this last video), and he DID quit after making the fourth, since he got tired. However, like a lot of people do he did came back and played more, and released his 5th. However, on his 5th he lost all his own characteristics. He was a semi-ChaoticEvil RPer on his server (ps: there is no RP server in Korea so people hated him for being rude and being a jackass), and wore items that's stylish and looking cool on him while all others wore and used stuffs that improve their stats. (And this guy still kicked ass more than them and that was another reason he got 'worshiped' by a lot of other pvp hardcores) In his 5th, he wore just like everyone else, played like hundreds of other warlocks. He did aware with that fact that his style was dead, and decided to destroy everything and delete his character to stop him from coming back and play the game, which fades his unique style away.
If there is a cigar in your room when you try stop smoking, it will probably tempt you to smoke another. If you don't even have any money to buy a box of cigar, it will probably help you more to stop smoke. I think it just works like that.