This Man Changed How I Think... TWICE - Lost In The Shuffle
Transcript
Each and every one of us, we all have a friend that we have known for so long that we can't even remember how we met them anymore. And also, there's other people whose lives we just happen to intersect with for for just a while. But even so, sometimes those people that we know just briefly can still leave the longest lasting impressions on us. And that is definitely the case with Mr. Eirik Myhrvold, who has joined me for quite a few videos and who, during just a few short years together, taught me two fundamental truths, which are going to forever change how I live my life.
Now, Eirik and I met each other while he was working at our friendly local game store. And the very first thing that struck me about this person was the same thing that strikes many of the people the first time they meet Eirik, his amazing voice.
I'd be very curious actually to see how it plays out in a multiplayer game in adjusting that long tail of the standard risk game cuz that would change the dynamics that I can't even extrapolate what that would look like.
Oh my goodness, I could listen to that man use his warm, velvety vocal tones to tell me about any topic in the world, which was a double win, actually, because his fine voice was accompanied by a very brilliant mind. So, the things that he was telling you about were always worth being enthralled by. Eirik and I immediately hit it off, which is no surprise, actually, because that's what happened with most people that he met. Now, Eirik was working in that game store partly because he loved people, but also because he loved games. In fact, he even had several different designs in various stages of development. So, our overlapping interests in the hobby, combined with our growing friendship, of course, led to the inevitable discussion that "Man, we should totally do something together someday, you know?
Work on a project, you know, record a video, something, someday, some day. We should do that. We should get around to doing those things together someday." And so, we planned to. [clears throat] And eventually, during just another someday, Iric began experiencing a health issue, which was soon discovered to be glioblastoma, which is an incurable form of brain cancer. And so, in just one day, in just one single day, his entire world changed, and it happened through no fault of his own. But instead of retreating into bitterness about that, Iric demonstrated the first of the life-changing lessons that I would learn from him.
While he was still dealing with his diagnosis, he told me, "Look, don't have a list of things to do. Have a list of things I will have done, cuz a to-do list fills itself with desires that we're going to accomplish at some point off in the future, someday. Because with a to-do list, you can do absolutely nothing, and those items will still be things to do on your list. But a list of things I will have done moves those goals from some ambiguous future date to things that you're going to need to take action on now in order to transform them into actual things that you have done.
And he put that advice directly into practice himself. For example, during that same time period, he developed and self-published not one, but two different board games. A dice-driven set collection game called Rocket Roll, where spacefaring dwarves mine crystals from deep space asteroids, and also a card-based drafting game called Pageantry, where the amassed armies of six fantastical kingdoms converge to conduct a parade. As you do. Now, I believe that both of these games were made in response to a game design contest, where participants were given a very specific set of components to work with, and then told, "All right, go make a game using just these things."
And you know what? He did. And he did all of it. He created the rules, he conducted playtesting, he incorporated the feedback he received, he designed everything, and he taught himself the software that he would need to use in order to create the files to send to the printer. Those are all things that he has now done. Multiple times. And he did it after undergoing brain surgery in late 2024 to extract the unwelcome growth that threatened him. And thankfully, that surgery successfully removed the majority of the cancer cells, and he rebounded with resiliency from it and the chemotherapy that followed. And none of that none of that any of that was able to prevent him from then still being ready and willing to film something together, to move that idea from something that he and I would do someday to something that, darn it, we're going to have had done this right now.
And so, So the Lost in the Shuffle show began last February, Iric joined me for many the episodes that we did throughout the year. And as [clears throat and snorts] with everything that he did, he also brought his insightful and empathetic, intelligent, and charismatic point of view with him along to it. Now, I've previously mentioned that Iric just may be the most zen person that I have ever met, and he really provided the soul to our collaborations, which was certainly to be expected because he generously shared those same insights and intelligence and spirit with countless others. He worked with a non-profit health and crisis support center in our town, and he hosted a regular game design workshop for aspiring developers. And he continued being that person for as long as he could, even after his symptoms returned last November.
From day one, a thing that he was well aware of is that glioblastoma is a very aggressive cancer. And the remnants of it that remained after his surgery were not going to stop spreading. Uh and he did bravely undergo a second brain surgery to remove as much of the new growth as possible, and that did grant him some additional time. But another thing that he was also well aware of is that everything that he could do, and everything that he did do, was simply just going to delay the inevitable. The last time that I was able to visit Iric, uh he said that he had something to give me. And then, uh he went and he presented me with the copy of his Star Wars Escape from Death Star game with its now infamous fragile and very finicky spinner, which had joined us in many of the videos that he and I recorded together. I don't know how he knew.
I don't know how he knew the perfect gift that he could give me to forever remember him by. And I can tell you it will. Iric passed away in March. And during that final visit that he and I were able to have together, he shared with me the other thing which I will never forget. He said that people die twice. First, when their physical body perishes, but even that that that doesn't take them away from us. Those people still remain in the hearts of those that they've left behind. A person's second death happens the very last time that their name is ever spoken.
That's when they're truly gone. Which is why this video was made for him. Because every time someone watches this and they hear the name Iric Myers, it means that he will live on. Just not much longer. Iric is survived by his lovely wife, hundreds of friends and family members that he uplifted, a community that he inspired, and countless players that have enjoyed his games. And all of these people, just like me, miss him very much.