• Light/Dark
  • Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
  • We have made minor adjustments to how the search bar works on ResetEra. You can read about the changes here.

Mike "IdolNinja" Watson, the creator of Saints Row 2 bugfix mod "Gentlemen of the Row", has passed away.

B.C.

B.C.

Prophet of Regret
Banned
Sep 28, 2018
1,240
Man! We just never know. Condolences to him and his family
 
Tagyhag

Tagyhag

Member
Oct 27, 2017
12,507
We knew it was coming but it still is shit.

Dude was awesome, very passionate and was incredibly nice/receptive to suggestions and feedback.
 

TronLight

Member
Jun 17, 2018
2,457
Damn. I remember playing Saints Row 2 fully in co-op with a friend on PC thanks to his mod. Hours of fun because of him. Just damn.
 
kurahador

kurahador

Member
Oct 28, 2017
17,565
Damn, RIP. Sad he never get to complete his SR2 patch. Hope someone continue on his legacy.
 
SlickVic

SlickVic

Member
Oct 27, 2017
4,962
USA
Really sad to hear the terrible news. I followed his website a lot for the Saints Row 3 modding scene. Definitely will be missed. His work on SR modding is greatly appreciated and much respect to the work he was putting into the SR2 patch.
 

donhonk

Member
Oct 30, 2017
482
I have mike to thank for my career in games. This hurts. I tried to let him know last year just how much it meant.
 
piratepwnsninja

piratepwnsninja

Lead Game Designer
Verified
Oct 25, 2017
3,811
Copy/pasting from my Facebook post, because I really said what I wanted to say there...

One of my Volition besties, Mike Watson, passed this morning after battling cancer for well over a year. He'd known for some time that it was a battle he was ultimately going to lose, so many of us did as well. That doesn't make you ready for it.

Mike was one of the best of us, and the world is no doubt darker without him in it. We shared so many interests in common, and our small group chat where we'd geek out about horror movies, especially after I moved and still haven't found a dedicated horror crew, were highlights on the days new messages appeared, because it was guaranteed to be Mike telling us about some new, obscure horror film that we all needed to watch. His passion was palpable and infectious for everything he loved. From comics to movies to games to Saints Row... and for as much as he loved them, it was always clear that more than anything, he loved his friends even more.

We did a Christmas movie marathon years ago, 2017, where we watched the insanity that was Kirk Cameron's Saving Christmas, the Star Wars Christmas Special, and a few other very random Christmas movies. When I got there, we'd not talked about exchanging gifts or anything like that at all. It was a movie night, at Christmas time. But damnit, Mike, you had a present for me. I was surprised, but I shouldn't have been, because that's who you were. And it's one of my favorite geeky shirts ever, and I'll keep it forever. Yes, I'll say it again, I love it. He actually asked me if I liked it after I opened it and had a slight concern that I might not for some reason.

I'll wear it tomorrow.

Love you, Mike, wherever you are.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

TheChrisGlass said:
The original source tweet was deleted, though.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Deleted source tweet or not, this is true.
 
Cheesetriangles

Cheesetriangles

Member
Dec 5, 2017
1,435
RIP Idolninja. Hope your work lives on and Volition can push it the final mile. They had this in the trailer today.

wUbddzq.jpg
 
Foffy

Foffy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
16,389
I imagine those in the community like Silent might continue it further. Still, tragic to hear this.

RIP. :(
 

Deleted member 44122

Guest
according to people from the sr2 steam forum the tweet was deleted because of
Tasteless jokes about the franchise dying with him and comments about the trailer from what I saw.

Considering the guy is PR at Volition he probably was getting other abuse his way. His account is now protected.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
 

Deleted member 17184

User-requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
5,240
That sucks. I hope there's a lot of references to him in the reboot. I didn't know about him that much, but if there's someone passionate about a franchise, that's Idolninja.
 
Kemal86

Kemal86

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,414
I worked at Volition on SR2 in 2007/8 and this is just incredibly sad. He cared more for Saints Row than just about anyone else on the planet, his passion, dedication, and talent were obvious to all.
 
FakePlasticTree

FakePlasticTree

Member
Jul 24, 2018
10,255
I love Saints Row 2, and I loved his mod and everything he did with it. RIP and condolences to his family and friends.
 
Mario_Bones

Mario_Bones

Member
Oct 31, 2017
3,521
Australia
Rest in peace Mike. I had no idea what he was going through til today, that's so sad. He always seemed like such a nice guy and was an integral part of the Saints Row community. He will be sorely missed.
 
dreamfall

dreamfall

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,971
Damn, rest in peace Legend. He was such an amazing presence in the Saints community, he will be sorely missed.
 
TerremotoDePorta

TerremotoDePorta

Member
Nov 21, 2017
764
I hope he at least managed to see the announcement reveal go live yesterday.

R.I.P. you hot-dog costumed, cone-hat-wearing, groin-kicking beautiful bastard. He will be, forever and ever, a true Gentleman of the Row.
 
sredgrin

sredgrin

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
12,276
Knew him a bit from Penny Arcade forum days, dude was always gracious and his enthusiasm was infectious.
 
styl_oh

styl_oh

Fallen One-Winged Chicken Chaser
Member
Nov 24, 2019
2,208
Alberta, Canada
That was one impressive mod. I remember getting some info about it from him on Twitter. I had no idea he actually worked at Volition, to be honest.

Rest in peace
 
chrominance

chrominance

Sky Van Gogh
Member
Oct 25, 2017
13,641
RIP IdolNinja. I actually also didn't know that he worked at Volition, I just assumed the mod was the work of a very dedicated fan.
 
Delusibeta

Delusibeta

Prophet of Truth
Banned
Oct 26, 2017
5,648
Volition has issued a statement.



It is with great sadness that we confirm the passing of our friend Mike "IdolNinja" Watson.

Mike joined Volition as a Saints Row fan. He left us as a Community Manager and a Developer woven indelibly into the heart of our studio.

He was a warm, thoughtful and genuine person that uplifted and guided his friends and colleagues.

Writing to the Steam Community when announcing his illness, Mike said: "Anyone that knows me, understands that I have the deepest love for both the people at Volition and our community.

I hope I was able to shine a light on how we make games and who we are as both developers and people, and maybe make everyone's day just a little bit brighter in some small way." Mike, Volition loves you too, our hearts are broken and we will miss you every day.

Our thoughts go out to his family and we ask everyone to respect their privacy at this difficult time.
RIP. Fuck cancer.
 

Deleted member 17184

User-requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
5,240
Delusibeta said:
Volition has issued a statement.



It is with great sadness that we confirm the passing of our friend Mike "IdolNinja" Watson.

Mike joined Volition as a Saints Row fan. He left us as a Community Manager and a Developer woven indelibly into the heart of our studio.

He was a warm, thoughtful and genuine person that uplifted and guided his friends and colleagues.

Writing to the Steam Community when announcing his illness, Mike said: "Anyone that knows me, understands that I have the deepest love for both the people at Volition and our community.

I hope I was able to shine a light on how we make games and who we are as both developers and people, and maybe make everyone's day just a little bit brighter in some small way." Mike, Volition loves you too, our hearts are broken and we will miss you every day.

Our thoughts go out to his family and we ask everyone to respect their privacy at this difficult time.
RIP. Fuck cancer.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

This is incredibly sad. At the very least, I'm glad he was happy with how the reboot was going and that his patch was also in development. I hope Volition mentions him all over the next Saints Row.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.