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This afternoon I learned that Gunstar Green, a long time member of this community and a good friend to many of us here over the years, passed away earlier today following a long-term fight with a condition that he knew would likely one day take him young. He was 36.

This is a sad day here at Racketboy for many reasons - Gunstar (Aaron) was a fixture here who offered us his wisdom, his kindness, and his sense of humor over more than a decade. He will be especially missed by those of us who got to know him well over Slack chats, private messaging, and meetups over the years. Since he lived within 30 minutes of me, I had several opportunities to hang out with him and do stuff like go driving around to hunt for retro games across local thrift stores - times I will now remember with both fondness and sadness.

In the thread below, please share your recollections of Gunstar Green -- I am hoping to share them with his family in the near future. Nothing can replace the loss of a son, a partner, or a friend - but perhaps we can try to let the rest of his loved ones know just what an enormous impact he made on this little community of retro gamers over the years. He will be missed.

Thank you so much for putting this thread together, dsh. I'll do my best to contribute what I can once I can pull myself together enough to do so.

It's been nearly 12 hours since I found out about it and it's still so hard to do anything but cry ;w;

I never had direct contact with him, however he actively contributed to the community in a positive way.

Sorry to any and all who feel the loss.

I'm just in shock. I knew he was sick, but I hadn't realized it was a terminal illness. He was always my go-to to talk about shmups, and his recommendations played a big part in forming my preferences in the genre. I loved chatting politics with him in Slack. He was such a staple of Racketboy, and the fact that he's gone just doesn't feel real.

I have thoughts, but organizing them is tough. It's hard to talk about someone who was such a constant presence yet always at a certain distance (as online things often are). And yet, we definitely got insights as to who he was as a person. He wasn't just a name on a screen. I'll have more to say later, I think.

Very sad news indeed. He was my battletech buddy on slack. We had many a talk about mechs and the Battletech PC game. He will be missed.

emwearz wrote:I never had direct contact with him, however he actively contributed to the community in a positive way.

Sorry to any and all who feel the loss.

My words exactly.

Rest in Peace.

It is always terrible when we lose one of our own. I did not know him well but I sincerely hope he was well enough to enjoy Elden Ring. I know he was a big fan of FromSoftware and Souls games.

Gunstar was the guy on Slack that everyone knew and everyone liked. He had his passions and encouraged yours.

MrPopo wrote:Gunstar was the guy on Slack that everyone knew and everyone liked. He had his passions and encouraged yours.

"The guy everyone knew and everyone liked" might be the most succinct but also most apt eulogy one could give him.