The boy had been everywhere and done everything.
He spent a lot of his free time searching for a hidden vault on the planet Pandora. When he wasn't doing that, he would turn his attention to other adventures.
Several times, he destroyed a walking tank that could launch nuclear weapons to any place in the world. He also helped a Spartan soldier claim revenge for his family's death.
He journeyed alongside a legendary treasure hunter. They found a lot of mythical relics together, including the fabled Shangri-La.
Michael Mamaril did it all with his hands on a controller.
Triangle, cross, square, circle, he pressed with his right thumb, while his left hovered over the left analog stick. His fingers stayed on standby over the L1, L2, R1 and R2 buttons.
While on Pandora, he eliminated a lot of monsters and fellow vault hunters. He used a variety of weapons and whatever he could gather, just to survive.
Michael John Mamaril died on October 18, 2011. He was 22 years old.
Mamaril was a big fan of the Borderlands video game, and was looking forward to the sequel. He died of cancer before he had the chance to play it.
One of the characters of Borderlands, a robot named CL4P-TP, a.k.a. Claptrap, gave a eulogy for Mamaril on behalf of Pandora's inhabitants and the employees of Gearbox Software. The company immortalized Mamaril as a non-playable character in Borderlands 2.
In a dimly lit pub, people crowd around tables, talking to each other about their friend. A bald man with a barcode tattooed on the back of his head, a man with a flaming head and a clown mask, a woman with long, pink hair, a cat-like creature with a robot on his back, several men in space suits, a man in a white hood, a ghostly little girl with glowing yellow eyes.
Standing against the bar, face caked in sweat and grime, treasure hunter Nathan Drake relates his adventure with Mamaril.
"I'm flying over the middle of the Rub' al Khali Desert, looking for some lost city in the sand," said Drake. "Next thing I know, the plane's going down. I'm hanging like a rag doll at 30,000 feet – just trying to hold on."
Mamaril saved Drake's life. As the plane went down, he helped Drake find an unused parachute, which the two used to escape the plane unharmed. Mamaril also furnished him with a weapon to defend himself before they continued through the desert, searching for the Iram of Pillars.
Further down the bar is bike courier Cole MacGrath, who saved the world with Mamaril's help.
"When half the city hated me, and the other half wanted me dead, he brought out my good side," said MacGrath.
MacGrath smiles and holds out his arms, creating a current of blue electricity between his hands.
Veteran government operative Solid Snake stands from his chair, situated against a wall in the corner. He is in full combat gear, and rasps out his memories of Michael.
"I'm telling you, war has changed," said Snake. "So you do what you have to. I'm no hero. But whatever good I've done – it was him."
Together, Mamaril and Snake stopped several nuclear disasters. Snake and Mamaril are both survivors of three infamous crises: the Shadow Moses Incident, the Big Shell Incident and Liquid Ocelot's Insurrection. The first one happened on Shadow Moses Island in Alaska's Fox Archipelago, while the second occurred off the island of Manhattan and the third took Mamaril and Snake all around the world.
Standing up for all to see are the Ghost of Sparta, Kratos, and Athena, the Goddess of Wisdom herself. Kratos stands silent as Athena praises Michael.
"It was in the days of suffering, when the gods made their might known," said Athena. "When no mortal dared stand up to Zeus, he did."
At a table at the center of the pub, a young soldier struggles to say his piece about Michael. He remembers the time he and Michael stormed the beaches of Normandy.
"Omaha," he says. "I'm pinned down on that godforsaken beach, thinking if I lay there, I'll maybe die. But if I get up, there ain't no 'maybe' about it. Then one man broke through: Michael."
In honor of their fallen friend, the pub patrons raise their glasses in toast to the man at the controller, Michael Mamaril, who helped them all through their ordeals.
Over and over again, they chant two words:
"To Michael!"
Interviews, courtesy of:
Kratos (God of War)
Athena (God of War)
Cole MacGrath (Infamous)
Solid Snake (Metal Gear Solid)
Nathan Drake (Uncharted)
CL4P-TP "Claptrap" (Borderlands)
Anonymous source (Call of Duty)