In Memory of Shane "ProgZmax" Stevens

[bicilotti]

I recall the happy, careless times when a group of us chatted on Stickam.
ProgZMax with strong opinions, always willing to debate, always helpful with art tips on colouring and animations.
He even made a portrait of me in C64 colours, it was such a cosy present.

[Creamy]

How sad.
He was too young to go.

His characters had a very appealing and unique style.

[DBoyWheeler]

Maybe for one of the upcoming Background Blitz or Sprite Jam competitions, in memory of ProgZmax, it should be a theme based on one of the things he liked in life.

[Sinitrena]

Rest in Peace, Shane. What sad news. 

[MiteWiseacreLives!]

Shane “ProgZmax” was a pretty neat guy, thanks for helping me get the record straight on his legacy guys. Sad for sure.

[LimpingFish]

What shitty news.

He was 44. I'm 44. Fuck cancer.

I used to talk with Shane on IRC a lot, back in the day, mostly about our mutual interest in horror movies. We also spent a lot of time working (as part of the inaugural AGS Ratings Panel) on the games database, arguing over the preferred system to rate games, and plowing through almost every AGS game in existence in an attempt to pull it all together. And, as others have said, he was an incredibly talented pixel pusher and game developer. I urge everybody to take the time to play at least one of his games.

I know Snarky already posted it above, but it can't hurt to keep reminding people:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/wykstrom-cancer-care-fund

Now more than ever it's important to try to help (if we can) in situations like this, and it was heartening to recognize some names on the list of donors.

Rest in peace, ProgZ.

[Mandle]

It seems he was before my time here at AGS, but I have played some of his games, and I can sense the person and talent he was here through the words of others.

Sad news.

[Eric]

RIP to a supportive person and an incredible artist. Was so sorry to hear this news.

[Retro Wolf]

Don't recall interacting with the guy much but he was clearly a respected and talented individual. RIP

[Hobo]

Very sad to hear. His posts in Critics' Lounge were quite helpful to read when I was starting out with pixel art. Also, simply by looking and studying some of his sprites and animations, I learned some very useful tricks, especially regarding color use and shading. I hope that his art will keep on teaching and inspiring people in the future as well.

[Calin Leafshade]

That's very sad.

While he was sometimes an abrasive personality, he was always passionate and sincere which are rare qualities.
His talent was also undeniable. The world is worse off.

Cancer is a cruel thing.

[BOYD1981]

I hadn't spoken to him in 4 years but I had been thinking about him recently and wanted to get back in touch. This news has hit hard, I used to love speaking with him and getting sneak peaks at the things he was working on. I'll always remember working with him on Limey Lizard and I'll always be immensely grateful to him for the opportunity.
I'm sad I'll never get a chance to speak to him again and hear him fall asleep mid-conversation only to immediately pick up where he left off.
RIP

[Haddas]

Rest in peace. We didn't interact for years but I remember him as an integral part of the community. I spent my teens here and he was always here too

[Ponch]

RIP ProgZ. He and I used to talk politics and stuff. He was very supportive of my early game efforts in his own positive yet somehow grumpy way. He made some great games and the forums weren't quite the same since he wandered off to the non-AGS parts of the web. He'll be missed.

[sergiocornaga]

Bye, Shane. You were one of the greats, and I'll miss you.

[Stee]

I haven't managed to keep in touch with ProgZ (or many of you, apologies), in the last few years, but he was always kind, encouraging and someone whom I admired. His games were my favourite on here, I loved the sneak previews and tech demo's he used to send me, I think I still have one somewhere. I thought about reaching out last year when I stumbled upon his twitter, but figured too much time had passed and he probably wouldn't even remember me. I will always cherish the amazing memories he gave me, be it in pm's or in the stories he told in his games. I might not have known him well, but I will definitely miss him.

RIP ProgZ

[Kastchey]

I hadn't been in touch with ProgZ since he stopped frequenting the forums, but I would think of him once in a while. And all of a sudden, this post.

Goodbye, ProgZ. You were a terrific artist, a good forum buddy and had hell of a good taste in movies. You will be missed...

[edmundito]

 

Super sad news. I lost a family member to cancer as well and I know how tough it is. When I was more regular in the forum, I found ProgZMax to be one of the most inspiring artists and with his work on the Wadjet Eye Games I think of him as one of the contributors to the success of AGS as an indie gamedev tool. RIP.

Back in 2005, I very briefly worked with him for sprites for a game that was never made, I wanted to share his work from back then as a little memory:

[Olleh19]

Spoiler

Super sad news. I lost a family member to cancer as well and I know how tough it is. When I was more regular in the forum, I found ProgZMax to be one of the most inspiring artists and with his work on the Wadjet Eye Games I think of him as one of the contributors to the success of AGS as an indie gamedev tool. RIP.

Back in 2005, I very briefly worked with him for sprites for a game that was never made, I wanted to share his work from back then as a little memory:

[close]

Amazing sprite work! Very inspiring indeed.

[Kweepa]

Damn, that's awful, unexpected news. I always admired his pixel art.