Hugh Hancock, the developer of popular VR RPG Left-Hand Path, suddenly passed away this week.
Hancock’s death was reported by his friends online, confirming that he suffered a sudden heart attack. He was in his early 40s.
Though his most recent work was within VR, Hancock is best known for founding Machinima, a gaming media outlet that currently stands as one of the biggest gaming-focused networks on YouTube. He created animations for the company under his own studio name, Strange Company, including films like Bloodspell. In 2016, the company was sold to Warner Bros. Digital Networks. Left-Hand Path, which Hancock had been working on for over a year, was the first and only VR project created under that label. He had, however, been experimenting with VR for years, having developed a project for the 2013 Rift Jam.
Left-Hand Path is a Dark Souls-inspired RPG that released in November 2017. Players cast spells to fight back vicious monsters across a full campaign. On Steam, it held a very positive average rating from over 100 reviews.
Tributes to Hancock have been coming in over the past few days.
So sad to hear about the passing away of my friend @hughhancock – a genuinely lovely guy, passionately creative and worthy of remembrance. I consider him the pioneer of ‘Machinima’ (I remember the discussions over why it wasn’t ‘Machinema’). Rest In Peace.
— James Hamer-Morton (@Volvi) February 7, 2018
Have just learned that Hugh Hancock, creator of the VR game Left Hand Path and one of the founders of https://t.co/kQkgSukPRz, has passed away unexpectedly. He was a fierce talent and a Iovely man, and I’m deeply shocked by his passing.
— Rick Lane (@Rick_Lane) February 7, 2018
So sad to hear that filmmaker/game designer/entrepreneur Hugh Hancock, who created the word ‘Machinima’, died suddenly.
I worked with him on BloodSpell over a decade ago. He was one of the most passionately creative people I’ve ever known and he was a really really nice guy.
— Murray Robertson (@MuzzaRobbo) February 7, 2018
