Cosplay is a popular activity celebrated in the gaming and fandom communities, in which fans dress up as characters from games and shows they enjoy. Cosplay has the potential to reach across mediums and interests, with one classic example coming from Jarod Nandin, a World of Warcraft cosplayer.
While plenty of World of Warcraft cosplayers have made a name for themselves with intricate costumes and innumerous hours of work, the cosplay Nandin created took the internet by storm, even outside of the World of Warcraft gaming community. With the reach that Nandin’s cosplay creation had, multiple communities were shocked by the news that he had passed away.
Jarod Nandin, best known on the web for bringing the ‘South Park Guy‘ to life from South Park‘s ‘Make Love Not Warcraft’ episode has regrettably passed away from COVID-19. Nandin reported contracting the illness on December 18 via social media, but remained upbeat and positive up until December 28, when he made his final post to his social media accounts. While the exact date of his passing hasn’t been shared, the World of Warcraft community learned of his passing shortly after, on January 3.
Though Nandin’s cosplay didn’t come strictly from World of Warcraft, the South Park episode ‘Make Love Not Warcraft‘ was highly celebrated at the time, both in and outside the World of Warcraft community. In the midst of Blizzcon 2013’s cosplay contest, Nandin made his way on-stage, complete with computer setup, and perfectly recreated the image of the South Park kids’ antagonist, ‘That Which Has No Life,’ from the episode.
While his cosplay may have propelled him to fame, Nandin was evidently popular in the community for other reasons, as well. Friends and fans flocked to social media to share their condolences and favorite memories of the man. Nandin was reportedly a good gamer, as well as a good friend, with one person even sharing that he had helped them to escape an abusive relationship.
While the video game industry itself has taken careful measures to help limit the spread of the coronavirus, it has still had an impact on gaming and gamers themselves, directly. While staying indoors and playing games has even been advised by the World Health Organization to help avoid the disease, it has nonetheless hit many player communities hard, including that of Cyberpunk 2077, which lost an eager fan to COVID-19 shortly before the title’s long-delayed release.
The World of Warcraft and wider cosplay community have lost a legend, but they can perhaps take some small comfort in knowing that he will be remembered for years to come.
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