I was sitting in WNEP-TV’s green room Sunday night, flipping through Twitter on my phone as we sat and waited to head into the studio and answer phones for the MDA Telethon. As I skimmed through posts from friends and colleagues, my heart sank the moment I came across the words, “R.I.P. Bill Kunkel. You will be missed.”
I felt like the chair I was sitting on had been kicked out from under me, and I looked around the room, surveying the faces of the other volunteers. I was hoping that somehow, someone in that room would have known who Kunkel was, that I could share the news and talk about the loss. But as far as I could tell, I was the only one.
In silence, I retweeted the message, added a few words of respect and put the news out of my mind. Before long, we were in the studio, taking calls and smiling for the camera. You might even have seen me if you happened to watch the telethon between 9-11 p.m. I was in the front row, wearing a gray shirt.
Bill “The Game Doctor” Kunkel was, to a great extent, the father of games journalism. He began writing about video games in the 1970s with a column in Video magazine before moving on to become one of the founders of Electronic Games magazine in 1981. From his pioneering work in video games journalism to his work in comic books, game design, cartooning and writing about professional wrestling, Kunkel was an acclaimed writer and a well-respected figure in several fields. Having grown up reading countless issues of gaming magazines, it’s quite possible I’ve read a few of his articles, yet never even knew his name.
As much as it pains me to admit this, I didn’t know who Bill Kunkel was prior to August 2009. I was working on a story about VGXPO — a gaming convention that would be celebrating its 5th year in Philadelphia later that year — and began looking into the histories of the people involved with the show. When I came across Kunkel, I was astounded and contacted him for an interview.
As we corresponded via e-mail, I slowly got to know this man, the kind of things he did and the amount of work he was pouring into the convention. Sadly, VGXPO’s 5th year was to be its last. The reasons for its closing are varied and numerous, but it’s not for a lack of trying, if the efforts of Kunkel and other backers had anything to say about it.
In the years since, Kunkel remained a very busy man. Aside from his continued writing efforts, most recently, he was director of interactive development for Platinum Studios which, together with DreamWorks, brought the movie “Cowboys & Aliens” to theaters.
I’ve had the fortune of meeting many of the media personalities I consider to be my heroes in this industry. In the brief moments I’ve known them, I’m glad I was there to shake their hands and say, “Thank you,” for inspiring me to do this, to continue to push ahead and get my work out there. Unfortunately, I will never have the opportunity to do the same with Kunkel. He had a hand in shaping my future by paving the way for future games journalists before I even knew who he was. While I continue on the path towards my goals, Kunkel’s journey of 61 years has come to an end. Rest in peace, Bill Kunkel. You are already missed.
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