Mats Steen had muscular dystrophy and died very young. But a touching new
documentary has used animation and his own posts to reveal the fulfilling gaming
life he led in World of Warcraft – right down to his first kiss
The night after their son Mats died aged just 25, Trude and Robert Steen sat on
the sofa in their living room in Oslo with their daughter Mia. They couldn’t
sleep. “Everything was a blur,” remembers Trude of that day 10 years ago. “Then
Robert said, ‘Maybe we should reach out to Mats’ friends in World of Warcraft.’”
Mats was born with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a progressive condition that
causes the muscles to weaken gradually. He was diagnosed aged four and started
using a wheelchair at 10. By the end of his life, Mats could only move his
fingers, and required a tube to clear his throat every 15 minutes. As he became
increasingly disabled, he spent more time gaming: 20,000 hours in his last
decade (about the same as if it were a full-time job).
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