Blizzard Helps Cancer Sufferer
Computer games may be plagued with bad publicity but they have recently offered a ray of hope for Ezra Chatterton. Ezra Chatterton is only a 10 year old boy but he has a brain tumor, diagnosed with metastatic cancer, it has the potential to spread throughout the body. The Make-A-Wish Foundation of America helps grant wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses and when they came to ask Ezra Chatterton for his wish the 10 year old knew what he wanted.
Ezra is a big fan of Blizzard's World of Warcraft and in his own words "I wished for a trip to Blizzard because I'd like to see if they could make a character and do some things for us."
It was indeed wishful thinking but the surprise came when Blizzard accepted to fulfill his wish and not only took him around the company's headquarters but also gave him a chance to create something new for Blizzard's World of Warcraft.
Blizzard recorded Ezra's voice for a new character Ahab Wheathoof, the Old Rancher, who will offer a quest to find and tame his crazy dog, Kyle, a red-haired Pembroke Welsh Corgi. World of Warcraft's lead designer Jeff Kaplan also helped Ezra design his very own crossbow. "This crossbow will be the only one in the game and it's very difficult to get," Kaplan explained. "You're going to get a lot of questions (from other players)."
Ezra Chatterton's parents divorced when he was about 5 but he only has the chance to play World of Warcraft when he's at his dads. Although Ezra's father Michael Chatterton was initally unable to pay the subscription fees and it was not until they suffered another stroke of bad luck that it would change. In Autumn 2006 Micah's house burnt down taking away all of his son's toys. Michael used the insurance money to buy a computer as well Internet access and Ezra and his father began to play their character "ePhoenix" together sitting side by side. During his visit their character "ePhoenix" was bumped up to level 70 and was stocked with gold, weapons as well as new armour courtesy of the Blizzard staff
After this visit Ezra Chatterton had this to say: "If Blizzard is listening, I'd like to say thank you for everything you've done for my character to make him so good. I want to thank them for making the quest of the lost dog and the Old Rancher and all the stuff they gave us". We can expect to see the Old Rancher added to World of Warcraft in the next 4 weeks.
http://www.sk-gaming.com/scene/12531/
