This story is old, but it's new to me. And it's incredibly important.
For those of you playing Borderlands 2, you may have noticed an NPC standing around Sanctuary named Michael Mamaril. It's already rare to have an NPC be have a name (and a last name at that), and if you take a few seconds to talk to him, he's a fellow Vault Hunter who is more than happy to share his rare loot, many times blue- or purple-level rarity. He's so charitable that he's in my tips guide and that I spend a minute looking for him every time I return to Sanctuary.
Apparently, that was the point.
Michael Mamaril is based off a real person, whom Gearbox Software decided to pay tribute to (hence, the "Tribute to a Vault Hunter" Achievement/Trophy). A Destructoid fan named Carlo wrote an email into Gearbox Software about his friend, Michael John Mamaril, who passed away from cancer at 22. Michael was a huge fan of Borderlands 2 and Carlo thought that he would be cool for Claptrap to read a eulogy (available below).
Gearbox obviously went one step further, going well beyond the call of duty. Michael Mamaril will now be immortalized in the Borderlands universe.
Awesome job, Gearbox! My hat is off to you.
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