It happens all too often, we get swpt up in a moment of pure bliss. The sound of firing up that game console, the memories that pour forth when you hear your favorite company's boot-up sound, but for these two brothers, it was more than just a way to pass the time.

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It was a promise. British-born game designer Andrzej Zamoyski and his brother Adam made it as soon as they heard the news. Both were up late, camped out on Adam's comfy sofa with their mom and Adam's wife, sipping tea and eating biscuits as this year's Nintendo E3 press conference streamed from the computer to a big plasma TV.

That night, as they sat there watching legendary game designer Shigeru Miyamoto on stage at E3, they weren't dwelling on any other worries, such as Adam's relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia in his bone marrow, overrunning the healthy cells. No, they were thinking the same thing: Zelda.

"When we heard about the Zelda concert," Andrzej told Kotaku from his living room in Guildford, "I said to Adam that we were definitely going." The concert was to celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda.

No doubt, the worlds brought to life in games by the music is an amazing thing. It gives each area a new feel, a new sense of wonder, and transports you away from everyday life.

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It was decided that night. They were going to go, Andrzej, Adam, and Adam's new bride, Natsumi, and they even talked late into the night of making costumes.
Some brothers share their love of cars. Other share their love of sports. For the Zamoyski brothers, it was always video games. It was a love that took them from their bedroom to England's biggest game studio.

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The Zamoyskis aimed to be the next set of brothers to conquer the gaming world. They didn't just played games, they wanted to make them.

Their singular goal was the same. But they could not have been more different. When talking games, Andrzej is chatty and opinionated—dogmatic, even—while Adam was the quieter of the two, was humble and pensive, choosing his comments wisely, before laying out fresh insights. "In that sense we were a perfectly matched pair," said Andrzej, "often coming at a problem from two completely different directions but generally arriving at the same opinion or solution." The two of them made a set, dovetailing and complementing each other's strengths.

Like the sun and the moon, these two were. So different, yet connected on a deeper level.Sadly however, it was not to last.

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"It's easy to get bored in the hospital," said Andrzej. "It's easy to lose your love for games. Adam never did." That June, Adam was closely following E3 news and making promises, despite his illness, to go to the Zelda concert later that year.

The odds for a successful bone marrow transplant were slim. But Andrzej's marrow was a perfect match. Since the chemo wasn't working, the plan was to undergo a difficult and dangerous bone marrow transplant. Even with the risks and no guarantee the procedure would work, both Andrzej and Adam wanted to give it a shot. But as the days passed and Adam's condition worsened, the odds for a successful transplant decreased.

"Adam entered this very Zen state," said Andrzej. "I never got the feeling he was scared during all of this. He was the one radiating strength." Adam once told his brother that he would be happy with the life he had and that he had a full life. "If Adam has a list of things he wanted to do," said Andrzej, "he would have checked off all the boxes." Adam spent the last two weeks in the hospital. At his bedside every night was his wife Natsumi, his mom, and Andrzej.

On Sept. 7, 2011, Adam Zamoyski passed away. He was 27. A service was held in Kent, England, complete with The Legend of Zelda theme as well as this*—a tune that felt strangely appropriate if you knew Adam and one that had his brother throwing "air punches" as he walked into the church. Developers from Microsoft, Lionhead, Media Molecule, Zynga UK, Headstrong (formerly Kuju London), Super Massive, Testology, Ninja Theory, and the indie community gathered to pay their respects and say good-bye. It would not be Adam's final good-bye.

In the days and weeks following his brother's death, Andrzej hit a few rough patches. Memories lingered, and he felt like he couldn't play certain games. "I still hear him, here," Andrzej said, pointing to his ear with a mechanical pencil. "Here," he added, pointing to his head. "I can hear what he'd say about a game I played."

Even so, with the memories lingering strongly, the promise they made persisted, and beckoned to Andrzej.

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A few days after Adam passed away, Andrzej was up. He couldn't sleep and killed time on the internet. For weeks, tickets for the Zelda concert had been sold out. Those were the weeks that Andrzej was at the hospital. The final weeks. "I was gutted," said Andrzej. "Out of desperation I searched eBay not expecting anything. To my surprise there were two tickets available, in the front row and costing a few times the normal price." They were the only tickets he could find anywhere. Not even knowing if this was a scam or not, Andrzej forked over his cash. Scam this wasn't, and the two front row tickets arrived.

The concert was this past Tuesday. Andrzej attended with Natsumi, who's become quite the gamer, dedicating herself to playing through all of Adam's new games in his memory. Both sat in the very first row in the exact center, right under the conductor. "We brought a Link plushie along and placed it on the edge of the stage in front of us and loads of Zelda fans came to take photos," said Andrzej. "It was a truly magical evening, emotional but in a positive, celebratory way."

In Japanese Buddhism, Adam's wife's religion, the final good-bye is 49-days after the death. On the 49th day, the deceased karma takes a new form. This Tuesday's Zelda concert was the eve of that 49th day following Adam's passing.

Now on that note, i'll leave you with the closing comment the original writer made, as I think he said it better than I could.

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We write comments and argue about stupid stuff that at times seems utterly meaningless and trivial. It's not meaningless—if anything, that excitement and passion gives elevates video games far beyond simple diversions. Games aren't art. They're our lives. They're our memories.

(Because the forum code wouldn't allow me to hotlink via the text above, below is the song that was mentioned.)
*https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oj2XqhWil5A


Source for this powerful story: Kotaku. you can read the full story below.

http://kotaku.com/5853868/the-painful-beautiful-parting-of-two-brothers-bound-by-gaming