On September 18th, 2019, A dear friend and fellow gamer passed away. He was a local gamer in my home state of Illinois. Sean was a frequent visitor of Galloping Ghost Arcade in Brookfield, IL. He was a true compeitive gamer that loved hanging out with his friends and being a part of the gaming community. Many fellow gamers and friends have many good memories and stories about Sean. I will share some with you here in this article. If you have a story you would like to add remembering Sean, please contact me and we can add it to this. I will miss you Sean.
Galloping Ghost arcade team member and former player of the year Pete Hahn:
“The best thing about having Sean as a friend and member of the Galloping Ghost community is that I always was reminded of one important thing when talking to him: The people who we share these arcade games, food and time with are what’s important. Despite all of Sean’s unfortunate health issues, he was here as much as he possibly could have. The individuals of this community meant so much to him, he made every effort to be around the arcade. He understood and reminded us that setting a high score might be good for a sense of accomplishment or recognition, none of that means anything without someone to share it with. Sean’s presence and positive attitude will be sorely missed here at the arcade.”
Multi Arcade Record holder at Galloping Ghost arcade and former player of the year James White:
“Sean came to the Galloping Ghost Arcade several years ago not only playing some of his favorite arcade games, despite what he was going through, his smile made everyone happy. His spirit will always be remembered at the GGA.
Galloping Ghost Owner Doc Mack
Sean had such an amazing impact on the arcade community and had an incredibly positive presence with him whenever he was at the arcade. While he loved playing arcade games, when he was there he really embraced and thrived on being part the community. He always wanted to share the arcade with his friends and did his best to make everyone in the community feel welcome. It meant a lot to him when he could bring others into the scene that meant so much to him. He had befriended so many people over the years and he will be sorely missed by everyone. He will always be remembered at the arcade and for all the positivity he brought with him.
Atari 2600 world record holder and fellow gamer and friend Paul Zimmerman:
“I was there at galloping ghost which turned out to be Sean’s last day there (which of course no one knew). this was the day he got the world record for Brian Colin’s game Spectre Files Deathstalker. which Brian told me no one has ever completed the game. Sean filmed it and I hope it is on YouTube. I walked into galloping ghost that day at opening happy to see Pete Hahn working the counter and I turned my head and there was Sean playing Spectre Files and he was waving to me. I did not see Sean in a long time (I don’t go to galloping ghost often). so, I went up to him, talked to him and watched him play. he was telling me about his favorite scenes in the game. I never knew Sean was sick. so, all of this is a shock to me. I will miss my friend.”
Walter Day
“Sean Quigley is well known at Galloping Ghost Arcade for not only his kind and giving nature, but also his desire to improve in many games. As one of the GGA’s local champions, Sean is an expert player, holding local high scores in both Sega classic “Choplifter” and “Circus Charlie”. Sean is always helpful in introducing other to games he is familiar with around the arcade. he was a great source of inspiration to other gamers and will always take time to talk with those at the arcade, introducing newcomers to all the regular players making everyone fell welcome at the arcade. The local high-score community is often introduced to many games on Sean’s recommendations He is a pioneer who is always trying out something new and will often be the first person to play a new game when it hits the floor. His kind nature was truly making apparent when he picked up James, a traveling arcade enthusiast from Spain, from the airport and gave him a great tour of not only the arcade, but the local areas as well. Sean, along with Daniel Pesina (Johnny Cage motion capture actor from Mortal Kombat), visited his friend Jon in the hospital before a heart transplant to wish him luck and a speedy recovery. Countless examples like these reveal his giving nature. This can be witnessed anytime he was at Galloping Ghost Arcade or Underground Retrocade.”
Todd Friedman is heavily involved in the retro gaming community and has co-promoted the Video Game Summit in Chicago, IL for the past 16 years. He also has published 2 books and written for various different gaming magazines including Old School Gamer.
