Parents discovered the secret world of their 25-year-old son who lived with muscular dystrophy after he passed away. Despite his physical limitations, Mats Steen led a rich and fulfilling online life through the game World of Warcraft, where he was known as the heroic character Ibelin Redmoore. The discovery stunned Mats’ parents, who initially believed their son’s life had been lonely. A new Netflix documentary, The Remarkable Life of Ibelin, explores how gaming offered Mats a way to transcend his physical limitations and connect with others.
Mats had been diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a genetic disorder that sparks early-onset muscle weakness – by the time of his death at the age of 25, Mats’ mobility had diminished to only the use of his fingers, The Independent reported on Saturday (October 19).
“We strongly believed that he was lonely, that he had no meaning for other people,” Mats’ dad, Robert Steen, told The Independent.
On November 19, 2014, Mats’ parents, Robert and Trude, announced his death on his blog in a post titled “The Journey has Come to an End.”
Parents discovered the secret world of their 25-year-old son who lived with muscular dystrophy after he passed away
However, upon announcing Mats’ death, Robert and Trude were left surprised to receive numerous emails from people who knew him through the online game World of Warcraft (WoW).
Mats had been known as “Ibelin Redmoore,” a heroic nobleman and monster slayer. The Norwegian player had formed deep friendships and even romantic connections in the game, revealing a vibrant, meaningful life his parents never knew he had.
WoW is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game in which thousands, even millions, of players, may participate online together.
Despite his physical limitations, Mats Steen led a rich and fulfilling online life through the game World of Warcraft
Players typically participate in gaming worlds that persist indefinitely, with characters that are stored and then reactivated whenever a player rejoins, Britannica explains.
Robert stated: “We thought he lived, for many reasons, a wasted life. And then we get these stories sharing just the opposite.”
Unbeknownst to the Steens, from Oslo, Norway, Mats was living a fulfilling life. But to his parents, he and his sister Mia were simply spending too much time online and seemingly alone.
In WoW, Mats was known as the heroic character Ibelin Redmoore
As a result, Robert and Trude initially attempted to steer their children off the internet. The father explained: “The sad thing is that we were very strong on condemning the time they were spending in that world, and that condemnation was based on a five-minute analysis.
“We did all the right things, and we were so present in our children’s lives. With one exception – and that is the digital part of their lives.”
Nevertheless, the grieving parents reportedly admitted that their understanding of online gaming has had a “180-degree turnaround” throughout their journey with Mats.
The discovery stunned Mats’ parents, who initially believed their son’s life had been lonely
Robert admitted: “In Scandinavia, at least, we feel that we are becoming more and more fragmented.
“Everybody’s looking after themselves and their own causes; we have become extremely individualistic, centered on our own things.
“These collective solutions that we had some generations ago are gone, in a way. So if this could be one of the messages from this story – the kindness we can bring to a community, to the world – that would be great.”
A new Netflix documentary, The Remarkable Life of Ibelin, explores how gaming offered Mats a way to transcend his physical limitations
He added: “Mats, in his condition, could help so many people without being able to move more than just his fingers. Imagine what the rest of us could do if we put our minds to it.”
Mats’ incredible double life, in which he lived as WoW’s popular Ibelin Redmoore while sitting alone in an apartment upstairs from his parents in Ostensjo, Oslo, was explored in an upcoming Netflix documentary.
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin centers on Mats’s on and offline worlds, his story told in part by his parents, his internet community, and partly by Mats himself, with voice-acted lines of his conversations from the game brought to life through animation, as per The Independent.
The film reportedly explores how online gaming can open up opportunities for those with disabilities, for whom some real-life activities are inaccessible.
The documentary further depicts how online gaming can be a portal to another world; one of friendship and romance and providing something of an escape to those who are severely disabled, The Daily Mail reported on Monday (October 21).
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin streams on Netflix from 25 October.
“It’s nice to hear something positive shared about gaming and the online community for once, too,” a reader commented
