I have a sad column this week. It’s my annual look at some of the notable people who we lost in 2024. Some of them worked in video games in one form or another, but all of them were just amazing people who helped to change the world. They will be missed.

And so, here is my list of some of those who died in 2024. Their passing negatively affected so many people, including me.

James Earl Jones: Perhaps best known for voicing Darth Vader, Jones was a legend. He went on to play many amazing parts in movies, like King Jaffe Joffer in Coming to America and also voicing Mufasa in the Lion King, and in many other projects. The world certainly lost a great actor last year when he passed away.

Maggie Smith: Most of us know her as Professor Minerva McGonagall from the Harry Potter movies, although she also played many other roles, including Violet Crawley in Downton Abbey. As McGonagall, her incredible performance really affected my childhood, and I was very sad to learn of her passing.

Willie Mays: He was one of the greatest baseball players of all time. Losing him was not only a huge loss to the baseball community but also to sports in general.

Akira Toriyama: The creator of Dragonball, this man was a legend for his massive influence on culture because of his work on both Dragonball and the Dragon Quest series, one of the earliest and longest running JRPG series. He also created the character artwork for Chrono Trigger and Blue Dragon. His loss will be felt for years.

Jimmy Carter: He was the longest living former president we’ve ever had in the USA. Carter was able to live to the age of 100, a first among all 46 presidents. He was a genuinely nice person whose humanitarian work outshined his time in the White House. He, like all the others on this list, will be missed.