Alfred Gamble

Alfred Gamble (8 April 1926 - 8 January 2006) was an iconic fan of the Oddworld series and gaming in general. Oddworld Inhabitants gave Alfred a honorary namesake in the form of the Mudokon character Alf. From Leicester, UK, Gamble was a war hero who became suicidal after his wife died. On a whim he purchased a PlayStation and Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee and, after playing it, had a new found appreciation for life. Alf's Assistant described him as " Always kind, cheerful and with impeccable manners ... Alf was our beloved fan."

Biography
After a long illness, Alfred Gamble’s wife died " on the day Abe’s Oddysee was born", 19 September 1997. In his turmoil he contemplated suicide and even bought a gun. For some reason, in 1998 he used the last of his money to buy a PlayStation and several games, including Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee, which, after playing it, inspired him to continue living. Feeling he owed his life to the game’s makers, he handwrote a six-page letter to Oddworld Inhabitants. When Sherry McKenna read the letter aloud, it resulted in many Oddworld Inhabitants " cr ying hysterically", and to this day the story of Alfred Gamble remains McKenna’s most memorable experience, although she prefers to let Lorne Lanning tell the story.

Gamble stayed in touch with Oddworld Inhabitants, regularly sending them letters with stories of his game-playing adventures and photographs of his Oddworld collection. This collection included the two Abe games on the PlayStation, an Abe tattoo on his right forearm, custom-made Abe collages and posters, and custom-printed T-shirts. Gamble would save up his money to print colour copies of the Oddworld characters. Gamble appeared in the magazine PlayStation Zone.

In November 2000, Gamble was the second Fan of the Month on the relaunched official Oddworld website when the Alf’s Rehab & Tea section reopened. His 76th birthday was celebrated on the site’s main page in 2002. Later that year Gamble first connected to the Internet and joined the Oddworld Forums; he had problems posting and emailed Abe Babe for advice, but despite her help he never posted.

In his later years he spent a lot of time in and out of hospital, and on 8 January 2006 Alfred Gamble died at the age of 79. He was succeeded by at least a daughter and a granddaughter who gave their thanks to members of the Oddworld Forums who had posted their goodbye messages.