GameMaker Mike
Having fans is strange. The idea that someone somewhere is enjoying something that you've created is a satisfying, albeit surreal, experience. My name is Casey Venn, and I'm an independent musician. This means that I have to personally market my music to the world. It sounds simple, but it's a lot more difficult than you'd think, so I have fewer fans than I'd like.
It's not often that I receive personal e-mails these days. Most of my communication is done through Facebook or Skype, like a lot of people, so I was surprised when I received an e-mail with the subject line "I'm a HUUUGE fan!"
I would copy-and-paste the correspondence, but I have recently deleted the e-mail account in question. You'll understand why shortly.
The fan basically said that he had been listening to my music for a while, and he really liked it. He named off his favorite songs, and then told me that he was actually an independent video game producer, and that he'd really like to feature a song of mine in one of his games. That was the gist of the first e-mail I received, signed 'GameMaker Mike.'
I quickly shot Mike a reply, letting him know that I was flattered, and that I would allow him to feature any song that he liked in a game. I also let him know that I would also write some custom music to fit the game if he wanted.
He sent me another e-mail the next day, obviously excited about the idea, and said that he would absolutely love to have custom made tracks. Then he told me about this game he'd just finished. He called it 'Sir Zipper.' I found the title amusing, but it was also interesting. He said he would send it to me if I wanted.
I can't exactly remember what my next message to him said. The only thing that I know for sure is that I told him yes, to send me the game when he got a chance. He told me that he wanted to make a few last minute adjustments before he sent it off to me, saying that he would be embarrassed if it wasn't as good as possible. This kid flattered me constantly. He had told me that he was only 16 years old, and that he looked up to me. It almost felt as if he was a little brother.
So I waited patiently for a few days, making a few 'practice' songs that felt as if they could be in video games. I have to admit that it was kind of exciting. It felt as if I had made this kid's entire month by agreeing to do a few songs for him.
The next e-mail came with an attachment. It was an executable program - or an.exe program, if you will – with the name 'Zipper.exe.' I loaded it up and started playing as soon as I had a free moment.
The graphics were extremely retro. Even the loading screen had an 8-bit vibe about it. The audio was pretty good as well, with sounds that could've been pulled from an old Atari system. It played a bit like the old Pac-Man arcade cabinets, but with speed boots (I think) and swords instead of power pills. The walls looked exactly like Pac-Man, if I'm honest, but that's only a minor complaint. Otherwise it had a unique feel to it. You collect a randomly placed key, collect randomly placed power-ups if need-be, and then head to the door to continue.
I told him I really like the game, and asked what he had in mind for the next one. He said he had some ideas, but it was a lot to type out. He gave me his phone number so that he could explain it quicker.
It felt weird calling him at first, since we'd only ever spoken via lines of text, but he was very well spoken for his age. He painted this really vivid image of a game world in my mind. It was a winter landscape, with snow-covered hills and a huge sense of scale. A brother and sister would do battle as the reincarnated souls of a god and goddess. Good and evil. I was concerned at first that he wouldn't be able to go from making an 8-bit game to a large scale game like that, but the way he described everything gave me the sense that he knew what he was doing.
The next day I told Mike he should make a website for himself. That way he could share his game with people. He wasn't thrilled with the idea, saying that he was ridiculed enough as it is. He told me about the kids who would bully him at his high school, and how heartlessly cruel they were. I finally convinced him, however, reassuring him that although there are a lot of mean-spirited people on the internet, there are a lot of good people out there as well. They were the ones that mattered. So he threw together a page at gamemakermike.webstarts.com.
Several days passed and I didn't hear from Mike. He hadn't even sent me an e-mail. We didn't know each other too well, so it wasn't that strange, but I had this weird feeling that something just wasn't right.
I called the number he had given me, but it wasn't Mike who answered, it was a female voice. I asked if Mike was available, and she asked who was calling. I told her my name and explained that I was working on some music for his new game. The woman was silent for a moment. She then explained that Mike was no longer with us. He had passed away a couple nights ago.
I was dumbfounded. It was like getting hit in the stomach. I apologized profoundly, and told her how sorry I was for her loss.
That should be the end of the story. It really should be.
Two nights later, I received a message from Mike's e-mail account. It was a link to his website. My first thought was that he had set it up to send an automated message, but I couldn't understand why he would have sent it to me. I was the one who had convinced him to make the website in the first place.
I went to his site and saw "SIR ZIPPER DOWNLOAD" in bold, blue letters. Seeing as how I hadn't played it in a long time, I decided to download it again. My plan was to record myself playing the game and upload it to my YouTube channel in his memory. Plus, since I haven't been keeping up on my music tutorials, due to hardware issues, it would be a good way to provide viewers with good content. It was, after all, a good game.
That was the plan, anyway.
The file I downloaded was a zip archive containing Zipper.exe and a file called "119121221," which I couldn't seem to open. I started the screen recording software and opened the game. It was the same game I'd played before. Collect the keys, dodge the green goblins - which I always mistook for zombies – and move on to the next level.
After about four minutes into the game, I noticed some strange sort of glitch. It was extremely quick, like a flicker of static on a TV screen. I waited for it to happen again, but it didn't.
A few minutes later, I jumped as I found myself in a level I had never seen before. The screen seemed to be covered in dark static, and the whole level seemed to be glitching terribly. For some strange reason, I could only see a short distance around me. There was this bizarre music, and all sorts of creepy sounds... Voices and screeches. It wasn't at all like the other levels. I kept walking through the maze until I saw what looked like a foot. I started walking again, and more of the screen became visible, revealing a body lying in a pool of red. My heart was racing.
This was not right. Every fiber of my being wanted to shut the game off. Shut it off and forget...
But I couldn't.
I was compelled to keep moving forward, despite how sick and twisted it was. The face seemed to be moving as well. It was such a faint movement, but I swear that it was turning to look at me.
The body's head started to jerk frantically. I could hear this terrifying sound, almost human-like, but sickening.
It was game over. I stared at the screen, my heart pounding, the words "Sir Zipper has failed" shining in my face. As I tried to calm myself, the words flashed red, but this time they read, "Sir Zipper has died."
I shut the game off and went outside to have a cigarette. I had to calm down. I was shaking.
The wind was freezing, but I didn't care at that point. I sat down in one of the lawn chairs on the porch and lit up. The events of that game were playing over and over again in my head, so I tried to distract myself. I pulled out my cell phone and decided to look up anything that would take my mind off of it. A cartoon, a comedy show, maybe...
Was that supposed to be Mike's body?
I found a strange cartoon through my phone's YouTube app. It was crude, some kind of flash animation. There were two stick figures talking about their weekend or something like that. One was red, the other blue. It was clever.
I finally calmed myself down and went back inside to my computer. The screen recording software was running. I never did shut it off. This wasn't the video I had set out to record, but I did capture it, and how else would you be able to explain such a strange event without video proof?
So I played the video back... with the sound off. I didn't want to hear any of that again. Once was too much. However, six minutes in and there was not a single glitch to be seen. Eight minutes, ten minutes, sixteen minutes... I watched myself play the game to the final level.
"Sir Zipper was victorious!"
I had no words.
I had no words at all.
I tried to speak, and I could feel vomit burning my throat.
The video that I had recorded was of a normal game of Sir Zipper, but I knew better. The level I played was twisted and horrendous. I was in such disbelief that I started the video over again, this time with the sound on.
I could hear myself commentating on the gameplay, as I had done, and all of the 8-bit sounds were intact. I skipped ahead. Four minutes... Six minutes... Eight minutes...
Eight minutes in and I could hear my voice, but I didn't recognize any of what I was saying.
I was talking about going to a school courtyard during lunch. I kept saying, angrily, that I didn't do a damn thing to anyone. I said it felt as if God hated me, and that I didn't deserve any of it. My voice, but not my words...
Chills went down my spine.
I was talking about how they had shoved me, hard. How it hurt my chest, but only for a second.
I explained how it felt cold when my head hit the concrete. How it felt really cold and fuzzy.
My voice...
I described how it felt to look down at myself. How pale my face was...
How the kids ran away...
All I wanted to do was make games...
Not my words.
Sixteen minutes or so into the video, the screen capturing program turned white with a little dialog box telling me that it had been forced to shut down.
I had another cigarette to calm my nerves - three more, if I'm honest. That was only a few nights ago. Last night I got an audio file sent to me through text message. When I went to play it, I could hear a loud terrible noise and my screen went completely black. I know you won't believe me, but... I saw a face. It was dark blue and I swear it smiled at me...
That text message came after I found some information regarding Mike. The cause of death was "blunt trauma" to the back of the head, and there was foul play involved. Two classmates had assaulted him...
I know you don't believe any of this, and I can't blame you. There's no reason you should. I'm just a musician with an unbelievable story. Maybe I am crazy. Maybe I imagined the whole thing. The only thing I know is that...
Having fans is strange...
Credited to CaseyVenn
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