Play~
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Log One_
12/10/1981
A youthful Japanese man appears on screen. "Hello," he greets. "I'm Itoh Hoshiko. I work at TobiKomi as both a programmer and a designer." He reaches forward and pulls a small toy. "Do like this?" he asks with a smile. "It's Wreck-It-Ralph. We've just finished designing his video game." Grinning, he adds, "Next year, we'll begin shipping his arcade cabinet to selected centers." Nodding appreciatively, he continues, "I'm really proud of how his game turned out. It's called Fix-It-Felix Jr.—where he plays the villain and Felix is the hero stopping him from wrecking a condo. Pretty neat, right?" He gently sets the toy aside. "You as the player, plays Felix,"
"In this process, I'm working on a side project. Something... I discovered from my years of coding. And I want to one day, bring it to light," he smiled.
The screen fizzles out*
Log Thirty-five_
03/23/1986
"At last, I can finally use my code!" Itoh beams as appeared on screen. "I've integrated it into an upcoming game. I..." he hesitates, biting his lip, "I haven't mentioned this to the higher-ups yet..." He glances nervously toward the door. "But trust me, this is going to make Turbo Time... absolutely fantastic—no, even Turbo-Tastic!" His laughter fills the frame. "Turbo Time is set for release next year. Let's hope everything works out."
Log One Hundred Thirty-five_
2/12/1990
"Is this thing on?" he asks, retracting his arm before flashing a smile. "Yes, it is!"
"I've got something to show you."
He picked up the camcorder and moves over to a computer. "Check this out—" he zooms in on a screen filled with lines of code. "As you might recall, my code didn't work in Turbo Time, as I mentioned before. So for the past few years, I've been secretly working on this. TobiKomi has no idea. This is entirely my own personal project."
Turning the camcorder to his face with a smile, he adds, "It's a secret code that only I know and you—well, just me. I don't plan on showing this log to anyone," and then directs the camera back to the computer screen.
~Log One Hundred Thirty-Six_
3/14/1990
The camera instantly focuses on a screen. "See this?" Itoh explains, revealing a rough sketch of a character. "This is a character I'm designing to accompany my code project. I call him Project Danger Kid—a kid with an almost unbelievable amount of power. He's destined to be a superhero!"
Then, he taps the glass of the screen. "And as for the code I'm working on—this will change video games forever," he asserts, flipping the camera back to himself.
"I'm determined to create something remarkable. And I know that, in time, all this hard work will pay off," he concludes with a confident smile. "I can't wait for this to be finished,"
Log One Hundred Thirty-Seven_
5/17/1990
Danger Kid appears on screen. "Look at this," Itoh exclaims.
He raises his hand and waves.
The little 8-bit sprite of Danger Kid waves back.
"Did you see that?!" Itoh shouts in pure joy.
"I'm slowly making progress with my plan to have more games use this code. This code is going to bring video game characters to life!" he laughs, then sets the camera so that the computer is in view. Sitting at his desk, he adds, "There are still a few kinks—sometimes he doesn't wave back, and things can get a bit unpredictable. But it's only a project, and I'm sure a few fixes will handle it."
Log One Hundred Forty~Two_
3/03/1991
Itoh sighs. "Well..." he murmurs, looking up at the camera. The background is different now, clearly not the same room as before. "Something happened. Something went wrong."
"TobiKomi discovered my project. Everything might have been fine, but since I was using their computers, it was a huge mistake. A big no-no to say the least. I don't want to say I got fired... but, I did. I was so absorbed in my project that I neglected my job. It was entirely my fault."
Shaking his head, he confesses, "It's been tough finding a new job. There aren't many openings for someone like me—especially at giants like Nintendo or Sega."
"TobiKomi confiscated my work. But...I did manage to save the file," he reveals, holding up a chip. "I don't know if I'll ever return to this project. You'll know if you see another log after this one."
Log One Hundred Forty~Three_
8/29/1995
Itoh reappears on screen with a growing smile. "It's been a long time, hasn't it?" he says, shaking his head. "I never thought I'd do this again. I heard TobiKomi is about to release a new game—something called Sugar Land, although that's just a code name until they settle on something real, I recon. FIF called Joe-Fix-It at first, just to get that out there,"
Clearing his throat, he continues, "But enough about them! I've restarted my project!"
The video cuts to a screen where a 64-bit character ambles around a room. "This is the most advanced creation I've ever made," he declares.
"Hey, Richard, come over here!" he calls.
Instantly, the character turns and moves to the front of the screen.
"Amazing, isn't it?" Itoh marvels. "My project is no longer called Project Danger Kid—it's now Project Kid Powers!"
"Although, I must admit, it's a bit unresponsive. Richard sometimes doesn't pick up on voice cues the way he should. I'll have to tweak the code a bit, but I'm getting there."
"I did need to restructure the code completely. There was a duplicate set...and even a virus sneaked in. I managed to wipe it out, I think."
Then, Kid Powers was up at the screen again.
"Aww, look at him—so cute! Who's a good boy?" Itoh coos at the small 64-bit figure then, he coughed, seeming to forget he was recording. "Well, that was embarrassing," he said.
"I hope I remember to cut that out, of the video...,"
Log One Hundred Sixty~Four_
4/10/1997
"Well, a few things happened today. TobiKomi released their cabinet, Sugar Rush... and guess what? I got my own cabinet!"
With a smirk, he swivels the camera to show an arcade cabinet labeled Kid Powers at the top.
"Since Project Kid Powers is really evolving—look at him, he can talk! He even spoke to me, if you recall from earlier logs. And this cabinet? It's going to be a full-fledged game."
He sets the camera down and walks over to the cabinet. "My plan with this game is to revolutionize the way we play. With my code, video game characters won't just spout preset lines—they'll interact with you dynamically. No, 'hi, hello, I am this or that character', No! Their dialogue will change based on the situation. Characters can say what they want, when they want, when it comes to voice lines. They won't need a voice actor to have them say the one or two lines over and over. The code speaks for them,"
Itoh smiled, and added, "Or I can make just games to interact with kids. So kids who aren't fortunate to have friends, can have someone to talk too. Kids love video games. Which kid doesn't? I hope my work will make a difference in the world in that regard,"
He turns on the machine. "Now, here he is!"
A small, 64-bit boy appears on the screen.
"Hello!" the character says.
Itoh smiles warmly at the screen. "Hello. Would you mind introducing yourself for the camera?"
The character tilts his head. "That?" he replies.
Itoh nodded, seeming like he couldn't keep his excitement in, from his work.
"Oh!" The boy smiled. "Hello! I'm Richard, The Danger Kid!"
Itoh nods, excitement evident in his eyes, but then he froze, "Uh? Danger Kid... no, wait—you're not Danger Kid. Danger Kid was from the old project."
Suddenly, the screen glitches; Richard stutters before reappearing, leaving Itoh blinking in surprise.
"Hello! I'm Richard, Kid Powers!"
"Hmmm..." Itoh muses. "Seems like some adjustments are still needed."
Leaning forward, he adds, "I'm going to switch you off for a bit, alright, Richard?"
"Okay!" Richard cheerfully said.
Itoh powers down the cabinet and then stands. "I hope that doesn't hurt him in any way..."
The video cuts to him seated at his desk.
"Well, as you can see, that was very advanced," Itoh gave a laugh. "Can't get any better than that!" he smiled. Then he addressed the problem. "Well, it does needs to fixing. He still thinks he's Danger Kid," He rubbed his chin. "That... thing that was a virus. And I did get rid of it, and restructured the code from scratch. I don't know, I'll have to look into it,"
Log One Hundred and Ninty~Nine_
8/10/1997
"These last few months have been hectic. I've been making log after log, trying to fix the bug in Kid Powers, but I just can't find the solution!" Itoh admits, shaking his head. "Nothing in the code indicates he should think he's Danger Kid. He's meant to be Kid Powers," he explains. Itoh seemed like he was at a loss.
Clearing his throat, he glances over at the running arcade machine where Richard is seen playing with on-screen toys.
"I even programmed in some toys for him to interact with—it's almost like he's a living being. Who knew code could do that?" he laughs softly. "Who would've guessed?"
"God... what did I make?" He gave a single laugh.
Turning back to the camera, he spoke, "I can't switch off the machine either. It doesn't harm him per se, but every time I reboot it, it's like he has amnesia. He remembers me, and my name, and his own name—with the occasional him calling himself Danger Kid at times—but if I told him I had a banana for breakfast yesterday, and he played with his green toy train yesterday, he wouldn't remember any of that today if I shut off the machine yesterday,"
""It's interesting. He's so alive," Itoh murmurs, glancing at the screen. "I refuse to treat him like mere code. If he's truly alive, he deserves genuine care."
"How would this... correlate to players though?" He leaned back on his chair. "If other games get coded with this, people sure are not going to leave on their systems? Power bills are getting to high these days. I can barely pay mine," Itoh sighed.
A sudden interruption occurs: "Papa... I can't find my train—"
Itoh was looking at the camera, but after hearing that, he let out a squeak, putting his hands up to his mouth, as he looked at the camera with a shocked expression. "Did... Did he just..." Itoh blinked. "Did he just call me papa...?" His eyes swelled with tears.
After a pause, he seems to decide.
"Alright," he speaks softly into the camcorder. "Change of plans—all ideas, everything—it's all shifting. I'm going to keep working on him, but he won't be released to the public anytime soon. If he grows too attached to others, some might end up treating him badly—just as some do with their own children. I can't allow that. He wouldn't deserve that,"
Log Two-Hundred_
1/5/1998
"I'm back again. It's been a few months—a new year, in fact. It's 1998 now, just five days in, and I've been working relentlessly these past months," Itoh remarks as he walks, his voice carrying a hint of determination. "I've made several tweaks to the machine—the very one you saw in the last log."
He stops and meets the camera's gaze. "I've made up my mind. Richard won't just be a video game character confined to a screen. He's not going to be trapped in the digital world either. You'll see what I mean shortly."
The video cuts to Itoh standing by the machine.
"I've done a lot of thinking, and I've come to the conclusion that putting this code in the hands of the public could be... potentially disastrous—not for us, but for this life... this little boy," he explains, gesturing toward the lit screen displaying Kid Powers' smiling face, looking up at him.
"People can barely parent. They definitely won't parent this boy. It would hurt my soul to know someone can hurt this little guy, so I'm not going to let him in the hands of anyone, but myself," Itoh came closer to the camera. "But, that doesn't mean he's going to he confined to small tight space of this digital world he's from," He picked up the camera.
"Nope," he said. "He's going to go far beyond the digital world,"
With the camera, he walked to the back of the machine.
"Check this out,"
He pulled a lever at the side of the machine, and the back opened out to reveal a chair inside of the machine. Wires were connected to it, to the side inner walls of the cabinet. "Richard, is going to come alive," he pointed to the chair. "I'm bringing him to this world," Itoh said. He looked into the camera. "Our world,"
He pauses, then continues, "Not today, though. Maybe in a year or so." He closed the door back.
Log Two Hundred and Two_
1/9/2000
"It's been a while—one or even two years?" Itoh remarks.
"Richard's doing fine, still inside the cabinet. I haven't turned it off."
Leaning in, he adds with a wry smile, "We don't talk about my power bill," he shook his head.
He continues, "A lot has happened. Did I ever mention that TobiKomi shut down? I might've touched on it in a previous log, I don't remember. They went under right after launching Sugar Rush. It's a mystery—they made a fortune, and Sugar Rush even spawned a spin-off show called Sugar Kingdom. It's playing on my TV right now."
He swivels the camera to reveal a small CRT TV mounted on the ceiling, with the arcade cabinet visible in profile, showing the side of it
"I even re positioned the cabinet so Richard could watch TV. He's absolutely obsessed with Sugar Kingdom. He goes on and on about these three characters—Rancis, Swizzle, and Gloyd. I swear, he's developed a crush on them."
"Really? He can even experience crushes? And... even same-sex crushes? Wow, I surely created life here, haven't I?" Itoh giggled.
Clearing his throat, he concludes, "Alright, So I'm here starting a new log because the moment has come. Tonight, Richard will cross over into our world."
He sets the camera down and steps over to the machine, turning it so that the screen faces him.
"Awww," Richard pouts, "I was watching that, papa."
"I know, Rich," Itoh replies softly, "and I'm sorry. But you'll get to watch it all you want soon enough, I promise,"
Grabbing a remote, Itoh steps back and glances at the camera behind him. "Now for the moment of truth. I'm about to do something no one's ever done before," he announces. he stepped off screen.
"Richard, my boy, you're coming to life," he declares.
Suddenly, the lights go out and the arcade cabinet shuts down.
"Okayyy..." Itoh mutters off-camera. "Was that supposed to happen?"
"Hmm," A series of remote button clicks can be heard. "Well, he's supposed to..."
The screen flickers back on.
"Richard? Richard, where are you?" Itoh calls.
Nothing was on the screen, just a blank white.
"Huh..."
Then, Itoh snaps his fingers. "Maybe he's sitting on the chair. Perhaps he doesn't know how to get out," he speculates, stepping into view. But then a loud bang erupts from the cabinet. Itoh freezes. "What was that?" he asks, standing motionless. "Richard? Was that you?" he calls, but the screen fizzles and remains silent.
He glances down at his remote, then around the room. "The lights in here shouldn't have gone out like that..." he murmurs, weary of the strange occurrence.
A dark mist, forming the shape of an arm—no, two arms—slowly rises from the back of the machine.
"Maybe... no, that can't be it," he mutters, tapping a few buttons on the remote.
A misty dark head with red, glowing eyes appears above the machine.
"Could the machine's power be affecting my whole house?" Itoh wonders aloud. "Well, technically it's plugged to the power outlet,"
The anomaly drifts forward, cloaking the front of the machine, then materlized as a person with arms and legs. It was still covered in dark mist, its chest now emblazoned with two glowing letters: D K.
"Ugh, this is probably what happens when you leave an arcade cabinet on for a year—it messes with the breaker," he exclaims, turning back to the machine. Suddenly, he gasps and drops the remote.
"W–what... what are you?" he stammers, backing away slowly.
"R–Rich... is that you?!" he pleads.
The dark anomaly slowly inched closer.
Itoh went off screen.
"Wait... 'DK'? Are you... Danger Kid? You're the Vir–!"
His sentence is cut off as Danger Kid surges forward in an instant, dark mist billowing from him and knocking the camera off the table.
The camera tumbles to the floor, staying there, until a decapitated head lands before it.
A swirling dark mist envelops the camera, lifting it upward toward Danger Kid's glaring red eyes.
"Itoh, is everything alright in there?" a voice asks, seeming from out of the room.
Startled, the dark figure darts away in a burst of shadow as the camera falls again. The last thing it sees is dark matter slithering back into the machine.
Then, the lights come back on and the machine restarts, revealing Kid Powers.
"Papa...?" the small character calls softly. "Where are you?"
Then a dark mist swirled around Kid Powers.
A dark mist swirls around Kid Powers.
"Huh?" Kid Powers gasps.
And then, abruptly, the screen goes dark and the machine shuts off.