Leroy
Stranger “Leroy doesn’t ring a bell? Never heard of him?” Never heard of him, should be dangerous when the police are asking?
Police “What about the Jennkins family?” As always, no clue about him.
Stranger “oh the Jennkins family. They are a lovely family always spreading joy with their daily activities. Last time I saw them they build a home for a Hedgehog. But since you asked, I do remember them being a bit off. They aren’t as joyful as they were before it feels like they are missing someone.” If I remember correctly. They laughed more but since some time they stopped that gaudy of them. I could only hear some occasional laughter but not as lively as before.
Police “Thanks for your help, we appreciate it” Still no clue only iti bits of information but no certain clue to his whereabouts.
Stranger “Before you guys go. Please tell me, why you are snooping over our next-door neighbor?” Weird why are they asking about our happy go family Jennkins? Maybe someone ran from home or is missing.
Police frowning “What happened here shouldn’t be discussed with anyone. Now pls look at this pen.” I’m so excited for the pizza this evening.
*zapp*
[before the Events transpired]
Leroy “Bye Mom. I’m going out to my friends probably going to see you Sunday evening have a good day, love you” Man a new patch came out yesterday I’m so excited to test it out with him.
Mother “Love you too, don’t forget the things I laid out for you.” Now that’s fast probably no meal for him today. Seems like something interesting happened. Hope he has fun.
He is always down in the basement that child. It’s not good for his health.
*shaking her head*
On my way up from my room downstairs I look at all the things my mom spread out for me. “my breakfast, some bread with marmalade, a bottle of water, my keys and my new train ticket. Everything ready to go” I whisper to myself. I stored it all into my backpack.
“Bye Mom love you” I scream on my way out. Love you too came out of the house.
On my way to the train station I fiddle with my phone. Texting my friend, I’m on my way and that it will probably take longer than expected. ´Loading that game from home should have been the smarter choice after all his W-Lan is kinda shit. ´
Waiting for the train to arrive I fiddle with my phone again. Today should be the day the new game comes out. With an offline feature and multiplatform range of playability. While trying out the new game the train arrives. Looking up and packing my stuff, I search for the nearest free seat to enjoy the view. While enjoying the ride I notice the signal cutting off. Looking around I notice the black hole. Not a literally black hole only a tunnel we have to drive through, taking up to hours with no connection. But do not worry as for this I’m prepared.
Taking out my headphones I start some games I downloaded for those moments. Looking to my library of games I notice the new game that came out recently ´Ah finally some time to test out that new game I installed recently. Something more interesting than those dozens of tower defense games I have on my phone. After some time, they just become too repetitive. Or any offline game if I remember right` *scratching my head*
While trying out the new game with their awesome graphic and their humongous use of my battery I take out my power bank. Putting down my Headphones I notice some “ahh´s” and “ohh´s” in my surrounding.
Looking around I notice the tourist all hugging the window with their faces and excitedly pointing to the view we right now have. Look outside I do feel the same as them. Enjoying the view from the train windows, driving through the beautiful mountain scenery. Is one of the reasons I’m not completely addicted to my phone. Enjoying the view or listening to nature is one the things I do sometimes to relax. Looking down sometimes reminds me that there is more.
Describing the view is kinda difficult as it changes regularly. You would think that such a view wouldn’t change, and I would ask you why you would think that?
Today you could see a top down mountain view to valley. A big river going straight through it. A rainbow dancing on top it surrounded by trees. If you look more concentrated, you could see some creatures. Like a crocodile riding a deer or a squirrel following a fox around. It’s so peaceful.
Looking back at all the tourist, I remember my first time seeing it and how I reacted as them but after some time it does become a bit boring looking out their all the time. Look at the board I see my station popping up as the next station.
Packing my stuff, I make my way to the door. Knowing it’s the last station for this train I walk faster than normal to the door which is conveniently located at the end of the train. Walk by one seat after another with no change in sight I find myself entranced. After coming out of it I find myself before the door.
After checking my surrounding for something new. After finding nothing out of the ordinary I make my way out of the station to the main street walking near it for some time. Nearing the shortcut, I look around for someone who could notice me after finding now one I make my way inside.
Walking down the alleyway into a corner I make my path to my friend’s house after walking through what feels like a labyrinth, I find myself before the real shortcut. An abandoned yard. Walking along it for some time I find myself before some conveniently placed trash cans. Climbing up the trash cans acting like stairs I walk down another convenient placed follower pots.
Before my lies an abandoned garden not trimmed completely overgrown with a seeable path straight through it. Looking left and right I find the grass and plants have already grown to the height of myself. ´It feels like I’m walking through Narnia. With all the aspects of nature and fantasy land only with some extras of, weird smells probably beer can he had thrown out into the yard and some funny smells with should be some of the stuff we secured somewhere around here.´ The feeling kinda gets ruined with the flowers we planted around here for the path to not overgrow.
Finding myself before another conveniently placed metal ramp. Climbing up the ramp we polished so nobody is gonna hurt himself on that thing again. Arriving before cursed land of this rather monotone adventure. The abandoned Factory. Looking around I orientate myself.
Behind me lies the garden we always use as a secret path. That garden is part of a building owned by McGuffins. He was a senile old muncher always living life like the was no tomorrow. One day as we searched for shortcuts Old McGuffins found us sneaking around his garden. He smiled mischievously at us as he saw us trying to flee over the Fences. I still remember what he said to us “ahoy mates looking for an adventure? How about I give you one” he took out his fucking shotgun and warn shot the trash can. I fucking shit my pants that day. Looking back, he rly was crazy even with amnesia plaguing his memory.
Lucky for us he hates work, so he never cared for the garden and when he finally noticed his garden being overgrown to the point of no return, he gave up. Since that fateful sneaking into his garden was as easy as stealing a lollipop from a baby. After some time, we build our foundation for a secret path only took us I think a year. I smile to myself.
his garden and the only reason he even came out was probably us just being too lively inside his property. The owner is called McGuffins.
´he is old nagging box full rusty nails. He hates outside contacts, so he never looks up on his property. It’s easy to slip over his fences plus me and my friend already laid a foundation to climb over their years ago. He still hasn't moved them away. ´
To my left lies a pathway to a dead end which earlier was used by the factory workers to come home or go to work, which after the tragedy got closed down. ´Those crazy kids and their challenges ruined or early day shortcut because of them the allay got blocked of so good that even a cat couldn’t slip through it.
While looking to the left I see a rainbow glow under a steel beam. Going to investigate I find a weird snow globe lying under it. Looking to my right the only way it could have landed here was the cliff. Looking up at the cliff and the holes covering it like swiss cheese I remind myself what happened.
Years ago, the Factory had an accident. The Cliff led lose some Rocks, while the factory workers were unaware. Most of them flew straight down landing right on top of the factory. Falling through windows or blocking important outlets.
One of the bigger stones hit an important outlet which caused the overheating of the generator which didn’t have a fail switch “cheap stuff” and exploded taking the whole factory with it. ´Dangerous stuff. ´
Some of the workers could flee, by either hearing or seeing the boulders crashing down onto the factory.
Some ran out of the nearest exit others got crushed under the collapsing boulders or structure of the factory. But many were shocked to the point of being paralyzed.
After some overcame their shock, they ran as if there was no tomorrow. Which sadly was true, none of factory workers lived to tell the tale.
*shaking my head slowly*
Many died before the worst could even start. The Generator exploded because of overheating, which was caused by rocks blocking the outlets.
The factory running only on the cheap stuff with more output and less safety caused the whole thing to get out of hand so badly that even the workers outside, having their lunch break and enough time to see the whole thing transpire. Didn’t see another day.
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
The Factory was handled so badly, by someone so greedy that probably even think about safety precautions was problematic or too much money inducing work or something. That old Bastard evade the law for far to long, he even used cheap foreigner workers.
With most of them not even having contact to their family or even papers with their names on or personal information. He even specifically had chosen those with no name and personal information so if someone would search for them, they couldn’t find anything.
He was even so ungrateful that he didn’t even give them names to call. He just called them.
“insert racist name to call his workers”
What happened to this factory was as predictable as day and night. The cheap factory was like a barrel full of dynamite one lit taking the hole dynamite barrel with it. No wrapping papers, no single inventory, no lit diffuser, no security.
The incident blew off after every person near it had felt the explosion through their mark.
The environment around the explosion was so inaccessible that most people didn’t even try to get back their land the whole thing got blocked off and the factory got cleaned to the minimum. Being a History landmark of schemes and the example of what greed could do to people associated with it.
Most people started to associate the misdeeds which transpired with the land surrounding the explosion sight. Which cutdown the property cost drastically, but still nobody went as far as to buy the land surrounding it.
Which was strengthened by a Rumor which spread from one person to another stating: “that the lingering spirits of the dead workers still stay. No deserving of their deaths going down under with no name or security to their family. They haunt everything coming near their death site to haunt them for the thing they didn’t deserve.”
This rumor thereby was strengthened by the lack of faces or Information of the deaths. So, none could make a burial deserving enough to calm the spirits. It was found that no Papers were taken or given by the contract signed under the factory, no names, no birth dates, no family connections, not even being able to be recognized by the people living in this town.
caused the Graves of the workers to be a massive grave site as no Name or body could be given a singular burial without identity.
“They were buried like street cats.” I whisper to myself.
While I reminisce about the tragedy that transpired here. I absentmindedly pack the globe inside the backpack.
Coming back to myself, I try to recollect what I was doing before. “Ehmmmm, yes I’m visiting my friend over the weekend and used the shortcut for it, and after locating myself I thought about the thinks that transpired here.”
I shake my head to come out of the tragic story I recollected and make my way over to my friend's home.
I start following the path to my friends’ home.
What Leroy didn’t notice was the glint shone out of McGuffins home watching the bird take flight.
While Leroy slowly forgets what happened on that fateful day. Weeks go bye as Leroy enjoys his normal routine. Completely forgetting the weird snow globe in his backpack.
The Week goes on normally for Leroy. Going to school coming home to do his homework. Surfing the net in his free time for new and interesting Stuff or information he never heard before. Like do you know that some cats like to be spanked. It’s weird but still something new he didn’t know.
While learning about mind working and how some connect to how we play games or handle situations.
After taking a break and watching videos. An inspirational message caught him off guard re upping his passion for Programming as it was his passion since he was a child, Computer handling or playing Games on the Internet fascinated him since that day his sister showed him to the world of Browser games.
Since then, he started learning everything he could about The Internet and Computers. His passion sadly didn’t brought him far as his passion was overwritten by trying to succeed in school witch intertwined with his free time to study and after being suppressed for some time he started to forget why he even wanted to learn programming.
Which over time changed his wish from creating a game to becoming someone who can handle the ups and down of creating and publishing games to all audiences.
His hobby of learning new things came from the depressing fact of Television which repeats the same show over and over plus the fact that shows never rly started with the beginning but always in the middle which made it all so much unbearable to come in and watch it.
So, when an alternative was shown and all the downsides of doing the old thing came over, he noticed something.
Like remembering clearly how it feels to find an interesting show but never be able to watch it from the beginning which brought the downside of missing information. Those little things coming again and again brought him slowly to a limit he himself didn’t know he had.
When that fateful day arrived. Being stuck at home with nothing but an TV access for 5 days and being repeatedly shown shows and specific episodes he already watched over 5 times. On that day something broke inside of him. Causing him to not be able to do the same thing over and over again which was strengthened by a promise he made to himself which was to never watch something more than once.
Which brings us back to his passion of Programming, which is essentially doing the same stuff over and over again. And like every child like promise there are no exceptions.
Which he holds truly till today, but only partly as some things need to be repeated to become a part of you. But as not to find himself a liar he tried to cheat himself with quote: “To become someone who can do everything you need to know everything”.
A quote he often used which came hard down on him when he finally understood that programming isn’t the only part of creating a game and publishing it.
You first need to have An Idea of what you want to do, then you need to be able to formalize it.
Afterwards you need the Basic structure of every Video Game. The music, be it Background music which need to be fitting to the aspects you use it on. For example, a sad story shouldn’t have a happy background music.
But as much as you need music you also need sounds be it the little sound it makes when you push a button or the little detail of a character being annoyed after repeatedly talking to it. Be it emotions or reality its needed to connect the player to the game those little things are one of the most important ones.
You need a Story compelling enough for someone to get infested in. Be it like a script or with Design art which should represents a part of your ideas and ideals so you yourself can connect with the story you want to bring.
And lastly it needs to be fun. You are creating a game not a book or a movie, so it needs interaction able with the player. Which is an essential part of Video Games.
And all of this needs to be perfectly drawn together to make which is essentially only the base of a game.
As Leroy quotes to himself: “In a world where anyone can do anything, surprisingly no one does anything.”
As Leroy rambles to his friend in class about his sorrow of programming and life. When in reality he is just burned out from overtaxing his own body and mind with all the big planes he took on without spreading them probably.
As Leroy is rambling with his friend the bell sounds. Knowing school is over and it's Friday so he could play another new game which has come out with his friend today. With those thought Leroy made his way home taking the train with another new beautiful sight of the country and of course his friends the tourists.
Taking out his handy he looks up on the to do List he made himself. Probably gonna finish task 150 today. He mumbles to himself. While scenery runs past him.
Today’s sight is a sunset with a squirrel riding the fox and a bear being dragged by hawk to the sunset.
Greeting his mother and telling her about his School day on the dinner table. Leroy makes his way downstairs to his room to do his homework afterwards he gonna work on his Task 150. Saving everything up in the cloud he makes his way to his bed and lays down to sleep.
While finally lying down earlier, as he normally goes to bed when his body clock screams at him to go to bed. Which entails teary eyes and a slow mind.
When he finally relaxes after a day of constant consume. He finally starts to find his thoughts again. After some time just laying down and doing nothing, he remembers something.
Standing up and walking to the corner of his room he checks on his backpack. As the Backpack he always uses are 2 different ones. One he takes to school and only has the bare minimum and the other is a survival backpack he made when had time in his otaku times.
This Backpack he brings to friend since he made it up. His friend encouraging him to take it with him and his family using is ideals to form a perfect alibi. Which state “hey son you do know you need to lift the whole thing if you want to use it right? And you also need to wear that thing constantly”.
That how his mother got him to take a routine fitness program he tills this day still uses. But mostly because of the encouragement he gains every day his mother sees him wearing the backpack and even taking it to his friend. She even got his friends family to take part of it so every time he goes to his friend’s house, he gets encouraged them too for taking such a difficult thing all the way to them.
Checking through the Backpack to see if anything needs to be refilled or replaced. Leroy notices after rummaging through his backpack a snow globe.
Looking back as to when he put such a weird thing in his backpack, he remembers that one day he went through the shortcut and rainbow light blinded him.
Looking back again he can’t quite remember when he put it inside but the only way it could have happened is when he reminiscent over the history of this place.
Inspecting the snow globe again he thinks to himself ´In retrospect I should have thought about it more we are a mountain village with more snow than normal over the season yes, but we never rly indulge in festivals over the winter like toys or snow globes.
Like this one we are always enjoying the occasion together in parties or just alone near the fire. But we never really were huge fans of this tourist entertainments. ´
Leroy takes out his smartphone and looks up snow-globe online.
Finding nothing nearly as the one he is holding right now.
Checking every possibility of such a snow globe being found under a steel frame in perfect condition in an abandoned factory.
He checks out all the way someone could gain such a think if he finds something, he will impersonate the buyer and reconstruct as to how it could have been lost.
But when he found out nothing about it. No whereabouts about a snow globe as this one in his hand for sale or production he kinda feels stunned.
Inspecting it closer he notices something special about it. All the snow globes he found on his research had a Interactable snow or a building or creature inside of it.
Trying to shake it he notices nothing happening not even the snow moving.
Looking closer it feels like somebody had just drawn snow onto it?
Taking out his magnifying glass to inspect it more closely he finds something weird. The “snow” on the globe doesn’t look like snow it more likely resembles white dust which is covering the interior of the globe.
Trying to rub the globe for a change. While rubbing the globe, he notices part of the stuff covering the interior falling off.
After some time rubbing, Leroy could see the complete interior of the Globe. Inside was an Island which was the middle of the ocean, waves crashing rhythmically against the cliffs of the island.
´It’s quite relaxing to watch. ` Leroy thinks to himself.
To describe the things that are happening right now are quite difficult. But it’s easy to describe the island.
First of all, it has a weird broken-down Tower in the middle surrounding it are deserted villages and ruins.
On the top left is an endless reaching grass field with nothing else but dirt.
On the top right is and volcano surrounded by trees and completely severed from the rest of the island by a river.
On the bottom right is a lake surrounded by trees with a weird red like substance in the middle floating like a miniature island.
On the Bottom left are mountains only mountains everywhere are mountains a never-ending mountain chain. Which is topped with a Snow tip for every mountain perfectly unified.
Leroy being stunned as what is happening right in front of him.
He sees a miniature island inside a Globe which doesn’t interact with the outside world as much as he shakes or routes the water isn’t changing.
While shaking the globe something comes to mind. Rotating the Globe to its bottom side revealed something. Inspecting it closer he sees Labeled, which wasn’t there before stating: “Project 158”.
After reading the name everything went black for Leroy. He collapses on his backpack still holding the Globe.
mirrord concept art
Globe [https://i.imgur.com/ub7g4Jk.jpg]