My jaw dropped as soon as I read the title. It had been YEARS since I even thought about that game, let alone played it. I clicked on the application instantly, waiting as the game loaded. Finally, I was presented with the title screen, as well as the old save files contained within the game. For those who don't know, this game closely resembles the Animal Crossing franchise. You get to build and maintain towns in a fantasy world. Once the game loaded, I was spawned inside of a house. A header at the top of the screen swung down, the words "DarkMagicXX\_X's House" inscribed into it. I hung my head down, cringing. The glory of a child's imagination, am I right?
I looked around the room I was in. I seriously lacked any sense of home décor as a child. Paintings were framed all across the walls of the room, giving it the appearance of a cluttered mess. I made my way over to the dresser near my bed. I clicked on it, causing the drawer to open, revealing a stash of items inside. An apple, a magnet, 50 gold, and a journal all lied within the drawer. I selected them all and put them in the character's pouch. Opening my inventory, I scrolled down and selected the journal.
Right! So, one of the primary mechanics of the game is the ability to jot down notes in in-game journals. I'd totally forgotten about that. I was giddy to read through the ramblings of a kid without a care in the world.
"i played with mister O today. i showed him my drawings from school and he really liked them. he said i did a good job and even gave me a cookie. he told me he would love to see my drawings i do next."
Mr. O? Maybe he was an old teacher of mine? I couldn't remember, so I shrugged and exited the journal. Leaving my room and making my way downstairs, I traversed the rest of the house, inspecting each room I came across. Eventually, I found the second bedroom of the house. As I entered, another header dropped down from the top of the screen, displaying the words "Mr. O's room." I paused. Inside of the room stood another character. He towered over me, and he turned to face me as I entered the room. His head lacked hair, and he was dressed in a plain white tee and blue jeans. Resuming, I approached him. A large grin adorned his unmoving face. Deciding to chat with him, I clicked on his character, but he said nothing.
The rest of his area was barren, save for a single door at the opposite end of the room. I entered it, revealing a bathroom. A silhouette stood in the tub, behind the shower curtain. Approaching it, I pulled back the curtain to reveal a second Mr. O. He simply stood there, sporting his same smile. Once more, I clicked on his character to open his dialogue. He merely said "Don't forget to scrub your back," and nothing more. His eyes watched me closely, seemingly following me no matter where I was. I opted to close the shower curtain and exit the room. I admit, it was weird as shit for him to be in there. Then again, it wouldn't be implausible for me to have placed him there as some kind of gag as a kid. You know how stupid and random a child's humor can be. Still, I couldn't remember for the life of me who he was.
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It took me a bit more searching to figure out why that character was in my house. An in-game computer sat at the dining room table and inspecting it revealed a character creation option. I was able to create and insert characters into my world as I pleased. Selecting the character creation option revealed that I had only created Mister. O. It was just him and I in this world, alone. Exiting the computer and turning around, I was shocked to see Mr. O standing behind me, mere pixels away from my character. As I backed away, his body stayed perfectly still, only moving his head to keep his watchful gaze fixated upon me.
I stepped out of my house and roamed around the town. Not a single soul was in sight. I followed the dirt trail through the town until I reached a house on the edge of the woods. Every house up to that point had been empty, but I figured it wouldn't be too much trouble to search through one more. As I entered, I was surprised to discover that it was filled with furniture and appliances. Even more shocking, however, was that I found the home to be fully occupied. A familiar man stood in every corner of the house, watching me.
What the fuck? Who was this guy? I couldn't remember for the life of me. I made my way around the house anyway, exploring the various drawers and cupboards sitting around. In one such cupboard sat a journal. I placed it in my inventory once more and opened it.
"Remember Jeremy, it's just you and me here.
Love,
-Mister. O"
That didn't seem consistent with my writing style as a child... I'm still not sure what to make of that. I set my DS aside and got up, a sense of confusion washing over me. I'd expected to find the incoherent ramblings of a kid in those journals. Instead, I was greeted with rather ominous notes left about in a desolate world. Well, an almost desolate world.
I decided to simply shove my confusion to the back of my mind and continue going through the box. I was ecstatic to find a bunch of my old drawings. My artistic ability hadn't developed past making stick figures, but hey, I was just a kid. Every crude drawing I found elicited a smirk from me, though I did find one in particular that stood out from the rest. I had drawn myself holding hands with a man. He was tall, and I had scribbled a pair of blue jeans and a white tee over his figure. A large smile had been plastered across his face. It was him alright.
Maybe Mr. O was an imaginary friend of mine? I really don't have another explanation for it. Though it is strange I can't seem to recall him, nor can I remember writing those notes down in my game. I'll have to ask my mother about him when she gets home from work this evening. Maybe she'll know what this is all about. Oh right... and that kid in the photograph. I'll have to ask her about him too. I'll be sure to write to you all again after I chat with her about it. Until then, you guys take care.