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[DREAM]
I’m… really nervous, truth be told, to give this statement, but I feel like it has to be done. Can’t really write about it, since that’s proving to be a struggle for me, so here I am. Talking to a tape recorder. Not the weirdest thing to have happened to me in my life.
See, I was put in charge of making copies of the archives for the big man, and I found one of them where he spoke about Scott at the end. It involved MCC, or Making Connections Competition, and what he said about Scott is true, he does organize it. He makes all of the games and puts together the teams, and I can’t say I’ve missed a single one.
Scott’s also… taught… me some things, though, and I guess this is what my statement is about. Xisuma- er, Mr. Void… he needs information. He knows Scott, personally from what I’ve heard, and to be fair he dropped off the face of the earth after the most recent games…
So, here we go.
(takes a breath)
Statement of Dream Wastaken, junior archival assistant at Admin Researching, regarding learning to craft a game. Statement taken directly from subject on February 12, 2022, and oversaw by… no one. That’s a little unnerving, but what must be done must be done. Statement begins.
[DREAM, statement]
It all started when I met Scott.
I was out with my friends, named George, Sapnap, and Bad, when he approached all of us. He introduced himself, Scott Major, and invited us to play in a tournament, designed to bring together the world.
MCC isn’t what the statement is… strictly about, though, so I won’t get into detail. The first one was the most fun I’ve had in my life, though. So was the second. And the third, and the fourth, and every one after that. It was the fifteenth one, around 2 years ago, when Scott and I first teamed together.
It’s funny, really. I’ve always been observant, taking notice of every little detail. I’ve always been into escape rooms and puzzle games, since those are right up my alley. But I never noticed anything weird about Scott. He seemed normal to me until he gave me a… gift.
That’s putting it pretty lightly. Let’s say that he cursed me instead.
It was just after the games had ended. My team hadn’t made it to the finale, and that was fine with me. Everyone had fun doing it, and we had actually gotten third, so we were pretty happy to give the first place team a pat on the back and head to bed. Before I had the chance to, though, I felt a hand on my shoulder, and turned around to be face-to-face with a smiling Scott.
“Hey, Dream,” he said, “Follow me. There’s something I want you to see.”
I did. Probably foolish, in hindsight.
He led me around the arenas. Beautiful, really. Clearly there’s some hard work put into building and designing it every MCC. As we walked, he told me about some of the behind the scenes that goes into the games.
“See, Parkour Warrior was one of my greater ideas, if you ask me. Not because of the concept – truth be told that sorta thing is illegal in most countries – but the sheer amount of work that went into it. What would’ve been a simple parkour race turned into one of my more beautiful works in these games. Nothing beats the main space, though, for me personally. What about you, Dream?”
I said that I liked the Ace Races, and he just chuckled and said, “Most do.”
“Wilbur’s the outlier, though,” I commented. Scott laughed quite a bit at that one.
We eventually found ourselves at the entrance to a cave. I guess he had led me to a place that would normally be organizers-only, since I’d never seen that specific opening before that day. Scott pulled out a torch and led the way. I followed close behind. The entrance was cold, but strangely enough not drafty. As we went deeper, the cave became warmer and warmer, to the point where I was starting to doze off on my feet, almost. It never became unbearably hot, always feeling like a warm hug. At least, until we made it to the cavern. The warmth never left, though, not until I saw the book.
“The Beginner’s Guide to Gamecrafting.” Bound in leather, sitting on a pedestal, with a spotlight over it. I breathed a wow.
“Take it.”
I turned to see Scott. His demeanor was off. It was more… demanding? No, no, not the word… controlling. Like he knew that he had control over my every action, like he could just puppeteer me over to that pedestal and force me to lift the book. Then again, I couldn’t move if I tried. And believe me, I took every action that I could try to get away from that cave. No matter how hard I tried, though, never once could I do something other than walk toward the pedestal. I was scared out of my mind, for the first time ever, and I had no form of control, no semblance of a free will over my body as I reached toward the book. My fingers brushed against the cover, and all of the warmth left me in a flash. There was a chill now, one that practically screamed at me to drop the book and run, that we weren’t alone here. Before I had the chance to think, though, the spotlight turned off. I was holding the Beginner's Guide to Gamecrafting.
I stumbled back down to Scott, since his silhouette was the only thing I could see. Once I made it to his side, he smiled at me, his face only half illuminated by the setting sun.
“You should get some rest,” he said, “ It’s been a long day, and you’ll have an even longer one of reading tomorrow.”
I passed out. He must have caught me and delivered me home, because I woke up in bed with that damn book on my bedside table.
I neglected it for as long as I could, I swear I did, but it kept calling me. The worst part was that not only have I been both a reader and a learner my entire life, but I was starting to get both bored and curious. I ended up picking it up one day. I don’t remember the exact date. But I soon had read it cover to cover. I’ll admit it, I was hooked from the very first paragraph.
Let’s see if I remember it…
Ah!
(clears throat)
“Welcome, young crafter. This is your first step, the beginning of the path to greatness, for you chose to gamecraft. You chose to make the first step to your new life, and you picked up this book. This book will teach you your greatness – if you so choose to receive it.”
I guess I chose to receive it, because barely a month later I rallied up the three people that I mentioned in the beginning to have them hunt me down. It was thrilling, and completely my design. Sometimes I’d win, sometimes I’d lose, but we stayed friends through it all. We even let in some more people to hunt me down, making the challenge harder and harder as time went on.
It’s only now that I realize I was forcing them into it.
I was forcing my friends to play, gaslighting them to the point where they thought they couldn’t say no to me. Only through distancing myself did I learn I was making my friends hate me, and I’m afraid that I can’t get them back…
[GRIAN]
You never lost them.
[DREAM]
Jesus f- GRIAN!
[GRIAN]
Sorry, Dream, but you forgot to close the door. I was just going to pass by and grab my keys, but let me tell you something about what I’ve heard.
So, you get invited to these games, MCC, end up having a frick-ton of fun, and leave not being able to wait for the next one, right?
[DREAM]
Yeah…
[GRIAN]
If the source information is the same book, then the same methodologies should be used. Your friends, players, hunters, whatever you wanna call them – they don’t hate you. Not at all. They probably love you even more for what you did with your… er, what do you call them?
[DREAM]
Manhunts.
[GRIAN]
There! Truth be told, those sound entertaining to me.
[DREAM]
Can’t tell if you’re just trying to make me feel better or if your words are genuine…
[GRIAN]
Best to assume the best when thinking of me.
(DREAM sighs and chuckles a bit)
[DREAM]
Statement ends.
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