(Chapter 5 - The Haunted House)
Once again, there came a rather bizarre sort of change in the environment. A loud storm enveloped the entire dome of the skyscape and rapidly revolved what seemed to be the whole celestial body veiled by the lucidity of daylight.
After a short blink of time, the wind calmed down and both GameDev and the square were in a wide living room made out of old grayish wood. It was quiet and dark, and only the slight glimpse of moonlight gave visual cues to the interior of the area.
"Are we in a mansion?" GameDev inquired.
The square gave a gentle answer. "Close. This is the Haunted House, and I can confidently say that you and I are standing inside the most mysterious place in the world."
GameDev waited a while to let his eyes adjust themselves to the unprecedented darkness. Then, he closely inspected the space around him. There was a cold, ashy fireplace amidst the central recess of the house, besides a dusty bookshelf, a table with an oil lamp, and a partially burnt brick column.
Before he could ask her what was so mysterious about it, a coffin-like cabinet behind him opened up and emitted an intense beam of green light.
A puff of yellow smoke came out of its greenish flame and turned into a semi-translucent skull. It revolved for about 7 times in rapid succession, faced GameDev directly, and cried:
"Beware! When the planets are aligned and the crescent moon shatters into three quarters, you will drink the blood of my long-deceased ancestors."
Then the skull turned into an enormous blob of purple slime, rapidly grew itself to fill the entire house with scintillating purple light, and disappeared immediately.
"What does this mean?" GameDev asked. He was irritated by his own confusion.
"Oh, it is up to you to figure out," she replied. "This abandoned site is the den of countless unknown beings. Some call them 'ghosts', while others refer to them as extraterrestrial demons from another dimension. We have never found out the cause of the supernatural phenomena which have been occurring here."
As soon as she finished her last sentence, the fireplace made an explosive sound and began to vomit swarms of light-emitting butterflies. Their wings were made of real butter.
"Is this..?" Inquired GameDev in a suspicious tone.
"Yes, this is another paranormal activity - purely mysterious, exotic, and unknowable," answered the square.
Before there was any time for further investigation, the whole house abruptly dismantled into oblivion. The walls disappeared, the floor disappeared, and both the square and GameDev found themselves hovering in the midst of empty space. Only stars and distant galaxies filled up their surroundings.
"Are we-" He tried to ask, but a loud vibratory noise interrupted him.
They were zooming towards a gigantic red star, which quickly transformed into a ring of fire. At the center of the ring were three green eyes, all staring at the two visitors in a fierce manner.
"Okay, this is just completely random and meaningless," he uttered rather contemptuously. "I keep seeing strange things, but they do not mean anything to me."
"Think of it as a game," replied the square. "You are here to solve a complex puzzle, filled with wonders that are hard to grasp but can potentially show you a whole new treasure box of discoveries. Just be patient, and you will find out."
"If this is a game, I will say that it is an exceptionally lame one," he murmured bitterly. "The experience I am having right now is indeed saturated with mysteries, yet they do not mean anything to me because they have failed to show me why I must be interested in them."
She beamed a light smile and said, "You are thinking too deeply. Most people who play games do not try to reason with what they see. They simply want to have fun, and the feeling of cluelessness is one sugary ingredient to spice up such a purpose."
GameDev rejected her claim. "No, I don't think a random mixture of bizarre images is all it takes to get people's attention. The audience is smart enough to discern such a lazy trick, as it is so obvious that its goal is to hide the game's lack of design."
"No one wants to see any genuine hint of intricacy," said the square. "What a gamer wants to see is a proof that the world is so helplessly random and out of place, that no educated worldview should be preferred over a less educated one. You better not ruin this shared fantasy in which one's shortage of intellect is taken not as a room for improvement, but as a mere difference in taste."
She then raised herself a bit and whistled. The Haunted House came back to where they were and once again enclosed them under the shadow of darkness, although those three annoying eyes were still gazing at them through the window, occasionally eye-rolling to express their passive aggression.
"I do understand what you mean, though," said the square solemnly. She moved about in a rather nervous fashion and resumed her line of speech. "I will show you something else which you might be interested in."
She shuddered a bit. A wave of mist came over and wrapped both of them in silence.