Who Are You Running From?

The Gameboy Camera was seen as a revolutionary piece of technology when it first hit shelves in 1998. The idea that you could take real pictures with your Gameboy (and print them, no less) was unthinkable at the time. Tons of kids rushed to stores to buy the “World's Smallest Digital Camera” to go with their Gameboy Color, blissfully unaware of what to expect from the game that came with it.
The game came with several minigames aside from the typically simple picture editing software. You could even play a Space Invaders-type mode with your picture as the final boss. The main menu interface included the options "Shoot", "View", and "Play". If the player chose to “Shoot”, he/she would be greeted by a screen that resembled some sort of strange JRPG. More options would appear on this screen, such as "Shoot", "Items", "Magic", "Check", and "Run".
If the “Run” option was selected, a strangely distorted face would appear on the screen. The face appears to have been “doodled” on, with fake hair, lips, eyebrows, and eyes crudely drawn over a male's face. A black star is seen to be imprinted on the face's forehead. The man in the photo seems to be posing with one finger over his mouth, as if telling someone to shush. The picture comes with a caption as well, which reads: “Who are you running from?”
In the American version of the game/accessory, two other faces can randomly appear throughout the game. One seems to be of a man whose face has also been drawn on. He had been given female hair, and a bizarre “wave” symbol had been drawn on his forehead.
The other face was obviously female, with artificial eyes and drawn pigtails. This face had the same “wave” symbol drawn onto her forehead. These faces were occasionally accompanied by the same eerie inquiry: “Who are you running from?”
The Japanese version of the game had two additional faces that would pop up at random intervals while playing. The first face seemed to be a male, with scribbled eyes and an unnerving smile. It is unclear whether or not the hair on this face is real, as the resolution is extremely low. The face also had waves drawn onto its forehead.
The final face is seemingly of a man with a drawn scowl and cartoonishly long hair. The eyes of this face are also doodled, as well as most of the other features. This face is the only one without a symbol on its forehead, and is also the only face without a devilish synthetic smile. Another more subtle difference is that this picture seems to have been taken in a different location than all the others. The previous faces all have nothing but a white backdrop, but this one appears to have some sort of object in the background.
It is believed that these pictures are the result of a kidnapping done by a strange cult. The figure with a black star drawn on its forehead is said to be the leader of the group, while the ones with waves were said to be the disciples. The face without any symbols and the dark scowl is believed to be the unlucky victim. It is unclear what the condition of the victim is in the photograph, or how these pictures managed to be included in the game. The motive of the cult is also unclear, as no body that resembled the victim was ever recovered.
Category:Historical Archive
Category:Video Games
Category:Theory