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Description
Story #1: Character Creator

Me: Once upon a time the kid in the neighborhood that possessed a Nintendo or Sega system was considered royalty in his neighborhood. Every child in the neighborhood would call him every day just for the chance to play Mario, Sonic, or any other cool game at his house. Now it seems that gaming consoles are just standard equipment in every household. Even adults play them like no tomorrow even though once upon a time, people gave strong consideration to keeping to arcades to play Donkey Kong and Space Invaders when the Atari lost its magic with lazy games like ET. Isaac Brown is an avid gamer. He loves to play anything and particularly loves to create his own characters, but he’s about to learn that he can’t create…without proper control.

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Sam: (narrating) It was my cousin, Isaac’s thirteenth birthday, and he loved his Playstation very much. It had received a lot of love but was growing old. I thought the most ideal gift to give him was a Playstation 2 along with a few games, but those cost an arm and a leg. Thank goodness for pawn shops…

Isaac: *opens the present from his cousin* A Playstation 2?! Sam how were you able to afford this?! It’s perfect!

Sam: *smiles* Well, I figured your Playstation was getting old, and I popped into this used store, and there it was with a few games I thought you might like on sale.

Isaac: Oooo! Kingdom Hearts I and II! Smackdown vs Raw 2009!! Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith!!!

Sam: I thought you’d like that.

Issac: I do! Oh, thank you Sam! This is the best birthday ever!

Sam: (narrating) After selling the old Playstation, Isaac spent hours playing his old Playstation games on his PS2 marveling at the better picture quality and resolution. He was playing Crash Bash and Spyro until all the sheep were chops. It was then that I decided to give his newer games a suggestion.

Sam: Hey, Issac? I bought you these other games. Aren’t you going to give them a look?

Isaac: You’re right, Sam. I should. *looks them over* Hmmm...how about...Smackdown vs Raw 2009?

Sam: Why not? *puts in the disc and turns on the console* This is the first WWE game where official tag teams come out with their signature music. Like Triple H and Shawn Michaels come out to the D-Generation X theme music, and Undertaker and Kane come out to the Brothers of Destruction theme.

Isaac: That’s cool…but I’m more interested in this. *scrolls down to “Create a Wrestler”*

Sam: (narrating) It was no surprise. Apart from video games, Isaac loved to draw and create people. This time he could actually interact with his creation, and it left him excited. Little did I or anybody else know that he was about to create two things that I still can’t explain to this day.

Isaac: Okay…I think I’ll make him Hispanic….with a toned build….long thick hair….brown eyes….5’10’’, 197 pounds…and I’ll dress him up in a white tank top with blue jean shorts…and I’ll give him the name Navarro Wild.

Sam: (narrating) I watched Isaac making this character, and something wasn’t measuring up. Why would Isaac create a character so basic? Why wasn’t he giving him like flame clothing, or a luchador mask, or body paint and/or tattoos, why didn’t he have big hulking muscles like you associate with a pro-wrestler? I thought about it for a while, but I finally decided just to shrug it off. When Navarro Wild was finished, I admired my cousin’s craft.

Sam: Oooo…he’s a tough looking hombre, Isaac. Now you gonna play the game with him?

Isaac: Nope. How can I create a character without creating a villain for him to fight?

Sam: (narrating) Isaac was back at it again. This time he was acting more like I figured he would.

Isaac: White male….282 pounds…tall…muscular build….bald….tattoos of skulls and snakes on the left arm….dressed in a sleeveless black leather jacket and black jeans…..and I’ll call him….Paul “Biker” Kasey.

Sam: He looks vicious…is this Navarro Wild’s mortal enemy, Isaac?

Isaac: Yeah…so let’s play!

Sam: (narrating) Isaac pit Navarro against Paul for several hours, but no matter how low he set the settings and studied the controls, Paul would always get the pin on Navarro. Isaac tried Tables Matches, Ladder Matches, Hell-in-a-Cell, Last Man Standing Matches, the works, but no matter how hard he tried Paul always left Navarro a bloodied and battered heap on the canvas, but what was strange was the pose Navarro was in at the end of every match. It was always the same. Face down on his stomach with blood all over the ring. Frustrated, Isaac shut off the console and stormed off to his room. It was just as well because the news was about to come on. That was when the strangeness happened.

Reporter: …a college boy named Navarro Salvaje was found brutally murdered in his apartment earlier today. Forensics say he had been dead for over two weeks and left to rot by a burglar that stole his Playstation 2 and three favorite games.

Sam: (narrating) When a photograph of Navarro Salvaje appeared on the screen along with physical traits, I couldn't believe it! Hispanic. Long black hair. Brown eyes. What was incredible was he looked just like Navarro Wild! The character Isaac created! Even off to the sides it read he was 5’10’’ and 197 pounds! Then it cut to a reporter talking to what appeared to be Navarro’s mother.

Navarro’s Mother: ….my son was a normal boy. He’d never do anything to harm anybody! He loved professional wrestling and playing video games! That’s why for his birthday just about a month ago I bought him Smackdown vs Raw 2009 for his PS2….and now some thug has killed him and stolen it to sell to some pawn shop.

Sam: (narrating) It was unbelievable! But what was truly shocking was the image of the tape lining on the tile. The pose Navarro apparently had was face down, and there was blood everywhere. A pose I recognized from earlier. Raising an eyebrow, I turned to my computer and logged into a translation search engine and programmed English to Spanish and typed in the word “wild.” It was as I suspected. I hit rewind on the remote and held that tape lining, then called Isaac back to try again. Isaac was still upset, but he agreed. Again, he lost and started to get angry until I stopped him.

Sam: Isaac, look at that pose. Sink it in for a second. *grabs the remote and switched to television to show the paused image of the pose according to the tape lining and the pool of blood*

Isaac: *gasped* That’s the same pose Navarro Wild takes whenever he’s beaten!

Sam: Yes, and there’s more. The murder-burglary victim’s name was Navarro too! Navarro Salvaje. Isaac, do you know what “Salvaje” means in English?

Isaac: *hesitantly gets out* W-W-Wild…?

Sam: Precisely. Now take a look at the photos of the murder victim.

Sam: (narrating) I rewound the broadcast to show to Isaac’s growing shock that Navarro Salvaje was the spitting image of Navarro Wild! He then listened to his grieving mother talk about how big a wrestling fan Navarro Salvaje was and how his favorite game was Smackdown vs Raw 2009. We both called the police claiming that we might have bought Navarro Salvaje’s console, games, and controller at a pawn shop. The forensic scientists came and dusted for fingerprints, and sure enough in addition to Isaac, the pawn shop owner, and my fingerprints, there were definite fingerprints of Navarro Salvaje. There were also fingerprints of a man with a rap-sheet. He was arrested soon later as the console and games were brought in as evidence at the trial that we were asked to attend. The suspect pled guilty as he turned to face all in attendance. Isaac and I gasped in shock when we heard the judge proclaim the suspect’s name: His name was Paul Casey…he was found in a biker bar…and he looked like and was dressed just like Paul “Biker” Kasey….Navarro Wild’s archenemy in our game…….
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Me: After the trial, Navarro’s mother let Isaac and Sam keep her son’s Playstation 2 and the games. Saying that they helped the police and her solve her son’s murder, and thus Navarro would have wanted them to have it. Incidentally after Paul Casey was convicted, Isaac pit Navarro Wild and Paul “Biker” Casey again and again, and never lost to Paul “Biker” Casey ever again.

But what actually happened here? Did Isaac see an image in the newspaper and create Navarro Wild from it? If so, why would he create Paul “Biker” Kasey to look exactly like the man that killed Navarro Salvaje? Was it a mere coincidence? Or did Navarro Salvaje love his favorite videogame so much that he was able to put his spirit into it and guide Isaac’s hand to not only create the image of himself, but that of his murderer? Or did this story never actually play out?

Did this case of a videogame solving its former owner’s murder actually happen? Or am I just tapping on my controller?

Description
Story #1: Character Creator

Me: Once upon a time the kid in the neighborhood that possessed a Nintendo or Sega system was considered royalty in his neighborhood. Every child in the neighborhood would call him every day just for the chance to play Mario, Sonic, or any other cool game at his house. Now it seems that gaming consoles are just standard equipment in every household. Even adults play them like no tomorrow even though once upon a time, people gave strong consideration to keeping to arcades to play Donkey Kong and Space Invaders when the Atari lost its magic with lazy games like ET. Isaac Brown is an avid gamer. He loves to play anything and particularly loves to create his own characters, but he’s about to learn that he can’t create…without proper control.

------

Sam: (narrating) It was my cousin, Isaac’s thirteenth birthday, and he loved his Playstation very much. It had received a lot of love but was growing old. I thought the most ideal gift to give him was a Playstation 2 along with a few games, but those cost an arm and a leg. Thank goodness for pawn shops…

Isaac: *opens the present from his cousin* A Playstation 2?! Sam how were you able to afford this?! It’s perfect!

Sam: *smiles* Well, I figured your Playstation was getting old, and I popped into this used store, and there it was with a few games I thought you might like on sale.

Isaac: Oooo! Kingdom Hearts I and II! Smackdown vs Raw 2009!! Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith!!!

Sam: I thought you’d like that.

Issac: I do! Oh, thank you Sam! This is the best birthday ever!

Sam: (narrating) After selling the old Playstation, Isaac spent hours playing his old Playstation games on his PS2 marveling at the better picture quality and resolution. He was playing Crash Bash and Spyro until all the sheep were chops. It was then that I decided to give his newer games a suggestion.

Sam: Hey, Issac? I bought you these other games. Aren’t you going to give them a look?

Isaac: You’re right, Sam. I should. *looks them over* Hmmm...how about...Smackdown vs Raw 2009?

Sam: Why not? *puts in the disc and turns on the console* This is the first WWE game where official tag teams come out with their signature music. Like Triple H and Shawn Michaels come out to the D-Generation X theme music, and Undertaker and Kane come out to the Brothers of Destruction theme.

Isaac: That’s cool…but I’m more interested in this. *scrolls down to “Create a Wrestler”*

Sam: (narrating) It was no surprise. Apart from video games, Isaac loved to draw and create people. This time he could actually interact with his creation, and it left him excited. Little did I or anybody else know that he was about to create two things that I still can’t explain to this day.

Isaac: Okay…I think I’ll make him Hispanic….with a toned build….long thick hair….brown eyes….5’10’’, 197 pounds…and I’ll dress him up in a white tank top with blue jean shorts…and I’ll give him the name Navarro Wild.

Sam: (narrating) I watched Isaac making this character, and something wasn’t measuring up. Why would Isaac create a character so basic? Why wasn’t he giving him like flame clothing, or a luchador mask, or body paint and/or tattoos, why didn’t he have big hulking muscles like you associate with a pro-wrestler? I thought about it for a while, but I finally decided just to shrug it off. When Navarro Wild was finished, I admired my cousin’s craft.

Sam: Oooo…he’s a tough looking hombre, Isaac. Now you gonna play the game with him?

Isaac: Nope. How can I create a character without creating a villain for him to fight?

Sam: (narrating) Isaac was back at it again. This time he was acting more like I figured he would.

Isaac: White male….282 pounds…tall…muscular build….bald….tattoos of skulls and snakes on the left arm….dressed in a sleeveless black leather jacket and black jeans…..and I’ll call him….Paul “Biker” Kasey.

Sam: He looks vicious…is this Navarro Wild’s mortal enemy, Isaac?

Isaac: Yeah…so let’s play!

Sam: (narrating) Isaac pit Navarro against Paul for several hours, but no matter how low he set the settings and studied the controls, Paul would always get the pin on Navarro. Isaac tried Tables Matches, Ladder Matches, Hell-in-a-Cell, Last Man Standing Matches, the works, but no matter how hard he tried Paul always left Navarro a bloodied and battered heap on the canvas, but what was strange was the pose Navarro was in at the end of every match. It was always the same. Face down on his stomach with blood all over the ring. Frustrated, Isaac shut off the console and stormed off to his room. It was just as well because the news was about to come on. That was when the strangeness happened.

Reporter: …a college boy named Navarro Salvaje was found brutally murdered in his apartment earlier today. Forensics say he had been dead for over two weeks and left to rot by a burglar that stole his Playstation 2 and three favorite games.

Sam: (narrating) When a photograph of Navarro Salvaje appeared on the screen along with physical traits, I couldn't believe it! Hispanic. Long black hair. Brown eyes. What was incredible was he looked just like Navarro Wild! The character Isaac created! Even off to the sides it read he was 5’10’’ and 197 pounds! Then it cut to a reporter talking to what appeared to be Navarro’s mother.

Navarro’s Mother: ….my son was a normal boy. He’d never do anything to harm anybody! He loved professional wrestling and playing video games! That’s why for his birthday just about a month ago I bought him Smackdown vs Raw 2009 for his PS2….and now some thug has killed him and stolen it to sell to some pawn shop.

Sam: (narrating) It was unbelievable! But what was truly shocking was the image of the tape lining on the tile. The pose Navarro apparently had was face down, and there was blood everywhere. A pose I recognized from earlier. Raising an eyebrow, I turned to my computer and logged into a translation search engine and programmed English to Spanish and typed in the word “wild.” It was as I suspected. I hit rewind on the remote and held that tape lining, then called Isaac back to try again. Isaac was still upset, but he agreed. Again, he lost and started to get angry until I stopped him.

Sam: Isaac, look at that pose. Sink it in for a second. *grabs the remote and switched to television to show the paused image of the pose according to the tape lining and the pool of blood*

Isaac: *gasped* That’s the same pose Navarro Wild takes whenever he’s beaten!

Sam: Yes, and there’s more. The murder-burglary victim’s name was Navarro too! Navarro Salvaje. Isaac, do you know what “Salvaje” means in English?

Isaac: *hesitantly gets out* W-W-Wild…?

Sam: Precisely. Now take a look at the photos of the murder victim.

Sam: (narrating) I rewound the broadcast to show to Isaac’s growing shock that Navarro Salvaje was the spitting image of Navarro Wild! He then listened to his grieving mother talk about how big a wrestling fan Navarro Salvaje was and how his favorite game was Smackdown vs Raw 2009. We both called the police claiming that we might have bought Navarro Salvaje’s console, games, and controller at a pawn shop. The forensic scientists came and dusted for fingerprints, and sure enough in addition to Isaac, the pawn shop owner, and my fingerprints, there were definite fingerprints of Navarro Salvaje. There were also fingerprints of a man with a rap-sheet. He was arrested soon later as the console and games were brought in as evidence at the trial that we were asked to attend. The suspect pled guilty as he turned to face all in attendance. Isaac and I gasped in shock when we heard the judge proclaim the suspect’s name: His name was Paul Casey…he was found in a biker bar…and he looked like and was dressed just like Paul “Biker” Kasey….Navarro Wild’s archenemy in our game…….
----
Me: After the trial, Navarro’s mother let Isaac and Sam keep her son’s Playstation 2 and the games. Saying that they helped the police and her solve her son’s murder, and thus Navarro would have wanted them to have it. Incidentally after Paul Casey was convicted, Isaac pit Navarro Wild and Paul “Biker” Casey again and again, and never lost to Paul “Biker” Casey ever again.

But what actually happened here? Did Isaac see an image in the newspaper and create Navarro Wild from it? If so, why would he create Paul “Biker” Kasey to look exactly like the man that killed Navarro Salvaje? Was it a mere coincidence? Or did Navarro Salvaje love his favorite videogame so much that he was able to put his spirit into it and guide Isaac’s hand to not only create the image of himself, but that of his murderer? Or did this story never actually play out?

Did this case of a videogame solving its former owner’s murder actually happen? Or am I just tapping on my controller?