FACE (Known as 赤の王様 "the Red King" by Japanese fans) is an event that occurs when Madotsuki opens the door at the top of the Stairway in Number World.
It shows a flashing animation that looks like some sort of face or mask, in a similar chaotic rendition as artist Louis Wain's last paintings. The animation fades in slowly from a black screen and is accompanied by a crescendoing rushing sound.
FACE cannot be dismissed until it has been playing for approximately ten seconds. When the animation ends, a sound plays and Madotsuki awakens abruptly, as if from a nightmare. The only other events to wake the player up are the Witch's Flight and the Famicom Glitch.
See at the bottom of the page for a GIF version of the event.
Trivia
- In version 0.09, the image of the character scrolls horizontally and imitates the Thing with the Quivering Jaw in the Debug Room, blocking off the player from accessing it. By hacking, the player can bypass this.
- While unused, a smiling gate known as FACEtile appears in the files for the characters in version 0.08, with it being wider than other doors. As the door in the game is the same one as the Nexus (which has led to a number of theories), it can be assumed that this was originally supposed to be the door's appearance. Supporting this theory is the fact that it fits perfectly, and that the event for the door shows that it was supposed to have animation.
- Thumbs.db files in the same version reveal a zoomed-out version of FACE itself.
Interpretation
- The door that leads to the FACE event looks exactly like the door in Madotsuki's room, the one that leads to the Nexus in the dream world, and the one she doesn't want to leave in the real world. This could possibly mean that FACE could represent the reason why she doesn't want to go out, whether it be some sort of trauma or other fear. Another theory is that it is a dream-catcher of some kind, and is reminding Madotsuki that she is dreaming, which is why she wakes up.
The FACE animation.
The image was used to block the Debug Room in version 0.09.
Various cats drawn by Louis Wain. FACE bears a resemblance to the more distorted ones.
