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.
Overview
The FACE event, and by extension the character itself, is only accessible through a Zippertile located near the southeast corner of Number World's first room. Occasionally, the Zippertile will have an unhappy expression, which is determined every time Madotsuki goes to sleep. Using the Knife effect on the tile while it is unhappy will lead to the Number World Stairway, which has the FACE event's door at the end of it.
After opening the Stairway door, the screen will fade to black for a moment. Slowly, a flashing animation that looks like some sort of face or mask fades in, accompanied by a crescendoing rushing sound. FACE cannot be dismissed until it has been playing for approximately ten seconds. When the event ends, the rushing sound momentarily speeds up and Madotsuki awakens abruptly, as if from a nightmare.
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.
- FACE bears a great resemblance to Louis Wain's cat art, especially pieces made later into his life that used much more abstract and detailed patterns alongside brighter colors while still keeping cat- or face-esque markings.
- The only other events that wake Madotsuki up are the Famicom Glitch and the Witch's Flight events. It should also be noted that the FACE event is the only one of these three where the wake-up condition is not due to Madotsuki's own actions.
Theories
Due to the disturbing nature of the event, the existence of FACE has led to fans theorizing about what it could represent or symbolize.
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 is a representation of why Madotsuki does not want to leave her room in the real world, 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.
Some fans think that FACE may represent one of the many instances of body imagery in the game. Considering that a zipper is used to access the area connected to the FACE event and a phallus-like creature can be seen near the event's door, FACE could be interpreted as some sort of phallic imagery as well, though this is often disputed. Some also think that FACE may be literal in that it represents an actual person's face, possibly even Madotsuki's exaggerated interpretation of her own face due to uncertainty about her physical appearance.
Gallery
The FACE animation.
The image was used to block the Debug Room in version 0.09.
FACE as it appears in the light novel.
