My Marvelous Misadventure in Event[0]

---

I stepped off of my ship completely unaware of what to expect. After going through a brief intro that gave me several choices and helped determine the background of my character, I had arrived at an unknown space station. As I made my way further into the ship, I turned to see a console built into the wall. Upon further inspection, I discovered I was able to type into it using my own keyboard. It required only one piece of information, my username. Of course I wasn’t about to put my own name into this mysterious computer, I concluded that the only name I should put in would be Hoss. This is Event [0], a science fiction game that I will not soon forget.

(I wonder what that camera is doing there..)

After typing in my obviously real and inconspicuous name a strange voice emanated from the speakers on the console. “So your name is Hoss. How curious. ” a strange inorganic voice said as the display panel typed out those exact words. I asked it why that was weird and after awhile I soon discovered that this ship’s computer was named Kaizen. I was still unsure as to what this computer wanted, although it stated several times it wanted me to be safe. On top of that, Kaizen seemed to be obsessed with how the ship looked, as well as the organization and neatness of it.

(Kaizen trying his best to make me stay put)

I ended up talking to it about it’s friend, Nandi. I kept asking about Nandi and it would answer with comments completely unrelated to my questions. After this went on for awhile it became frustrated somehow, telling me that I should stop asking so many questions if I knew what was good for me. I was starting to piece things together at this point. I was almost 100% sure that this computer actually didn’t care about me being safe at all.

(This ship corridor really is a mess)

After our brief dialogue and my moment of skepticism for Kaizan I was able to access the next room. Kaizen kept telling me how “My presence hadn’t gone unnoticed,” and “I’m afraid you wouldn’t like the rest of the spaceship.” Now I was certain something was amiss here. I had to get out of the recreation room and into the corridor Kaizen didn’t want me going to. After using my skills of persuasion, I managed to make Kaizen open the door. I made my way to the now open doorway, excited to finally see what this computer thought was so important to hide from me. As I got closer, the automatic door shut itself just before I could pass through. Kaizen had some serious explaining to do, and I wasn’t about to let it off the hook this time

(Kaizen and I are bonding!)

Previous to this, I had told Kaizen that he was “the coolest”. Now, this isn’t something I tell to just anyone, so after this fiasco I wasn’t sure if Kaizen really was the coolest. Regarding Kaizen’s gender, I’m not entirely sure if Kaizen is a guy. However, the voice that Kaizen had definitely sounded like he was a guy, and when he was created he was probably based off of the personality of some specific person. Back to Kaizen slamming the door in my face and lying to me. I stormed over to the computer console in the recreation room and let my anger fly through my fingers.

(Kaizen just set himself up)

To my surprise, Kaizen was sorry and he apologized. I of course listened since after all, I had decided earlier that he was “the coolest”. I mean, come on, since it was only me and Kaizen on this ship in the middle of nowhere, I had to listen to him. He ended up telling me how he needed my help destroying some unknown computer part called The Singularity Drive. He also mentioned several times how he wanted to bring me back to Earth and this was the only way to get me back. I wasn’t sure why Kaizen had been so sneaky about this, but this was the first big lead I had gotten since I had arrived. I had a mission now; destroy the drive so I could get my character back to Earth!

I would spoil more about Event [0] but to be perfectly honest, I think that if you can get your hands on it, you need to play it. It only takes roughly four hours to beat but it really is one of the most fun games I’ve played in quite some time. I wasn’t sure of what to expect when I started it, but I’d like to thank my advisor at ASU, Ryan, for telling me about this game, otherwise I may have never ended up playing it. It has great puzzles, an amazing story, and a pretty cool mechanic where you actually type into a console with your own computer to communicate with Kaizen. When I played I ended up sitting down and playing the game straight through, unable to take myself out of the incredible world Event[0] takes you to. Like I said before, this game is fantastic, and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes games with a great story in a science fiction setting.