bandersnatcht

[bandersnatcht]

The Talking Heads

You pause for a moment, the way the decision had come to you was unusual. It felt like a command rather than a choice. You blamed it on the lack of sleep, making you run on autopilot. You pull on the t-shirt, tucking it into the trousers, cigarette still hanging out of your lips. You shuffle into the kitchen area, brewing a cup of coffee. You use the ten odd minutes you planned spare to enjoy the hot drink, before putting on a leather jacket and adidas shoulder bag, slipping into a pair of black Doc Marten boots and rushing out the door.

After the several flights of stairs that smelt of piss, the trudge down the pavement and the quick visit to the vendors stand for a newspaper, you made it onto the bus. Mohan Takhur was a laid back boss, but as a woman working in a very male dominated job, it seemed important to make maximum effort. Plus, the new office was a good fifteen minutes further away.

You came into the office at only one minute past nine, walking across the room to find your desk. You spotted Colin clicking away at his computer. He was programming his new game Nohzdyve. He looked up as he spotted you come in, giving you a nod of acknowledgement. You sat at you desk, pulling your stuff out of your bag before realising you'd dropped your lighter on the way in.

You stood up, scouring the floor as you walked towards the door that you'd entered through. You weren't looking where you were going though, as you bumped right into someone who'd just walked in.

"Shit, man, sorry," you apologised, looking up at the guys surprised face. "Hi, I'm (Y/n). I do the cover art for all the Tuckersoft games." I offered my hand out to him, and he shook it unsurely, still seeming a little wide-eyed and shy.

"Stefan," he replied.

"Have we met before?" you ask, unable to pin your finger on where you knew him from.

"No, sorry," he replied.

"Ah, no bother." I turned to see Thakur talking to Satpal, a lad who essentially worked as a runner boy.

"Fetch us 20 B&H, would you? And... Lion Bar. Good boy," I heard him say, handing the boy a five pound note, before he spotted Stefan.

"Ah! You... are... Stephen!"

"Stefan," he corrected.

"Stefan, sorry mate. I see you've met (Y/n). She's the only woman we let near the computers," he chuckled, and I frowned at his joke but let it slide nonetheless. "Sorry about the chaos, we just moved in Monday."

"It's big," Stefan replied, looking around, catching the sight of the METL HEDD poster on the wall.

"She can draw, can't she?" Thakur said, pushing me lightly on the shoulder. "That's Colin's new one."

"Colin Ritman?" Stefan asked, grinning slightly.

"That's him over there," Thakur pointed out my friend's bleach blonde hair.

"That's crazy. I've played all of his games," Stefan said in awe.

"You're lucky he's not an egomaniac," you butted in. "We should go say hello."

"You sure he won't mind? He's working," Stefan protested, but Thakur had started to drag him over anyway, you following behind the pair to listen in to their conversation.

"What's this? Kajagoogoo?" Thakur joked, lifting up Colin's headphones to speak in his ear. He gave an exasperated look, putting them around his neck.

"You wish," Colin replied, putting his rollie between his lips and continuing to tap at his computer.

"The state of him, he's made enough this year to buy a Lamborghini and he still smokes roll-ups." Thakur came round to Colin's side. As much as he could be a nuisance, he was very proud to have Colin working for the company.

"Well, we're all smoking strychnine, so I don't blame him," you added in, having heard his reasoning already, and as the words fell off your lips you felt as though you'd said them before. Colin nodded his approval at you. The curly haired guy was still stood there, seemingly starstruck with his mouth slightly open.

"Anyway, this is Stefan, er..." Thakur began.

"B-Butler, Butler," he stammered self consciously. He offered his hand to Colin to shake.

"Okay, this is (Y/n), she does all the cover work, helps with character design, and I'm Colin, yeah?"

"Yeah, I've played all of your games. All of them. Except the Commodore ones, I don't... don't have a Commodore," Stefan gushed, and you tried not to take his act of brushing you aside to heart. You were stood next to his idol after all.

"Great sound chip, the Commodore."

"Yeah," Stefan agreed.

"This is my latest," Colin told him, gesturing the screen and hitting the run key. "It's called Nohzdyve, (Y/n)'s name, not mine." He pressed play, running the game. You leaned over to get a better view of the screen

"The sprites are so smooth," Stefan commented, obviously enamoured with Colin and his work.

"That took some doing."

Then the game crashed, resetting to a blank screen.

"Oh, bollocks," Colin cursed.

"What's that?" Thakur asked.

"It's a buffer error, video memory has been overrun," Stefan pointed out. You looked at him. He'd stolen your exact words from your lips. He shrugged.

"Seen it before," he dismissed.

"Anyway, let's get down to business, Stefan's got something to demo for us," Thakur pointed out. "(Y/n), you can join us, I want you on the cover art for this one."

The game took several turns down corridors, taking a path down a 3D perspective world. It was already a strong concept. You flicked through the book Stefan brought in with him.

"Bloody hell," Thakur exclaimed. "So it's like 3D Monster Maze?"

"Only when you're moving from choice to choice," Stefan explained, fiddling with the joystick. "It's actually an adventure game."

"Like The Hobbit?"

"Yeah... but without any typing," he seemed a little exasperated at Thakur's continuous missing of the point, but that was to be expected. You looked over the cover of the book. Jerome F. Davies. The name rung a bell; the guy went bonkers and killed his wife.

"Without any typing? So no... 'get lamp' or whatever?"

"That's right," Stefan told Thakur proudly. He laughed slightly, impressed, looking over to Colin, who nodded his own approval.

A figure appeared in the corridor on screen, a blue lion-like creature.

"Choices come up on the screen and you pick one against the clock," Stefan explained further. "Okay, he's Pax, he's the demon. He's in the book. So we've actually arrived at a choice point and then you can choose with the joystick."

PUNY HUMAN ! ! ! WILL YOU WORSHIP ME?

[ Deny Pax ] ---------- [ Worship Pax ]

[bandersnatcht]

The Birthday Party

You pause for a moment, the way the decision had come to you was unusual. It felt like a command rather than a choice. You blamed it on the lack of sleep, making you run on autopilot. You pull on the t-shirt, tucking it into the trousers, cigarette still hanging out of your lips. You shuffle into the kitchen area, brewing a cup of coffee. You use the ten odd minutes you planned spare to enjoy the hot drink, before putting on a leather jacket and adidas shoulder bag, slipping into a pair of black Doc Marten boots and rushing out the door.

After the several flights of stairs that smelt of piss, the trudge down the pavement and the quick visit to the vendors stand for a newspaper, you made it onto the bus. Mohan Takhur was a laid back boss, but as a woman working in a very male dominated job, it seemed important to make maximum effort. Plus, the new office was a good fifteen minutes further away.

You came into the office at only one minute past nine, walking across the room to find your desk. You spotted Colin clicking away at his computer. He was programming his new game Nohzdyve. He looked up as he spotted you come in, pulling his headphones down to speak to you.

“Morning, mate. I like your t-shirt. Good choice.” He saluted you with his fingers. You stopped by his desk for a chat.

“How’s the game coming along?” you asked, peering over at his screen full of code. He shrugged.

“It’s not far off actually.”

You looked to the door, noticing a young man with curly dark hair talking to Thakur. You felt an odd sense of deja vu watching them stand and talk, but shrugged it off.

"You should be expecting company," you warned Colin, nodding in the direction of the pair, who were heading toward Colin's desk.

"What's this? Kajagoogoo?" Thakur joked, referencing the sound escaping from Colin's headphones.

"You wish," Colin replied, putting his rollie between his lips and continuing to tap at his computer.

"The state of him, he's made enough this year to buy a Lamborghini and he still smokes roll-ups." Thakur came round to Colin's side. As much as he could be a nuisance, he was very proud to have Colin working for the company.

"Well, we're all smoking strychnine, so I don't blame him," you added in, having heard his reasoning already, and as the words fell off your lips you felt as though you'd said them before. Colin nodded his approval at you. The curly haired guy was still stood there, seemingly starstruck with his mouth slightly open.

"Anyway, this is Stefan, er..." Thakur began.

"B-Butler, Butler," he stammered self consciously.

"Have we met before?" you ask him. "I feel like we've met already." Stefan shook his head.

"I don't think so."

"Okay, this is (Y/n), she does all the cover work, helps with character design, and I'm Colin, yeah?"

"Yeah, I've played all of your games. All of them. Except the Commodore ones, I don't... don't have a Commodore," Stefan gushed, and you tried not to take his act of brushing you aside to heart. You were stood next to his idol after all.

"Great sound chip, the Commodore."

"Yeah," Stefan agreed.

"This is my latest," Colin told him, gesturing the screen and hitting the run key. "It's called Nohzdyve, (Y/n)'s name, not mine." He pressed play, running the game. You leaned over to get a better view of the screen

"The sprites are so smooth," Stefan commented, obviously enamoured with Colin and his work.

"That took some doing."

Then the game crashed, resetting to a blank screen.

"Oh, bollocks," Colin cursed.

"What's that?" Thakur asked.

"It's a buffer error, video memory has been overrun," Stefan pointed out. You looked at him. He'd stolen your exact words from your lips. He shrugged.

"Seen it before," he dismissed.

"Anyway, let's get down to business, Stefan's got something to demo for us," Thakur pointed out. "(Y/n), you can join us, I want you on the cover art for this one."

The game took several turns down corridors, taking a path down a 3D perspective world. It was already a strong concept. You flicked through the book Stefan brought in with him.

"Bloody hell," Thakur exclaimed. "So it's like 3D Monster Maze?"

"Only when you're moving from choice to choice," Stefan explained, fiddling with the joystick. "It's actually an adventure game."

"Like The Hobbit?"

"Yeah... but without any typing," he seemed a little exasperated at Thakur's continuous missing of the point, but that was to be expected. You looked over the cover of the book. Jerome F. Davies. The name rung a bell; the guy went bonkers and killed his wife.

"Without any typing? So no... 'get lamp' or whatever?"

"That's right," Stefan told Thakur proudly. He laughed slightly, impressed, looking over to Colin, who nodded his own approval.

A figure appeared in the corridor on screen, a blue lion-like creature.

"Choices come up on the screen and you pick one against the clock," Stefan explained further. "Okay, he's Pax, he's the demon. He's in the book. So we've actually arrived at a choice point and then you can choose with the joystick."

PUNY HUMAN ! ! ! WILL YOU WORSHIP ME?

[ Deny Pax ] ---------- [ Worship Pax ]

[bandersnatcht]

9th July 1984

The alarm clock goes off as you sit up in bed, a shrill ringing noise. You’re in your flat. The light has only just started to flutter through your windows. You reach for the packet of cigarettes on the side table, lighting one as you pull your legs out of bed, sitting on the side of it in a large The Cure t-shirt. Your flat is small, but comfortable, the bedroom is just a few steps away from the kitchen and living room.

You put on your socks. They don’t match, but it doesn’t really matter. You pull on some khaki trousers, found at the army surplus, then look at the pile of clothes on the floor. You pull out two t-shirts that smell clean enough, holding them out in front of you.

The Birthday Party ---------- The Talking Heads

[bandersnatcht]

Worship Pax

"Worship him," you butted in, and the room turned to you. You hadn't meant to speak but the words slipped out.

"No, don't do that, he's the Thief of Destiny. In the book I mean," Stefan pointed out, sounding a little resistant to the idea.

"I've got a copy of this at home. Never got round to reading it," Colin said, taking the thick paperback copy of Bandersnatch from me and thumbing through it.

"Well, you should. Jerome F. Davies was a genius," Stefan explained.

"Excuse me," Thakur interrupted, taking the joystick from Stefan and selecting the worship option. The screen went blank with a beep. "What's happened?"

"Well, I haven't programmed that pathway yet."

"Lot of paths then?"

"Well, yeah, if it's going to be like the book."

"So, come on. How'd you want to go about this?"

You smiled to yourself, knowing Thakur was about to offer the job.

"Your-You're interested?" Stefan stammered, his face lighting up.

"That's what I'm saying," Thakur laughed. "OK, it's July now, so if we want to hit Christmas then we'll need the tapes in Smiths by November. OK. So here's my proposal. Come and write it here."

"Here?" Stefan asked in surprise. You looked over to Colin, raising a brow. He shrugged in return.

"Yeah!" Thakur continued. "We'll give you a couple of desks, set up a small team just for you. Of course Col's on hand." Colin responded with a little salute. Thakur continued to lay out the options of having a team for music and sound. "So, what do you say?"

Accept ----------- Decline

[bandersnatcht]

Deny Pax

"Deny him," you butted in, and the room turned to you, Stefan smiling slightly. You hadn't meant to speak but the words slipped out.

"Nah, worship him," Colin interrupted.

"No, don't do that, he's the Thief of Destiny. In the book I mean," Stefan pointed out, sounding a little resistant to the idea.

"I've got a copy of this at home. Never got round to reading it," Colin said, taking the thick paperback copy of Bandersnatch from me and thumbing through it.

"Well, you should. Jerome F. Davies was a genius," Stefan explained.

"Excuse me," Thakur interrupted, taking the joystick from Stefan and selecting the worship option. The screen went blank with a beep. "What's happened?"

"Well, I haven't programmed that pathway yet."

"Lot of paths then?"

"Well, yeah, if it's going to be like the book."

"So, come on. How'd you want to go about this?"

You smiled to yourself, knowing Thakur was about to offer the job.

"Your-You're interested?" Stefan stammered, his face lighting up.

"That's what I'm saying," Thakur laughed. "OK, it's July now, so if we want to hit Christmas then we'll need the tapes in Smiths by November. OK. So here's my proposal. Come and write it here."

"Here?" Stefan asked in surprise. You looked over to Colin, raising a brow. He shrugged in return.

"Yeah!" Thakur continued. "We'll give you a couple of desks, set up a small team just for you. Of course Col's on hand." Colin responded with a little salute. Thakur continued to lay out the options of having a team for music and sound. "So, what do you say?"

Accept ----------- Decline

[bandersnatcht]

The Talking Heads

You pause for a moment, the way the decision had come to you was unusual. It felt like a command rather than a choice. You blamed it on the lack of sleep, making you run on autopilot. You pull on the t-shirt, tucking it into the trousers, cigarette still hanging out of your lips. You shuffle into the kitchen area, brewing a cup of coffee. You use the ten odd minutes you planned spare to enjoy the hot drink, before putting on a leather jacket and adidas shoulder bag, slipping into a pair of black Doc Marten boots and rushing out the door.

After the several flights of stairs that smelt of piss, the trudge down the pavement and the quick visit to the vendors stand for a newspaper, you made it onto the bus. Mohan Takhur was a laid back boss, but as a woman working in a very male dominated job, it seemed important to make maximum effort. Plus, the new office was a good fifteen minutes further away.

You came into the office at only one minute past nine, walking across the room to find your desk. You spotted Colin clicking away at his computer. He was programming his new game Nohzdyve. He looked up as he spotted you come in, giving you a nod of acknowledgement. You sat at you desk, pulling your stuff out of your bag before realising you'd dropped your lighter on the way in.

You stood up, scouring the floor as you walked towards the door that you'd entered through. You weren't looking where you were going though, as you bumped right into someone who'd just walked in.

"Shit, man, sorry," you apologised, looking up at the guys surprised face. "Hi, I'm (Y/n). I do the cover art for all the Tuckersoft games." I offered my hand out to him, and he shook it unsurely, still seeming a little wide-eyed and shy.

"Stefan," he replied.

"You haven't seen a lighter round here have you?"

"No, sorry," he replied.

"Ah, no bother." I turned to see Thakur talking to Satpal, a lad who essentially worked as a runner boy.

"Fetch us 20 B&H, would you? And... Lion Bar. Good boy," I heard him say, handing the boy a five pound note, before he spotted Stefan.

"Ah! You... are... Stephen!"

"Stefan," he corrected.

"Stefan, sorry mate. I see you've met (Y/n). She's the only woman we let near the computers," he chuckled, and I frowned at his joke but let it slide nonetheless. "Sorry about the chaos, we just moved in Monday."

"It's big," Stefan replied, looking around, catching the sight of the METL HEDD poster on the wall.

"She can draw, can't she?" Thakur said, pushing me lightly on the shoulder. "That's Colin's new one."

"Colin Ritman?" Stefan asked, grinning slightly.

"That's him over there," Thakur pointed out my friend's bleach blonde hair.

"That's crazy. I've played all of his games," Stefan said in awe.

"You're lucky he's not an egomaniac," you butted in. "We should go say hello."

"You sure he won't mind? He's working," Stefan protested, but Thakur had started to drag him over anyway, you following behind the pair to listen in to their conversation.

"What's this? Kajagoogoo?" Thakur joked, lifting up Colin's headphones to speak in his ear. He gave an exasperated look, putting them around his neck.

"You wish," Colin replied, putting his rollie between his lips and continuing to tap at his computer.

"The state of him, he's made enough this year to buy a Lamborghini and he still smokes roll-ups." Thakur came round to Colin's side. As much as he could be a nuisance, he was very proud to have Colin working for the company.

"Well, we're all smoking strychnine, so I don't blame him," you added in, having heard his reasoning before. Colin nodded his approval at you. Stefan was still stood there, seemingly starstruck with his mouth slightly open.

"Anyway, this is Stefan, er..." Thakur began.

"B-Butler, Butler," he stammered self consciously, offering his hand, which Colin took.

"I'm Colin, yeah?"

"Yeah, I've played all of your games. All of them. Except the Commodore ones, I don't... don't have a Commodore," Stefan gushed, and you tried not to laugh at his flustered response.

"Great sound chip, the Commodore."

"Yeah," Stefan agreed.

"This is my latest," Colin told him, gesturing the screen and hitting the run key. "It's called Nohzdyve, (Y/n)'s name, not mine." He pressed play, running the game. You leaned over to get a better view of the screen

"The sprites are so smooth," Stefan commented, obviously enamoured with Colin and his work.

"That took some doing."

Then the game crashed, resetting to a blank screen.

"Oh, bollocks," Colin cursed.

"What's that?" Thakur asked.

"It's a buffer error, video memory has been overrun," you pointed out. Thakur and Stefan looked at you, but you shrugged.

"Seen it before," you dismissed.

"Anyway, let's get down to business, Stefan's got something to demo for us," Thakur pointed out. "(Y/n), you can join us, I want you on the cover art for this one."

The game took several turns down corridors, taking a path down a 3D perspective world. It was already a strong concept. You flicked through the book Stefan brought in with him.

"Bloody hell," Thakur exclaimed. "So it's like 3D Monster Maze?"

"Only when you're moving from choice to choice," Stefan explained, fiddling with the joystick. "It's actually an adventure game."

"Like The Hobbit?"

"Yeah... but without any typing," he seemed a little exasperated at Thakur's continuous missing of the point, but that was to be expected. You looked over the cover of the book. Jerome F. Davies. The name rung a bell, but you couldn't put a finger on it.

"Without any typing? So no... 'get lamp' or whatever?"

"That's right," Stefan told Thakur proudly. He laughed slightly, impressed, looking over to Colin, who nodded his own approval.

A figure appeared in the corridor on screen, a blue lion-like creature.

"Choices come up on the screen and you pick one against the clock," Stefan explained further. "Okay, he's Pax, he's the demon. He's in the book. So we've actually arrived at a choice point and then you can choose with the joystick."

PUNY HUMAN ! ! ! WILL YOU WORSHIP ME?

[ Deny Pax ] ---------- [ Worship Pax ]

[bandersnatcht]

The Birthday Party

You pause for a moment, the way the decision had come to you was unusual. It felt like a command rather than a choice. You blamed it on the lack of sleep, making you run on autopilot. You pull on the t-shirt, tucking it into the trousers, cigarette still hanging out of your lips. You shuffle into the kitchen area, brewing a cup of coffee. You use the ten odd minutes you planned spare to enjoy the hot drink, before putting on a leather jacket and adidas shoulder bag, slipping into a pair of black Doc Marten boots and rushing out the door.

After the several flights of stairs that smelt of piss, the trudge down the pavement and the quick visit to the vendors stand for a newspaper, you made it onto the bus. Mohan Takhur was a laid back boss, but as a woman working in a very male dominated job, it seemed important to make maximum effort. Plus, the new office was a good fifteen minutes further away.

You came into the office at only one minute past nine, walking across the room to find your desk. You spotted Colin clicking away at his computer. He was programming his new game Nohzdyve. He looked up as he spotted you come in, pulling his headphones down to speak to you.

“Morning, mate. I like your t-shirt. Good choice.” He saluted you with his fingers. You stopped by his desk for a chat.

“How’s the game coming along?” you asked, peering over at his screen full of code. He shrugged.

“It’s not far off actually.”

You looked to the door, noticing a young man with curly dark hair talking to Thakur.

"You should be expecting company," you warned Colin, nodding in the direction of the pair, who were heading toward Colin's desk.

"What's this? Kajagoogoo?" Thakur joked, referencing the sound escaping from Colin's headphones.

"You wish," Colin replied, putting his rollie between his lips and continuing to tap at his computer.

"The state of him, he's made enough this year to buy a Lamborghini and he still smokes roll-ups." Thakur came round to Colin's side. As much as he could be a nuisance, he was very proud to have Colin working for the company.

"Well, we're all smoking strychnine, so I don't blame him," you added in, having heard his reasoning before. Colin nodded his approval at you. The curly haired guy was still stood there, seemingly starstruck with his mouth slightly open.

"Anyway, this is Stefan, er..." Thakur began.

"B-Butler, Butler," he stammered self consciously, offering his hand, which Colin took.

"Okay, this is (Y/n), she does all the cover work, helps with character design, and I'm Colin, yeah?"

"Yeah, I've played all of your games. All of them. Except the Commodore ones, I don't... don't have a Commodore," Stefan gushed, and you tried not to take his act of brushing you aside to heart. You were stood next to his idol after all.

"Great sound chip, the Commodore."

"Yeah," Stefan agreed.

"This is my latest," Colin told him, gesturing the screen and hitting the run key. "It's called Nohzdyve, (Y/n)'s name, not mine." He pressed play, running the game. You leaned over to get a better view of the screen

"The sprites are so smooth," Stefan commented, obviously enamoured with Colin and his work.

"That took some doing."

Then the game crashed, resetting to a blank screen.

"Oh, bollocks," Colin cursed.

"What's that?" Thakur asked.

"It's a buffer error, video memory has been overrun," you pointed out. Thakur and Stefan looked at you, but you shrugged.

"Seen it before," you dismissed.

"Anyway, let's get down to business, Stefan's got something to demo for us," Thakur pointed out. "(Y/n), you can join us, I want you on the cover art for this one."

The game took several turns down corridors, taking a path down a 3D perspective world. It was already a strong concept. You flicked through the book Stefan brought in with him.

"Bloody hell," Thakur exclaimed. "So it's like 3D Monster Maze?"

"Only when you're moving from choice to choice," Stefan explained, fiddling with the joystick. "It's actually an adventure game."

"Like The Hobbit?"

"Yeah... but without any typing," he seemed a little exasperated at Thakur's continuous missing of the point, but that was to be expected. You looked over the cover of the book. Jerome F. Davies. The name rung a bell, but you couldn't put a finger on it.

"Without any typing? So no... 'get lamp' or whatever?"

"That's right," Stefan told Thakur proudly. He laughed slightly, impressed, looking over to Colin, who nodded his own approval.

A figure appeared in the corridor on screen, a blue lion-like creature.

"Choices come up on the screen and you pick one against the clock," Stefan explained further. "Okay, he's Pax, he's the demon. He's in the book. So we've actually arrived at a choice point and then you can choose with the joystick."

PUNY HUMAN ! ! ! WILL YOU WORSHIP ME?

[ Deny Pax ] ---------- [ Worship Pax ]

[bandersnatcht]

9th July 1984

The alarm clock goes off as you sit up in bed, a shrill ringing noise. You’re in your flat. The light has only just started to flutter through your windows. You reach for the packet of cigarettes on the side table, lighting one as you pull your legs out of bed, sitting on the side of it in a large The Cure t-shirt. Your flat is small, but comfortable, the bedroom is just a few steps away from the kitchen and living room.

You put on your socks. They don’t match, but it doesn’t really matter. You pull on some khaki trousers, found at the army surplus, then look at the pile of clothes on the floor. You pull out two t-shirts that smell clean enough, holding them out in front of you.

The Birthday Party ——————The Talking Heads