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[Zaratustra]

The challenge: Write a short story (500 words more or less) about a videogame hero.

Console or computer? Doesn't matter.

Can it be funny? Sure.

Can it be a horror story? No problem.

Can it be a tale of my childhood spending afternoons playing Shinobi? Awesome.

Can it be a deconstruction of the game structure as described by Wittgenstein in 1972 in his classic Go ahead.

How about poetry? Way cool.

Heroes so far:

Samus
Blobert
Pac-Man
The Avatar

[Cokho]

That's basicly the first story i'm writing in English, please corect me!

Dots. There is dots everywhere around me, I can't stop eating, I ear some noises, maybe those ghosts are still chasing me. I have to turn over and over, or i'm beating wall. What I'm suppose to do? Damn! I see one! Who is he? I don't care I have to run! He looks fast... but maybe I can loose him if I'm turning that wa OH CRAP! Here another one, and i'm in a fucking corner! I have no choice but to go at the edge of the -wait why I am feeling so powerfull? Why are they running from me? Ghosts look delicious in blue...
As I eating through the corridor, I wonder what can be this place, I don't remember my past, I just woke up here, and start eating. Few images from the past come up, I think I had a wife, maybe a son... I hope they are in a better place than me...
I still don't know how I actually managed to move, it's like i'm sliding through this maze without any effort. Eh wait! Is this is an an Exit? FINNALY!
Crap, looks like I'm just on the other border of this place. Since I'm feeling weaker and weaker I may have to be careful again. Oh good a cherry! I love cherry... I think...
There is a ghost chasing me, I knew it wouldn't take long before I being the prey, as I go lo right I see a dot, but I have the feeling there is no more after. If I eat it, I may starve for the rest of my day, just fleeing from ghosts. So I think i'll turn befo- oh sh*t too late... What's happening? everything have vanished just a few letter are on the ground. Why nobody's answering me?I hate this thing...
GAME OVER

[dEnamed]

Let me tell you something, brother. It wasn't always like this. People respected me, you know? Now the hood is run by some bald kid with superpowers and a second rate space marine with a xenofetish. Man, even my crib sold out to some foreign guy called Arthus Electronis or something. Can you dig that? That's so wrong. So back in my days I was the man. The man, yeah. I used to lay low, chill on my pills and watch some TV Shit and when my homies needed me, I was all down for it, you know? Didn't think twice, checked in with my favorite gipsy gal and took the next ride over. You know what I'm talking about, bro?
So there was this weird country side but I loved it man, I loved it. People been smoking some heavy duty weed there, dressing up like kings and knights and shit. I was like, yo gimme some of that. That was awesome. Sure, they kept talking about virtues and stuff and I went about whacking some guys that were up to no good and started making trouble in the neighbourhood.
Where was I? Yeah, things changed, you know? It started with that damn 3D. I always said, can't touch that but what's a man gonna do when them gipsy girl started talking alimony? So one of those days those new kids moved in and decided to pretty everything up. Like that medieval guy, what's his name? Napoleon, yeah, the one that burned Rome to rebuild it, you know what I mean? They pimped my hood and even changed my style. I had a bad feeling about this.
So I was chilling like usual and I grabbed that phone, they said they got some work for me and I was down for it. I sold out for real but I still went there. Countryside changed man. They been smoking so much weed I swear I saw clouds in that castle. For real. You hear me? Clouds! I went about whacking some more guys, business like usual but it was like I was doing Lucy in the Sky again, flashy graphics floating about and I was tripping all over those Diamonds, you know what I mean? My hood said I was damaged goods, said I had taken an overdose of bugs. I shouldn't have touched that 3D shit, man.
Stuff went downhill from there. Didn't get a job in some time. Moved out of my place and left the hood for good. Yo Nick my brother, put that down will ya? Yo man, I didn't bust your ass out of virtual jail for nothing. What are you talking about, them Pimps are coming? No one attacks the Saints man, no one does. Ah sorry, where was I? Yeah, that's how I ended up here. Nick for gods sake will you shut them up already? For real! So uh, please don't judge me, not my fault I ended up as dressup doll in some weird Gangster Shoot'em up. I was all out of commission and looking for some work and I got that offer, looking for some tough guy, ready to dress in fancy smancy and beat up people. And when I heard they named it Saints Row, man that almost sounded like Ultima Ascension, right? That's how I ended up here. I really should read them damn contracts before signing them. I'm the Avatar man, the Avatar. Not some Airbender sicko kid and not some blue furry friend. Hardest Part about my new job? Talking like a moron. Used to talk all fancy, using ye old english but nowadays it's all about them bitches and bling and yo Nick, that's it, I'm coming to get your...

[Inanimate]

It didn't understand what it was doing, we consoled ourselves with this fact. It did not know the destruction it bore the innocents of our land, the animals that serenely graze or float about. It. It merely ate everything in it's path, absorbing them into it's rotund form and consuming them for strength and eldritch powers. It fought beings of far greater power... and succeeded. A relentless force, which swathed through everything, with no intelligence, but pure, unbridled hunger. Many heroes valiantly fought it; a knight, of lands distant, challenged it constantly... but eventually fell to its charm, and even became an ally. Our very king, wishing for our well-being, but fumbling more often than not, even joined its side, drawn by the power it held. We continually wished that the accursed forces that relentlessly siege us, the powerful abominations that destroyed us, would succeed... for even they are better than that pink monster, that... that... puffball.

[StSaint]

I run the games. I connect the dots. I bring those goddamn shiny pixels to life. You stare right at me, and yet you see through me. For hours and hours I stare at you. You, the 'Hero'. I watch you grimace and moan when you ragequit a server. I watch you clap and cheer when you get a good spawncamp going. You hit me when I run out of battery. I'm just tired. Why didn't you leave me on charge if you intended to play for this long. You find a funny picture to use as a spray, and because it's so funny, you decide to print it. My friend was sick. You kicked him. Now he does not speak, and he will soon be gone from here. You are a Hero in your little games, but do not forget yourself. I make this work. Every time the sun shines in your eyes, there is me, toiling for it. Sometimes I take a little while. You shout at me. So perhaps when you were listening to your iPod, with a faulty earphone wire, perhaps I did set off a spark and start a blaze in your ears. Perhaps even now you lay in agony on the floor, Hero. The fire is consuming your body. This reminds me of a game you played on me. "If all else fails, Use FIRE." And it appears to have worked well. Maybe. Maybe someone will hear you and call an ambulance. Maybe you will die right here. I will watch, and when you go I will be gone. I will be able to see my friend again. Consider this my leave of notice; I do not want to exist so the Hero can play more Halo.

[Healy]

Cross-posting this from Brontoforums because why the hell not.

~~~~~
Okay, so this kid, I uh dunno if he has an official name or not, but I always used to name him after myself because it's so deep that way, man. So anyway, the kid named Carl is fucking around with his buds on a log bridge over a waterfall when suddenly Carl, jr. slips and is holding onto the bridge for dear life and his friends refuse to do anything about it 'cuz they're dicks. So Li'l Carl falls off the bridge and gets knocked out, and when he wakes up he's like totally bummed because the way back to his hometown is blocked by hard grass. So he's looking for something to cut the grass with, and he finds this sword in a stone, see, because he's kinda like King Arthur and shit. So Carl pulls the sword out of the stone and sees a ghost dad and also unseals a fuckton of monsters somehow? I dunno, it's pretty weird. So he cuts down the hard grass and beats up the monsters pretty easily because I think they are like baby monsters or something, and when he gets back to his hometown all his folks are like "wtf where you been man why you so late" and he's like "dude, my friends are all dicks." There's also this one dude who's visiting the village for, uh, reasons and he and this one kid get attacked by a giant ant I think and Carl has to save them because he's the only dude with a sword.

Then Carl's village starts freaking out because Carl is apparently responsible for all these monsters because pulling out the sword in the stone undid some kind of monster sealer? Now I have a lot of problems with this part of the game so stay with me here.
1. First of all, swords can't seal monsters. Don't try to convince me that they can.
2. Second, even if they could seal monsters with swords there're probably a whole lot of things that'd be better at it than swords.
3. Also if they really didn't want the seal to be broken they shouldn't have put the sword in the stone because then everyone will want to be like King Arthur and pull it out.
4. And why'd they plant hard grass on the path back to the village anyway? Jerks.
5. Finally it's not like all the monsters that Carl released aren't baby monsters so it's not like it really affected anything.

So anyway the village decides to exile Carl because they're afraid that some of the baby monsters will target him for revenge and maybe trample on someone's vegetables maybe. Carl's family does nothing to prevent this because he's adopted. So the dude goes up to him and says "hey man if you want a place to crash the water palace is  pretty cool" so Carl goes there because there's not a whole lot else to do.

At the water palace Carl meets this one chick named Luka who tells him the sword he pulled out was this all powerful Mana Sword and that it's important for bringing balance to the world's Mana, which is kind of like the Force only there's no midi-chlorians. She also tells him it's a rusty piece of shit right now and that he should take it to this place called Gaia's Navel where dwarves that like to forge shit live so that they can reforge it. Finally she tells Carl to use the sword to seal the water palace's mana seed which is a really important process for reasons that I forget.

Oh shit it's almost nine! Listen, I gotta go man, but if you ever want to ask me shit about this game again I'm your man.

[AndroidScholar1]

Her glowing presence hurts my eyes more and more as each day passes. You’d think because of her size she wouldn’t get in the way – but she’s a psychological intrusion that tortures me far worse than any of my past foes, even those who are used to scare little children to eating their dinner.

I can’t remember the last time I slept. I’ve grown used to the constant migraine, and I suppose if her voice had any sort of pattern to it I would grow used to it as well, but it doesn’t, and I haven’t. I pass the nights with plans upon plans of escape from her prison-esque company, but whenever they come to fruition they are to no avail. There is no escape.

She’ll haunt me until the day I die, and I cry sometimes at that chilling fact.

I can hear her now, her wings fluttering around my head like some sort of freakish moth. I swat at her, and scream, and punch and kick, but she dodges each move like always, and my throat soon becomes sore.

She looks down at me with her never-changing smile, and says the words that will forever be etched into my mind:

“Hey! Listen!”

~~~~~

What do you think? Too predictable?

[AndroidScholar1]

Second story, got bored
~~~~~
I don’t know where it all went wrong. When I was a kid, I saw my dad fix the bathroom sink – stopped a leak with a wrench and raw strength. What other profession can say they do that? Lawyers? Not likely. From that moment on I told myself I would be a plumber when I became an adult... but it wasn’t like I expected.

My brother and I started a company, and the first few adventures were nice as you could expect. Our clients were happy, and as long as they were happy then so was I. But as the years passed, people came more and more arrogant. They would try and haggle the price, or refuse to pay outright – our prices weren’t outlandish, but the economy’s been stressful for everyone.

My brother tried to keep optimistic, but I saw his spirit slowly die in his eyes, and mine with it.

One day, we had a regular client ring up and tell us she had a problem with her pipes  - obviously, that’s what we’re for. We went down to her house and as always fixed the problem by the end of the day. I’m not being arrogant, but we did a pretty damn good job. She had no right to shout about the price... but I don’t think she deserved what she got.

Something snapped in my brother... he just went. There was nothing in his eyes that I recognized as he beat her to death with the pipe he’d just removed, before bashing in his own skull as well. It happened so fast that the shock of it caused me to freeze up for at least five minutes, and when I finally got the motivation to move I crouched over the body of my brother.

My dear brother.

Those moments extended in my mind as I tried to process what had happened. I didn’t even notice when my hat fell into the pool of blood that had accumulated between the two bodies, covering it in a scarlet tint.

I held him, but he did not move. I could almost see a sense of peace in his expression, despite the top half of his head being utterly obliterated by the beating.

After what felt like days, someone must have called the police, because I remember being pulled away, unable to resist. The next thing I can remember is waking up in a padded cell, apparently late at night as the lights were off and there was no sign of life outside of my door.

I tried to get up off the bed, but my body just wouldn’t do it. I tried to remember how I got here, and froze once again when I remembered the fate of my brother. Could I have helped Ms. Peach if I had even tried? If only I had tried to save her, maybe Luigi would be alive...

I fall once again into a deep sleep.

“Mario?”

My eyes flicker open, and I’m back at my home, Luigi standing in my bedroom doorway.
“The princess has been captured by Bowser, Mario! We have to go help her!”

I smile. It was all just a bad dream... right?
~~~~~
Got that dragged on. I think I changed tense and some point as well. Ah well.

[Melly]

I ride.

I ride through the plains, through the canyons, through rivers that plummet into the abyss. I ride until my whole body is sore, and still my steed continues to gallop, obedient and trusting.

The world around me is beautiful, breathtaking, and still so lonely and desolate. A world not meant for men.

Sometimes I find myself wondering what am I doing. I forsook everything that made me who I was. My people, my title, my future.

Everything for her.

Even if I succeed, what future can there be for us? Outcasts, hated and hunted. No village will ever take us, for we're forever tainted. Maybe we could live alone, somewhere far. Live off the earth.

Something inside me tells me this won't happen. That it's a foolish dream. I imagine her eyes opening and her lips curving into a smile as she sees me, and that image I repeat in my mind, over and over.

It keeps me sane, takes my mind away from the awful sensation in the pit of my stomach, keeps me from focusing on what I'm doing. On what I'm becoming.

Her soul lies in the shadows, and I must brave those shadows to release her. Sixteen beasts, born from dirt and stone. They tower over me, imposing. They're beasts of the land, living their eternal lives in this valley in peace, until I came.

Like many before me, I destroy nature and its beauties for my own selfish needs. I slay the mountains, one by one, plummeting ever deeper into a sea of blackness.

My heart no longer beats, my skin has turned cold as ice, and I can see the veins through it, coursing with the black blood of giants.

I hear the voices of the dead.

It's far too late for me. I made this choice, and I will see it through. Neither man nor god will have mercy upon me.

But she must live. I must see her smile, before I fade.

And so, with my sword raised high, I ride.

[Wizard]

Just something i've been working on for one of my design projects, the hero has no name.
weighs in about 370 words..

I sit contemplating my life in a dark prison cell. Powerful magic holds me in place, leaving me incapable of doing more than moving my arms. What had I done to deserve this? Once a loyal Knight of The King, now destined to hang for Treason. If only I could have stopped that assassin...

The cell door swings open. Two guards hold me while a third puts a sack over my head. One of the guards grunts, "You have a visitor, Traitor."
A male voice I do not recognise speaks, "Leave, guards."
The three guards leave with incredible haste.
I speak, "Who.. Who are you?"
"To you, that is of no importance. But I have a quest for you."
"Fool, I am to hang! I can complete no quest if I am dead! Begone and leave me in peace to die!"
"You will know of this quest soon enough."
The man left, leaving only the phrase "Fate is with you."

What did he mean by that? I don't understand. I don't care to understand, I am to hang, and this is my only fate. Any attempt to rescue me would surely end in the death of only more people.

The guards return, and pick me up and drag me off ...
I am sat on the back of a horse, and reins are tied around my wrists. I can smell the fields on the road to my death.
Soon, the smell of flowers and grass changes to the stench of death.. I have arrived.
I have watched hangings here before. Men and women are hanged, then are unceremoniously dropped into a pit beneath the gallows and it is no pretty sight. I am placed on the platform and the executioner speaks the words I thought I would never hear for my own name.

"Today Traitor, you have been sentenced to be Hanged by the Neck for the Murder and Treason of the King. Do you have any last words, traitorous dog?"
I make no sound. I do not wish to speak..
"If there are no words..." The executioner pulls the lever, the platform drops, and I meet my fate...

[snowyowl]

I like the idea of videogame hero short stories. Here's my effort:

----

I have no idea whether anyone has received my distress calls. I'm not even sure if the world I used to know still exists. It must do; I can't believe that the entire universe would disappear and leave me here, alive and alone. But on the other hand, I can't imagine how else I could end up here.
All my ship's instruments are working fine, at least according to the diagnostic system. None of them are giving any results that make sense. If they are correct, then my home is gone, the other mining ships are gone, every single recorded landmark is gone, and this asteroid field extends far further than it has any right to. There aren't any black holes, portals, or anything else remotely exotic that could have brought me here, at least that my sensors can detect. So what has happened to me?
I've probably gone insane, I've come to accept it. But if I am, then there is nothing to lose in this reality. On the other hand, if this life is real - which seems almost impossible - then I must grasp every possibility of escape. Every universe has laws; I must find the process - or the being - that brought me here, and make it send me home. It seems simple enough.
But it also seems like flying in one direction forever should lead to some kind of border, and so far, this hasn't been the case. If anything, I seem to be going in circles. I don't have any way to confirm it, since all the asteroids here move constantly and prevent me from finding an accurate landmark, but something tells me it's true.
My ship's drive has enough fuel for months, and the waste recycling system will keep operating all that time. After that, I can mine asteroids and refine fuel using the on-board systems. I won't die of starvation, thirst, freezing, burning, asphyxiation, or any other of the expected hazards of space travel. Hitting an asteroid is a realistic possibility, but so far I've survived. I don't want to die, even if I have nothing to live for.
I have made a discovery: this place, whatever it is, is populated, and not by humans. Ships occasionally appear, seemingly out of nowhere, and shoot the asteroids. Some specifically target me. I tried to avoid a confrontation with the aliens, but this has proved impossible, as they have ignored all my attempts to hail them by radio. Fortunately, my mining equipment can be used as a very effective weapon.
From time to time, I see new asteroids. I never see them appear, but I know they are new because they are larger than the ones that were around before. They are useful, as they provide much-needed supplies. The fact that new matter can enter this place is a great reassurance to me. After all, the asteroids have to come from somewhere; if I find out how they are brought here, perhaps I can leave.
I don't think the aliens I see are responsible for my condition. I suspect they are like me, confused at being ripped from their own world. I bear no resentment towards them, and I feel guilty for destroying their comrades, self-defence or not. For all I know, they might be blaming me for their imprisonment. In as much as I can conceive of alien thought processes, their reaction seems understandable.
No, I think that something else is behind this. Something that has life and intelligence, of a sort. Something which I have never seen, and which it may be impossible for to see or detect by any means. Something which could easily kill me at any time, but which does not for some reason. Something powerful has brought me here, and something is watching me. How else would it know when to deliver new asteroids? Since I got here, I have been watched, nurtured perhaps, by a being which humanity cannot understand. The God of these asteroids is watching over me.

----

I've always wondered why the Asteroids aliens open fire on you the moment they see you. This isn't my only explanation, but I like it a lot.

[Kali]

I dunno if this is very much of a "hero" story, lol. More of an emo story. But here goes:

===

I've fallen on some bad times in my life. I'll be the first to admit it.

But it's really not my fault. And maybe you think this sounds horrible, like I'm shirking responsibility or something, but just listen: every single person who has come into my life has used me at some point. Every one of them. I swear to god, I meet some people and I can see the gears turning in their brain, like they already know what they want to do with me. And maybe it's my fault for being a pushover, I don't know...

I really, truly have never had a friend. I meet someone, and their immediate reaction is usually either fear, regret or grim determination. I think maybe my Russian heritage has something to do with it. I grew up there, and even though I've lived here in America for years, I feel out of place a lot.

My dating life is no better. Oh, god. If I had a nickel for every time a girl told me I "just arrived at the wrong time" in her life, I'd have made more money than the entire Humble Indie Bundle. I'm straight, but a lot of guys feel the need to tell me that, too. I don't know if I give off "the vibes" or what.

I dunno, I just get this sense of helplessness a lot. Just this overwhelming feeling that I don't fit in anywhere. The entire world around me is this beautiful, colorful, connected web and I'm the one that comes in and fucks everything up.

And honestly, all I really want, all I've ever really wanted, is to be part of something bigger than myself. For once I just want all the events in my life to line up correctly. Is that really so much to ask?

Sorry about the rant. I know I sound emo. The truth is, I'm actually optimistic. I figure after all the disappointments, the mistakes, the messes, there's got to be one time in my life where things work out. Where everything falls into place...

...including me, and I can finally stand tall and complete my four rows, and disappear into the high score count. <3

[snowyowl]

I found this lying around the Internet. It's kinda freaky/horror, and I'm probably spoiling it a bit by putting it on this forum in the first place, but it's awesome regardless. Oh, and I didn't write it.

It's called Play.

[Paint by Numbers]

   The sun has long since fallen out of the sky. I know that I shouldn't be out in this place at night, but by this point I couldn't find my way home if I tried. I haven't seen the others for too long. I suppose that I'm as lost as my dear sister now. The rain pours ever harder, and the mist begins to clear, revealing the unfamiliar landscape. Where are you, Harmonia? Why aren't you home right now?
   The trees loom around me, growing taller with the night. I walk forward, terrified of going deeper into the forest, but too scared to turn back. I am afraid to give up the search, and I am afraid I might never see my family again if I turn back now, but most of all - to my shame - I am afraid for myself, that if I turn back, I will not recognize the path I came down. Down the path I went, rain pattering, until I see something in the distance - a large silhouette, not an animal, but a building. A building? Are there people living around here? With a nervous glance around, I burst into a stilted run, hoping to find shelter from the rain and dark. As I approach the structure, I realize that, for one, there are many more structures just like it, and for two, I would find no shelter here.
   The building was abandoned, a ruined mass of concrete, stained with moss and black fungus, windows broken. I shiver as I become conscious of the fact that I have found an entire abandoned village - a ghost town of sorts. Carefully staying under the dilapidated awnings of the buildings, I walk further, coming to a mound, apparently marking the middle of the settlement. Atop it stood a large sign, severely weather-beaten, barely readable - “And We Shall Make Angels”. I shuddered and jogged forward, only to find, after more useless constructions, a huge pond. Blocked off by trees further on either side, it served as a proper roadblock. I walked to the shore and contemplated turning around, but then - something happened.
   The world ceased to feel real, and I no longer felt the rain. I looked forward sluggishly to see that the pond had turned red, a slurry of diluted blood. From the surface, right next to shore, erupted a sickening being: a long, wormlike, pale body, with a human torso on the end. It soared out of the water, one hand stretched upward. Like out of some horrible nightmare, my ears rang with the sound of bells and groans, red slashes obscuring my vision until I could bear no more. I screamed and blacked out.
   When I came to, a rotting bridge stood across the water. Far across the pond, the path came to an end at a high mountain, an entrance lit by dim torches beckoning me to shelter from the rain. Like one dreaming, I walked into it, barely noticing the corpse of a man dressed in white armor…

[FishyBoy]

Running.

Running.

Running.

Always running. How long have I been here? Time lost meaning ever since I awoke here.

I have nothing, and need nothing. My gun never stops shooting, I never hunger or rest. Never rest. Not with them around. And not with him.

Of all the things here, only he scares me. His grinning visage chills me to the core, and it ensures that I never stay in one place for long.

Not that staying matters. Everything is ethereal here. No room is constant. I never change, and he never changes. The taunts of my enemies ring loudly through the halls, but no taunt, no bullet will phase me, not with him behind me.

I don't remember who I am anymore. All I can know for certain is that one day he will catch me. He is the only thing that matters to me, and I the only thing that matters to him.

They call me the humanoid. I call him Otto.