Matt: Picture our hero, Dave, Feverishly working all night on a game. A video game which represents a descent into hell. He outsourced the music to another. A masked musician called Wormtooth. Dave kept working on a game he could never seem to complete. An inferno all his own. A game he aptly titled Dave's Inferno. This one goes out to Dave. Dante West. Sunk costs, nothing left to invest with. Neck bent at the desk where he renders his edits. Respected vested, but he spent his investment. Left it all on the net just to test his inventions. Never bested; never well rested. Dead set just to let the next threat end him. Reckless edits set to dead ends hexes. Section by section, invent and bent an ending. Segment by segment set to hex and suggestion. Next mess next test left defenseless. Press send just to let the lectures vex him. Penance in the next direction, a fresh hell of his own invention. Self-effacing self deception. Ascension stressed and hidden within it, But it don't mean nothing if it can't be finished I’m gonna break your speakers. The circuits worthless the curse is weaker (the creature) Eager to feed these speakers the preacher Paved another way for the creature (the creature) Matt: Is Bulb the titular Dave? Luke: A lot of people think that. Either the game was a hell that he created or he was trapped in the Inferno. Matt: So when did Dave's Inferno first surface? Luke: The first mention of the game was on this website DrowningGame.net like on the forums there. I'm gonna break you down At a Breakneck pace to the jailbreak sounds Found in abundance. Now I'm the one that's Bound to be found in the crown that you wanted. Hunted and voodoo sprites that stunted Growth of one in spite of the sunken Soul of the other as he burned like hell's gates. His would be escape: a worst case Hellscape. With twine and code he scraped it together Wined and dined o the notes of the devil Never seem to have enough never time to do better Never once tried to switch to other clever endeavours. Yet he never seemed to stray from his grueling pace But it’s only safe If it keeps you sane But he will pray and pay until the speakers break Until the speakers break. Until the speakers break I’m gonna break your speakers. The circuits worthless the curse is weaker (the creature) Eager to feed these speakers the preacher Paved another way for the creature (the creature) Till the speakers break Till the speakers break Till the speakers break Till the speakers break Matt: Striving for some ideal version of the game. Luke: Which may well be what they are doing right now. The other posts by the deleted account go on to paint this person overworking themselves till they have a very tenuous grasp on the world, the game itself becoming the inferno that Dave is trapped in, this impossible puzzle he can never finish. Matt: Is it so far-fetched to think something so cryptic and compelling could have a psychological impact on the people involved with it? Sorry I guess I was getting a little philosophical. Luke: No. Not at all. My obsession with the game is no different from the designers in a lot of ways. Or no different with yours.

Matt: Dave’s Inferno, there is an easter egg? Luke: It’s possible, but most people think that the version of Dave’s Inferno that people have played isn’t like finished. He posted it and then deleted it and the copies that people have are glitchy to say the least. Jacqui: Why? Why? Luke: And it ends at level 3 which seems impossible to get through due to the glitches. Though the Konami code allows you to cheat to an equally impassable level 99. Jacqui: Why? Matt: And no finished version exists? Luke: Not that anyone’s been able to find. Jacqui: Why? Luke: Though the obvious speculation is that the game is completed, but people haven’t been able to figure out Bulb’s new puzzle. Hard to tell with his type of game design. Matt: And no word from Bulb about it? Jacqui: Why? Luke: Bulb has been a lot more quiet than usual. Jacqui: Why? Why? Luke: And like the harder the game, the more they want to beat it. So some think that it might have been Dave’s point to drive others mad. So when Bulb is talking about this Wormtooth on the forums he’s really just talking about himself Jacqui: Why?!? Luke: or his own demons and fears of imperfection and inability to finish his game. Jacqui: Why?!? Matt: I’ve seen Wormtooth mentioned in some places online Jacqui: Why? Why? Luke: Bulb may have just invoked the idea of Wormtooth to make his game seem creepier. Maybe even making the music himself. Matt: Is this where the rumors of the game being haunted rise from? Jacqui: Why? Luke: Yeah. Sure. I’m sure he welcomed those. Jacqui: Why?!? Why? Why? Why? Matt: Is there any evidence of a supernatural element at play?

Gotta stop this train Gotta stop this train Gotta stop this train Gotta stop this train Stop this train cause I ain’t tryna commit. Come claim the blame that I ain’t straining to get. Gotta get that paper, pay for Mary Jane and the debt. Get my runes in they head so that they stay for the set. Lately I tend to forget that they ain’t play with ‘em yet, And if he aim to impress he better aim for the head. I favor greatness when most would be complacent instead. Leaving lame pests tamed lamed labeled and wrecked. Table your fables until the lazy daemon has fed. And he ain’t stable or able to cut the cable again. Haters waiting to see his fate he’s staying in check. Quite a strain on the raven to find a place for his nest. Is he just playing insane? Is it worth taking that bet? Till then watch what you say or keep his name out your breath. You can go head and play, but if you stay out of step. You’ll face the giant slayer’s fatal vorpal blade at your neck. Body a beat. The beast bang. I study emcees slang. Get bloody when he sang. His teeth fangs. Your weak gang could never compete, dang. These days I replay my refrain Of clichés. Let me rephrase my statement. Never been the greatest but he’s ever so blatant. Sick of copypastas, running through the paces. Running outta options that’s just what we’re faced with. Obnoxious. How could I get this jaded. It may be toxic, I just can’t fake it. Gotta stop this train Gotta stop this train Gotta stop this train Gotta stop this train Gotta stop this train Gotta stop this train Gotta stop this train Gotta stop this train

Matt: Can you give us some background on the game and it's elusive developer, Hallucinogenic Bulb? Luke: Anonymous video game designer. Up until pretty recently a lot of people believed that Dave's Inferno was like this internet rumor because Bulb had not released a game in years. Matt: Is Bulb the titular Dave? Luke: A lot of people think that - the main character is named Dante Luke: Bulb referring to himself. Either the game was a hell that he created or he was trapped in the Inferno. Luke: So when Blub sent him Dave’s Inferno Centipede commented on the fact that the main character’s name was Dante and if Dave was Bulb's name and Bulb just cut him off. That's when he turned to Wormtooth. Matt: That seems like sort of an extreme reaction Luke: They are an extreme person. Centipede said that the visuals of the game were nothing alike, and that the original hadn't even been a platformer. Bulb had pulled the entire game from the roots and started over.

Narrator: Lo and behold, at long last, we have our villain, a funny little masked man, who fancies himself an eldritch horror, or a cryptid, or some kind of savage beast. But is he? Is he really? Or is he just sick of the... Bile rising in the back of my throat. It rose quickly like the levy had broke. So I died fighting ghosts on the path I chose With no scope, no reason, No passion, no hope, No growth, no sleep, no release from the beast, No solace in eating but no end to the feast. No matter how you spell it out The future is bleak. These pacts we give power In pursuit of relief Will lead ever downward. The spiral is deep. We plead just to drown out The grinding of teeth. The screams ever louder As the virus we speak. On the asphalt we cower Our bones crack in its beak. The kraken, it speaks It’s very breath: an explosion Give in to the gibbous, losing sleep to heed the omens. Blackened hands from digging barely keeping my composure. Filled with this misgiving as I beg the beast for closure. It’s over. Now we have to live with this past. There’s been too much unwritten now to take it all back. With a sigil writ in scratch Let him paint the stars black. Give back what you carry nary break a fairy pact, Cause the fact is’f’yer tactics are lacking and tactless You can act s'if you practice the craft yet the fact is You won't find what you seek. You won't get what you need.

Matt: Fair warning: if you’re superstitious maybe you shouldn’t listen to this episode. Luke: so that’s why some people think that it’s a hoax. The next comment is from like 2018 when a user noticed that the link had become active again. Matt: Ok, so assuming this deleted user is Bulb, or someone posting on their behalf why link a [eRROR -2147217911]

I ain’t ever been to heaven. I ain’t been to hell yet. Waitin’ patient on a seven, there’s three left in the deck. I bet my credit on the record. Guess that’s money well spent. I ain’t been myself. Check it you can tell ‘em “Hell yess!” They ain't wanna make amends They just wanna see it end. They aint into what I been through. They got no influence They just pretend to. They ain’t ready This is just an intro. I been goat . This ain’t for raising a toast. This is for those who are living with ghosts. This is for demons in shape of a crow. This is for neither just leave it alone. Leave it alone. These are death throes. Fevers that rose. This for fever dream demons who seem to believe they'll catch sleep at my shows. Leave it alone Leave it alone Leave it alone Matt: What’s the difference between a demon and something that inspires obsession? Luke: I mean to me an obsession is just a way of coping. A demon is something we can bargain with or that we can defeat. The problem rises when you become obsessed with your demons. Pickin at scabs. Dressin in rags. Searching for curses. I’m searching for rats. Burning my tracks. Turning up jack. Turns out I’m worthless, the surface is cracked. Put on the mask. Brush off the cask Bottled in styx so there's no coming back. Killing the fast. Top off the the flask Feeling myself as i’m dead by the glass. Top of the stack lost in the draft. Drink till you can't tell the fiction from fact. Take it to mass. Give it a task. Give it my health cause i’m having a blast Sigils and black wizard blood pacts Stitch it in ink in the skin on my back. Kick that witch craft. Set it on tracks. Can’t kick the devil when fixed on the past I ain’t ever been to heaven. I ain’t been to hell yet. Waitin’ patient on a seven, there’s three left in the deck. I bet my credit on the record. Guess that’s money well spent. I ain’t been myself. Check it you can tell ‘em “Hell yess!” I've got a needle to thread to keep the demons in check. I speak to beats and preach mean. I make a feeble attempt. I keep a cleaver making eager speakers bleed from my hex. I got a fever for theater, the meager fiend is obsessed. I got a need to beat the theater I'm beleaguered against. No believer in defeat could weave a sweeter defense. Deeper in debt? However deeper it gets. He told the beast “You keep cheating need to even the deck.” His conceited demeanor was never near to his vest. Now even cheap seats can see their evil leader's upset. The heathen priest a keen preacher made his meager request “Defeat the beast to keep breathing.” You can tell ‘em “Hell yess.” I ain’t ever been to heaven. I ain’t been to hell yet. Waitin’ patient on a seven, there’s three left in the deck. I bet my credit on the record. Guess that’s money well spent. I ain’t been myself. Check it you can tell ‘em “Hell yess!” Luke: Wormtooth is this trickster who makes dark pacts with artists. Many claim to have seen it, but many of the sightings are later found to be hoaxes. Or maybe some musician just co-opted the name of a creepy thing that he found online or in a book. Some say he was too cavalier and called an actual demon and that the demon listened and accepted the contract. We’ve all heard of the musician making a deal with the devil at the crossroads. It’s not hard to see where Dave pulled it from. I ain’t ever been to heaven. I ain’t been to hell yet. Waitin’ patient on a seven, there’s three left in the deck. I bet my credit on the record. Guess that’s money well spent. I ain’t been myself. Check it you can tell ‘em “Hell yess!” I ain’t ever been to heaven. I ain’t been to hell yet. Waitin’ patient on a seven, there’s three left in the deck. I bet my credit on the record. Guess that’s money well spent. I ain’t been myself. Check it you can tell ‘em “Hell yess!” Best to mess with the rhythm this magician gets sent. Though he made a killin never spent a single red cent. Fed venom to the devil made the devil say when. Dead steady tryna make the wretched devil pay rent. So he caught what fate delivered on the river dead set. Breath baited second seven two stayed in the deck. Hell wept as they watched the wicked wretch get wrecked. I ain’t been myself. Check it you can tell ‘em “Hell yess!”

There’s a beast that I’ve grown. We used to be equals. I ended indebted to the knownest of evils. This is my feeble attempt, a plea that I’ve sent, To escape from my demon this beast that I’ve kept. The demon fed this heathen spells to weave at a whim, At a cost for each hymn an act not lost on the id. The pact I botched as a kid; a fact I often omit. The only profit has been this path I walk without end. To endeavor to create. Take my clever to the paint. Make the letters take shape, for the devil to berate. Take the leather to his flank for every mistake. Alas, age has net the devil better taste. Used to settle for the greats never sated till it breaks. What a fate, severed takes that will never get a wake. Tethered to the stake, wedded to the benefits wage. Such a waste. Never get in bed with a snake. When we started, the demon, he was eager to please, Speakers ready to bleed each beat seasoned to tease. At the speed that it takes a desert eagle to speak, I’d invoke this part of me with unfeasible ease. He let the need grow inside of me. He sowed his seeds deep, Fiendishly greedy for the fever to peak. I agreed to let his needle-teethed leeches to feast So I could keep this weeping demon’s easel deep in my cheek. Within a week I caught the thief he was stealing my sleep, Scheming on me with weaknesses he’d seen in my dreams. Bleeding pieces of this weasels feeble feverish pleas As he leads to defeat. I see no need to beat a speedy retreat. The cost of upheaval a reasonable fee, But I’ve always been meager and cheap. I concede that it seems my demeanor is meek, But I plead with the beast for the beatings to cease. The beast is critical, bitter, ever cynical. I feed him weathered hymnals. I’m tethered to the ritual. Empirical evidence suggests several miracles Are simply clever tricks to get the veteran to give his best. So though I forget my station Ever in the devil’s debt never impatient. A wretched pest enslaved to the kraken. Unclean priest to the beast that caged him. You never heard a bird sing so true. Burdened with the curse of sacrifice to the Eldritch brute. A small price set it loose on the beast. Now I’m ravaged, a scavenger, vermin, a thief. Forced to sing him savage, angered sermons and pleas. The one to speak in tongues even blind I’ll find a drum to beat. My reasoned rhymes will only sign the line and fund the feast ‘’Till I’m dumb deaf and numb till I succumb till I become the beast.

Luke: In some link in a subthread that contained comments about his first game which was defenseless back in 2016. The comment simply read Dave’s Inferno and linked the game. The user who did that has been deleted in like all the screenshots that we have and the link posted there has been broken since like 2016 according to the other users. And the next comment is like from 2016 when a user noticed that the link had become active again. Matt: Ok, So, assuming this deleted user is Bulb, or someone posting on their behalf, why link a game two years before it exists? Luke: Well that's the weird thing about Bulb, they like to hide Easter eggs and make secret elements that are difficult to find unless you’re really lucky and paying attention to detail. You know, like gamers do Matt: It seems like they’re striving for some ideal version of the game Luke: Which may well be what they are doing right now. However diehard fans don't doubt that there is a way to get through the game, and that there’s an Easter egg to be found. I've played the "demo." I'm fine. I see a game that glitches out at the third level. Like Wormtooth is this cryptid, like Bigfoot or Swamp Ape, maybe a demon or goblin. This trickster who makes dark pacts with artists. Matt: Almost a Rumpelstiltskin type story? Spinning straw into gold and then he comes to collect your first born. Luke: Right. Many claim to have seen it, but many of the sightings are later found to be hoaxes. It is possible that this game is intended to be one of those hoaxes or maybe some musician just co-opted the name of a creepy thing he found online or in a book. The song's catchy it gets stuck in your head, so sure, sometimes you are humming it when a weird thing happens, but that's just confirmation bias. Matt: Wait, what’s this about the song? What did you mean, a weird thing happens? Luke: Oh, I thought you knew this.There's one of those creepy pasta things that spun up about the game. Matt: Again like Slender Man? Luke: Yeah, exactly. weird things happen around the song, but the stories are all so different If you play the song while blindfolded Wormtooth [ indistinct] you know what I mean? Matt: Well, there you have it, folks, Dave’s Inferno. Is it a myth? We couldn’t find a copy to play it, so we may never really know. Are the haunting tunes we’ve found from the game actually from the game? Do they hold their own supernatural effects? Are they cursed? I don’t have the answers, but listening to it now there certainly is something unsettling that I can’t put my finger on. Either way the story behind their origin certainly is creepy whether true or not. Thanks to Luke Herr for talking to us about the game and thank you for listening. I’m Matt Aukamp, see you next time.