Gaming

W.D. Gaster: Undertale’s Biggest Mystery

The story behind the man who speaks in hands

“Pixel Heart” by bixentro is licensed under CC-BY

Toby Fox’s hit indie game Undertale has entertained audiences of all ages since its release in 2015. The game has surprises and Easter eggs around every corner, but the most famous is most likely W.D. Gaster. This cryptic blob-like creature is the former royal scientist of the Underground whose life was “cut short,” according to one of his followers, after an accident in his lab. Very little is known about Gaster, but most of our information is from the “Fun” Value feature.

Embedded deep within the code of the game, the Fun Value is a randomized number from one to one hundred that can trigger special events. Most of these events are small surprises that don’t have a significant purpose, but some contribute to the main storyline, such as the Gaster followers.

These greyscale characters are found in the Hotland region, resembling other NPCs in the game. If the Fun value is 62, the first Gaster follower will appear in front of the L3 elevator. This follower tells the player about Gaster’s death and how he created the CORE, the energy source of the Underground. Later on, if the Fun value is 61, the second follower appears in front of the R1 elevator. Unfortunately, this NPC provides the same information as the others: Gaster vanished. However, this character does mention that they are “holding a piece of him right here.” This could mean that they found a piece of Gaster when he “shattered across time and space.” The final follower can be found with a Fun value of 63 in front of the L2 elevator. Once again, the follower talks about Gaster’s disappearance, but then they say that “it’s rude to talk about someone who’s listening,” implying that Gaster is eavesdropping on the conversation.

One of the most significant clues towards the identity of Gaster is in room 269. In Waterfall, a secret hallway can be unlocked by a Fun value of 66. This hallway is labeled in the code as room 268, but there is a 10% chance that a secret door will appear in this hallway, leading to room 269. This room is empty aside from one sprite, Mystery Man. This NPC is widely believed to be Gaster, and when interacted with, the character vanishes.

There are countless more tidbits of Gaster lore that hint at his identity and existence throughout the game, but a large piece of the Gaster storyline can only be inferred. This lack of confirmed information makes W.D. Gaster is one of Undertale‘s greatest mysteries and continues to perplex fans to this day.

W.D. Gaster: Undertale’s Biggest Mystery

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