Number:8 (Meta, no ontology)

From Compile Worlds

Eight is the last of the single-digit numbers to be documented on this here wiki.

Occurrences

• It is the number of bits in a byte, likely chosen because it is a power of two giving 256 possible values, a range which was neither too big nor too small for many purposes in retro computing, such as a character code, a palette index, or a stage number. The nearest alternatives are 2⁴ = 16, which would be too small, and 2¹⁶ = 65536, which would waste space.
  • Speaking of stage numbers, there are many video games which have exactly eight stages (or have eight not counting a possible endgame segment). Notable examples are Super Mario Bros. and Streets of Rage 2.
• It is a very important number to Vriska, and this fact is what finally convinced Keiji that this page was worth making. She has eight eyes, like a spider, and constantly references this number in her speech.
• Because of its shape, it is often used as part of a "sunglasses" emoticon, 8). This, however, more frequently arises accidentally and annoyingly in numbered lists or parenthesized times than from any legitimate usage.
• If turned 90 degrees, it resembles the symbol for infinity, which inspires the theme of the eighth area in La-Mulana.