History WMG / OFF

There is still one Zone left unpurified - Zone 0. The Judge, Zacharie, and Sucre seems to live there, and they can rebuild the world... again. Not to mention there is one Elsen still alive - and possibly more, as there are some parts of the Purified Zones that the Batter can't access.

(Hey, you knew it was coming. Ness often uses baseball bats to attack, and regularly wears baseball caps. Paula seems respected enough in the ''EarthBound'' universe to be promoted to queenly status after a nuclear fallout wipes out the rest of humanity. It would explain why Hugo was born with psychic powers, anyway. Plus, ''EarthBound'' seems to know it's a video game, as evidenced by how it asks for the Player's name and asks the player for help in the final battle. Kind of makes a chilling amount of sense, when you think about it.)

[[WMG: Zacharie is the guardian of Zone 0.]]

[[WMG: The Batter is a deity deciding that creation is corrupt and deciding to end it all.]]

[[WMG: It was Japhet's madness that made Dedan the jerk he is in-game.]]

[[WMG: The game takes place within the Batter's mind as he achieves mental purity.]]

[[WMG: When all of the zones have been purified, you can hear the Elsens' cries for help.]]

[[WMG: The plot of the game is based around Batter's battle with and descent into possible schizophrenia.]]
* Delusion (most common schizophrenia symptom): Batter is dressed like a baseball player with the idea that he is meant to purify the world. [[spoiler:His 'sacred duty' is the reason why he killed his wife and child.]]
* Hallucination: The existence of the surrealistic Zones and The Room, including how he sees [[spoiler:The Queen (his wife), Hugo (his child), and The Three Guardians (the stressors/burdens he carries with him)]], including hearing voices once 'Not Safe' begins all suggest hallucinations. Perhaps this is the reason for the note at the beginning that says "Keep your volume on to get the full experience".

[[WMG: Zacharie is Omnipotent]]

[[WMG: The "off" switch is for Hugo's life support machine.]]

* Alternatively, the whole thing is Hugo's coma dream and the zones dying off are parts of his brain gradually shutting down. In the Batter ending, Hugo dies, while in the Judge ending he survives but is doomed to forever be a "vegetable" in a coma, since his entire mind has shut down, including what made him aware of his own existance.
* Another alternative; each zone is The Batter overcoming an obstacle (local and/or national laws, the mother's agreement/consent, the doctor's agreement to do so, etc.) in being able to turn the life support off so that he can let his son die in peace. In the Batter's ending, he succeeds. In the Judge's ending, he fails.

[[WMG: Sugar killed everyone in Zone 0 beforehand.]]

[[WMG: The Judge is the Guardian of the "off" switch.]]

[[WMG: The Batter is a "failed" Guardian of sorts.]]

[[WMG: Zacharie and Sucre are Hugo’s real parents.]]
But they were separated from him when he was just a baby, so he made the Queen and The Batter to replace them. Now that Hugo is a small child, he doesn’t remember his real Mama and Papa, which is why he says in his diary/notes things that Zacharie is just his friend. Furthermore, Enoch is Sucre’s father, making him Hugo’s grandfather.

[[WMG: Hugo used psychic powers to revive his parents, and the Batter CameBackWrong.]]

[[WMG: The Batter's form changes depending on who's viewing him.]]
This is confirmed with Sugar and the player alongside the Judge, but this could extend to other characters as well. Early on, the Judge mentions that the Batter has no "physical order", whatever that means. And while Japhet sees him as human, Dedan views him as one of the Spectres, and it's unknown what Enoch thinks of him. Perhaps only people who see the Batter as hostile can see his "bad" form.

[[WMG: Going off of the above, so does The Queen's.]]

[[WMG: Going off of both of the above, The Queen is the sun that Enoch refers to.]]
Enoch mentions that the guardians draw off of the infinite power of the sun, even though OFF does not appear to have a sun, nor a day or night in the first place. Recall that in The Room, Hugo's mom was represented in his drawing as a sun, and The Queen is supposed to replace his mom. Enoch has little respect for The Queen, since he immediately suspects you of being sent by her to stop him, so it's possible he views her as little more than an inanimate object, albeit a powerful one of which to draw his energy.

[[WMG: The secretaries are the lost souls of the elsens left in the zones when they are purified.]]
The secretaries are described as demonic humanoid spirits. Maybe they're not really demonic but angry and seeking revenge on the batter for ending their lives?

[[WMG: The Batter is/was an Elsen himself.]]

* Alternate possibility: the Elsens (who are human--although the Batter is ''not'') are nonetheless subject to the same laws of subjective battle sprite appearance as the Batter. Just as the Batter never "transformed", the Burnt forms do not actually indicate a transformation; rather, they are how the Batter sees them during the battles. As far as anyone else is concerned, he's beating ordinary (if stressed) humans to death with a baseball bat.

[[WMG: There is a power higher than the Puppeteer.]]

[[WMG: If the Secretaries ''Divide By Zero'' attack was used anywhere else, it would cause a RealityBreakingParadox...]]

[[WMG: The Spectres are the angry souls of the Elsen.]]
They are getting their revenge for being processed into sugar... And the Batter turning Elsens into Burnts and then slaying them sure isn't helping matters.

[[WMG: The Batter is performing the ultimate MercyKilling.]]

[[WMG: The entire game of OFF is an alternate universe sequel to Earthbound]]
After defeating the ultimate evil, Ness was extremely traumatized. His innocence was lost, and the boy's smile died with it.

Ness could never relearn PSI Heal, which is why he didn't revive any of the world's populous, or heal the remaining populous of their mutations and infirmities. He felt useless to the world, and to his family.

(Hey, you knew it was coming. Ness often uses baseball bats to attack, and regularly wears baseball caps. Paula seems respected enough in the Earthbound universe to be promoted to queenly status after a nuclear fallout wipes out the rest of humanity. It would explain why Hugo was born with psychic powers, anyway. Plus, Earthbound seems to know it's a video game, as evidenced by how it asks for the Player's name and asks the player for help in the final battle. Kind of makes a chilling amount of sense, when you think about it.)

[[WMG: The inevitable silly AlternateCharacterInterpretation]]

[[WMG: In the minor 'baseball game' metaphor, The Judge is the ball.]]

[[WMG: "Rubber" is actually an alloy of metal and plastic.]]

[[WMG: OFF as a whole is about eugenics.]]
I don't recall where it was said, but Mortis Ghost once said eugenics as a whole inspired the idea behind OFF, and it shows. Consider the player - you - to be a "purist". And The Batter is a tool for which you can carry it out. This is reflected in the gameplay - the first Burnt Elsen you find isn't even really evil, just stressed out. Can't perform under pressure? Well, looks like someone's getting the boot - or, dare I say, the bat. And from a Doylist view, it's not hard to see how CloudCuckoolander Mortis Ghost could have dealt with that before.

[[WMG: The game is Hugo's dream, but not his dying one. Instead, it's his nightmare about his dad leaving him.]]
And to give a starting point: Zacherie is actually an attendant to Hugo, and so goes out of his way to tell him stories and help him through while he gets taken care of for his illness. This is why everybody knows Zacherie and why he's so important, but also so genera savvy. This is always why he's slightly callous about the whole thing in the dream, because he has seen sick children pass away, and so can probably come off as jerkish even if he really does care. The whole story began with Zach letting Hugo choose his own characters in a story, and instead let Hugo decide what was going on. You know, and interactive storytelling experience.

the bird and the two cats are actually animals he liked to play with. Given that the bird is very indistinct before Valerie is killed by him, it was probably a common bird that Hugo gave a personality to. the whole of world 2 is full of even more neurotic than usual elsens, because people probably always freaked out when they saw him playing with strays and trying to pet wild birds. Given that the bird had no personality to speak of, Hugo believed BeautyEqualsGoodness and that the bird was the kindest and most giving of the three. The FaceHeelTurn would most likely be Hugo's fear that the doctors, I.E. the ones who are letting him live, might grow tired of his constant illness and one day wish to stop helping him.

The final guardian was the boss of his mother. He's very kind when speaking, and although he can be blunt, he always explains himself and makes sure he's understood, but otherwise very nice. He was most likely always aware of little Hugo when he was around and tried not to confuse him with adult business, unlike Dedan. This is why he's the kindest of the 3 and the only one who didn't go mad. Hugo doesn't know what job his mother works, so he doesn't associate anything with the boss aside from a nice man. Instead he sees his job as the scary thing. Sugar, I.e addictions and cravings that people buy.

His mother is the queen, who's always busy in order to afford Hugo's treatments. The batter is his dad, who most likely is represented as a stoic version of the bad guy from the comic because he talked more freely about death around Hugo. The argument near the end of the game is something he overheard his parents yelling about. The "you haven't done anything" and "you forgot who the party was for" was his father telling his mother that she was working so much she never even got to see him anymore, despite paying for him to live. She snaps back by telling him he's frightening and saddening Hugo about the very real possibility of death.

The ending of the game was if he feels his old life has gone forever of if he can still keep a part of it. Being a child, Hugo doesn't understand it, but Zacherie does. the official ending is that everything is in the past, and Hugo is no longer living the way he used to be, while the Judge ending is him holding on to 3 people who are still there: Pablo (the stray cat), Zach (his attendant), and a lone elsen (The people at the hospital are still there, even if he doesn't see them as much.) As Hugo doesn't understand the metaphor, Zach instead tells him a new story the next day. a story about space monkeys fighting flying brains, building on the cleared out remains of his old story.

[[WMG: The whispers Not Safe are the Add-Ons reassuring the Batter that his actions were correct.]]

** Jossed, the whole whispering is in french.

[[WMG: The Elsen were meant to be the new world's humans.]]
The guardians designed them to be just like the men that populated the world before it ended. Unfortunately, the human mind is not prepared for {{Utopia}}; fear and danger are an integral part of the psychology that the guardians would have used as the blueprint for humanity.

Without anything to be afraid of, the Elsen had the choice to reject or embrace their genetic disposition towards fear. To preserve their sanity, they embraced fear. Every shadow is a specter, every sound is a slasher, and nothing is safe. [[GoneHorriblyRight And all in the name of being just like humans]].

[[WMG: The sequel will be named OFF 2 The Stars.]]

[[WMG: Dedan chose to have metal form in cows out of spite.]]

[[WMG: The Batter is the Guardian of the Nothingness.]]

[[WMG: The Batter is the Queen's eldest son.]]
While playing the final parts of the game, it seems common thought that Hugo helped the guardians and wrote to his mother, but Hugo is still at least under 5, and in his time the guardians are already not as jovial as they once were.The queen hardly seems to care about anything, so I don't take this as out of her league, especially with her tendency to neglect Hugo, which seems evidence of wanting to forget him despite loving him. The batter on the other hand, is obviously able to do these things and has been able to for a long time before the game, probably back to when the guardians WERE nice. He looks smaller than most of the enemies in game, the queen and guardians included, but when you walk around in the final parts of the game, you play as the Batter, not Hugo, and here he looks even shorter, in comparison to the world and Dedan alike, who when you first fight the Batter is near shoulder height to. Considering most of the other creatures of power in OFF are generally rather tall, and the Batter is always a little shorter than most of them, it would seem he's still young, or at least not fully grown, while the queen is tall and adult as ever. Furthermore, in the Room's notes, it states that Zacharie and Sugar are the writers friends, and while that could easily be true for Hugo, the Batter seems much more likely a candidate considering the age differences. If any of the other in game characters knew the queen was the Batters mother, it could explain certain hostilities or uncare for the queen, although as the Judge decides in the end none of it is excuse for murder. It could also explain why the Batter starts out in the Nothingness, instead of with Eloha and Hugo-she could have sent the Batter away, to prevent the truth from continuing to spread. And the queens comment of, "Look...He has your eyes. They are full of fear.", with the common thought that the Batter has no eyes or at least very different ones from Hugo, this would imply Hugo's creation was less than consensual, or at the very least that she's used to seeing the Batter terrified, and finds he and Hugo to have similar scared faces. Soz if this seems a little all over the place, that I don' have any explanation for.

[[WMG: Zacharie is Hugo's true father.]]

[[WMG: Everything is literal.]]
The Batter is literally a holy man on a mission to purify the world, created by Hugo. The Judge is literally a cat who is also the Guardian of Zone 0, who teaches the Batter how to fight and guides him on his quest. Dedan is literally a man with a body made of steel, a hard taskmaster, and the Guardian of Zone 1. Zone 1 is literally a living and working area for the people called Elsen, where the four elements are processed and sent where they are needed in the world. Japhet is literally a phoenix who was eaten by a cat, who he then proceeded to possess, as well as being the Guardian of Zone 2. Zone 2 is literally a living area for the Elsen, created by Japhet to make them happy. Enoch is literally a giant man who promised Hugo he would make him sweets, and so set up his Zone, Zone 3, to create sugar for said sweets. Zone 3 is literally an industrial area that produces sugar. Vader Eloha is literally the Queen of whatever world OFF takes place in, as well as Hugo's caretaker, as well as being created by him. Hugo is literally a little boy who seems to be sickly, who is the Guardian of the Room, and the creator of the Batter and Vader Eloha.

[[WMG: Sugar isn't actually made from [[spoiler: corpses]], it's just extracted from it.]]

It's never really explicitly stated that sugar is directly made from [[spoiler: corpses]]. It's entirely possible that there is simply a very limited amount of sugar in existence, and it can't be produced conventionally fast enough to properly replenish the supply. Likewise, the fact that sugar can be extracted from [[spoiler: dead bodies]] by burning them was likely discovered accidently, considering that the spectres are implied to have begun showing up very suddenly, and its entirely possible that some of them just had inexplicable fire attacks. Enoch probably just decided to run with it, and it likely wasn't his original plan, especially considering the events of [[spoiler: The Room]], where most of the guardians are revealed to have [[spoiler: actually been rather kindhearted and friendly, and likely driven to the states of madness and rage you found them in by the sheer logistics of managing the world]].

[[WMG: Zacharie was responsible for the first apocalypse, and is aiding the Batter in finishing the job.]]
In one of the books in the library, there's a story about a masked man who killed the toad king. The batter killing the queen (and, after her, Hugo), are the last obstacles to the switch.

[[WMG: Zacharie is clinically depressed.]]

[[WMG: The story is not about the Batter. It's about Zacharie.]]

[[WMG: The Batter is [[spoiler: The Fallen Child/Chara from ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}''.]]]]

You have to admit, it makes a lot of sense considering [[spoiler: ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'''s Genocide/No Mercy]] ending. Afterwards, [[spoiler: Chara moved on to other video game worlds to destroy with the help of willing players.]]
* Except not only do the games take place in entirely separate continuities, but barely anything is known about [[spoiler: The Fallen Child/Chara]] so there's no evidence to prove it besides [[spoiler: they both destroy their respective worlds.]] Which, if that's your evidence, then [[spoiler: [[VideoGame/EarthBound Giygas]] must be a reincarnation of [[Creator/HPLovecraft Cthulhu]] because they're both [[EldritchAbomination Eldritch Abominations]] with the goal to spread madness throughout the world]].

* Possibly jossed as OFF was released before Undertale.

[[WMG: There are other Elsens besides [[spoiler: the last one in Zone 2.]]]]
While a minor theory that doesn't explain much, it's stated in the post office in Zone 1 that Plastic and the other elements are "shipped" to the other Zones. While one could also argue that the Elsens are able to go into the Nothingness, it should also be brought up that only special people may enter the Zones and it's unlikely that Dedan or Enoch would give out Zodiac cards just so they could transport materials. What does that have to do with anything?

While there are trains from Zone 1 there's currently only one working at the time (Train #2 is stated to have not worked very much), and it's shown that not only are Elsen capable of going out onto the plastic sea but they've even managed to make underwater motors (as shown in the amusement park in Zone 2). So maybe there's one, or several, ships with Elsen on them that are carrying things like meat, plastic, and metal still out there. At least, [[spoiler: during the Special ending]].

[[WMG: The Room is not a flashback, simply another obstacle to stop the Batter]]
If it was, it would mean the queen didn't exist in the present since she could only be found in the memory. Instead, it's part of her labyrinth of an area.

The guardians weren't destroyed, they simply returned to the Queen after they were "purified". They act as a final defense keeping the batter out with an impossible task of getting them to let him through. However, because of the Batter's uncanny resemblance to [[spoiler:Hugo,]] they allow him through after a few easy errands to prove he's their "friend". Had they not let him through, they could've returned to the zones and eventually restored the world again.

From there, the queen tries desperately to stop the batter by changing the path over and over and sending him back to the start again and again. After losing the fight, her last ditch attempt to stop the batter is to throw [[spoiler:Hugo]] in his way. All to stop him from turning everything OFF.

[[WMG: The playing of Over the Rainbow at the end credits refers to the ending of The Wizard of Oz.]]

[[WMG: Zacharie's [[spoiler: cat mask was taken from Zone 2's 'silkier hair' advertisement.]]]]

[[http://i.imgur.com/uPMSChv.png This]] is what the ad looks like up until you [[spoiler: kill Japhet, and the Judge's brother alongside him.]] But when you [[spoiler: go back after purifying the zone,]] [[http://i.imgur.com/COblsRA.png it's shown to be missing certain features.]]

Plus, WordOfGod has stated that he wouldn't [[spoiler: make it out of Valerie's actual face]], as they were very good friends.

[[WMG: The switch is nothing more than a light switch]]
And the entire world was imagined by Hugo to cope with his fear of the dark. Flipping the switch to ON turns on the lights, which ends the world

[[WMG: Zacharie is a villain.]]

[[WMG: In the special ending, the Judge is looking for a new land.]]
This is also the reason the song "Somewhere over the rainbow" plays while he moves through the areas with a smile (since we've seen he's capable of closing his mouth). During his HeroicBSOD he also kept meowing for Valerie, despite knowing what happened to him, which leads to believe he's the hopeful sort. He's leaving the now empty lands because he has the hope that, out there, somewhere, a world still exists.

[[WMG: The Batters Add-Ons represent the guardians good sides, the Queens Add-Ons their bad sides]]
As [[spoiler:Hugo]] describes the promises the guardians gave him in [[spoiler:Chapter 4]], the Batters Add-Ons appear on screen, one for every guardian. While the Queens Add-Ons are in their rightful place in [[spoiler:The Room]], the Batters Add-Ons are located in seemingly random places, as if they were lost or thrown away, symbolising that the guardians repressed their good side. When the Batter fights the guardians with their respective Add-Ons, it symbolises that the guardians subconciously agree, if only a little bit, with the goals of the Batter. When the Batter fights the Queen and her Add-Ons with his own Add-Ons, it symbolises the guardians good sides destroying their bad sides, hence "purifying" them.

[[WMG: The Batter is the boy in the coma.]]
This theory states: the Batter was a teenage boy. His name (purely headcanon) was Michael Casey Battcher, he played baseball, and had some friends. His girlfriend, a woman known as the ‘Queen’ of the school (name: Vader Eloha) was, however, abusive towards him. One night, she drugged and raped him after he refused her too many times, and she conceived a child she claimed she would name Hugo if it were a boy. Soon after this, Batter’s few friends helped him get of the relationship, but the boy had been through a lot in his 17 years; it didn’t help his depression or suicidal thoughts much.
Eventually, he tried to kill himself via overdose. Just before he passed out, however, he realized deep down that he didn’t want to die just yet. He then fell into a coma.

Everyone we meet in the world of OFF is based on someone Batter knew. Pablo and Valerie were a pair of twins who ‘acted like cats’. Japhet was Valerie’s boyfriend, at least he was before he snapped and tried to kill Batter, Valerie, and Pablo one night (nearly succeeding with the last). Zacharie was the boy who made Batter realize he didn’t quite want to die yet; you see, Batter was in love with him. He thought about him all the time, hence why Zacharie seems to be everywhere.
The Elsens are based off this boy he used to know who was very anxious and studious. Sugar was an odd, erratic girl. Hugo is depicted as nearly an infant because he hadn’t been born yet when Batter fell comatose. The Queen was, of course, based off his abusive girlfriend and all her competences are things she’s said to him (example, saying “He loves you not” to him after they’ve broken up and knowing Batter wishes to persue a romantic relationship with Zacharie. The Batter’s mission, however, can work one of two ways: First, it could symbolize him still wishing for death, his ending being him dying peacefully in his coma while in the Judge’s he stays alive, but he doesn’t wake. Second, his ending could be turning off the illusion of this world he’d created and waking up to the happy faces of Zacharie and his friends. This would make the Judge’s ending symbolize Batter being too afraid or too depressed to face the outside world again, surrendering his form in the imaginary world in order to stay in his coma, as he feels everyone wishes he’d do.

[[WMG: The Special Ending is not as hopeless as the Judge made it out to be.]]

The Elsens are based off this boy he used to know who was very anxious and studious. Sugar was an odd, erratic girl. Hugo is depicted as nearly an infant because he hadn’t been born yet when Batter fell comatose. The Queen was, of course, based off his abusive girlfriend and all her competences are things she’s said to him (example, saying “He loves you not” to him after they’ve broken up and knowing Batter wishes to persue a romantic relationship with Zacharie. The Batter’s mission, however, can work one of two ways: First, it could symbolize him still wishing for death, his ending being him dying peacefully in his coma while in the Judge’s he stays alive, but he doesn’t wake. Second, his ending could be turning off the illusion of this world he’d created and waking up to the happy faces of Zacharie and his friends. This would make the Judge’s ending symbolize Batter being too afraid or too depressed to face the outside world again, surrendering his form in the imaginary world in order to stay in his coma, as he feels everyone wishes he’d do.

As [[spoiler:Hugo]] describes the promises the guardians gave him in [[spoiler:Chapter 4]], the Batters Add-Ons appear on screen, one for every guardian. While the Queens Add-Ons are in their rightful place in [[spoiler:The Room]], the Batters Add-Ons are located in seemingly random places, as if they were lost or thrown away, symbolising that the guardians repressed their good side. When the Batter fights the guardians with their respective Add-Ons, it symbolises that the guardians subconciously agree, if only a little bit, with the goals of the Batter. When the Batter fights the Queen and her Add-Ons with his own Add-Ons, it symbolises the guardians good sides destroying their bad sides, hence "purifying" them.

This is also the reason the song "Somewhere over the rainbow" plays while he moves through the areas with a smile (since we've seen he's capable of closing his mouth). During his HeroicBSOD he also kept meowing for Valerie, despite knowing what happened to him, which leads to believe he's the hopeful sort. He's leaving the now empty lands because he has the hope that, out there, somewhere, a world still exists.

This is also the reason the song "Somewhere over the rainbow" plays while he moves through the areas with a smile (since we've seen he's capable of closing his mouth). During his HBSOD he also kept meowing for Valerie, despite knowing what happened to him, which leads to believe he's the hopeful sort. He's leaving the now empty lands because he has the hope that, out there, somewhere, a world still exists.

[[WWG: In the special ending, the Judge is looking for a new land.]]

[[WWG:In the special ending, the Judge is looking for a new land.]]

[[WWG:In the special ending, the Judge is looking for a new land]]

While ''definitely'' not the BigBad (That title belongs to [[KnightTemplar The Batter]] or [[BiggerBad you]]), he does keep supplying you with weapons, defensive equipment and health regenerating items. Even after it's made apparent to him that you will destroy the world and even after you ''[[LackOfEmpathy murder his best friend, spouse or sister figure]]'' (whatever you interpret [[BonusBoss Sugar]] to be to him). While it looks like he's mourning, it doesn't stop him from selling anything that may help you in your quest to "purify" the world.

And the entire world was imagined by Hugo to cope with his fear of the dark. Flipping the switch to ON turns on the lights, which ends the world

Plus, WordOfGod has stated that he wouldn't [[spoiler: make it out of Valerie's actual face]], as they were very good friends.

You have to admit, it makes a lot of sense considering ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'''s Genocide/No Mercy ending. Afterwards, [[spoiler: Chara]] moved on to other video game worlds to destroy with the help of willing players.

Just as Dorothy was able to go home at any time by clicking the heels of her ruby slippers, the player was able to quit the game and return to the real world at any time. The fact that they never did directly resulted in the DownerEnding, and Over the Rainbow serves as a reminder of that fact.

A word. WMGs with no information will be [[Main/{{Zapped}} purified]].

* Possibly Jossed. Bad Batter isn't his burnt form, as Mortis Ghost stated that The Batter's appearance depends on who's viewing him.

[[WMG: Everything is literal]]

[[WMG: The Batter is an adrenaline junkie.]]

[[WMG: Zacharie will or has [[Disney/WreckItRalph gone turbo]] before. ]]

From there, the queen tries desperately to stop the batter by changing the path over and over and sending him back to the start again and again. After losing the fight, her last ditch attempt to stop the batter is to throw [[spoiler:Hugo]] in his way. All to stop him from turning everything OFF.

If it was, it would mean the queen didn't exist in the present since she could only be found in the memory. Instead, it's part of her chessboard of an area.