A raccoon with a likely spinal deformity has taken the internet by storm over the past couple weeks. Social media was quick to point out that the raccoon’s hunched back and unique way of walking are similar to those of cryptids such as the Chupacabra, Bigfoot, and the Sasquatch (Yeti), dubbing him Jimothy. This past week, Jimothy fans have spotted him on screensavers, weather reports, FIFA World Cup advertisements, and video games.
So far, Jimothy has had official cameos in at least six different games consisting of World of Warcraft, The Sims, Dead by Daylight, Halo, RuneScape, and, although it is not a video game, but a tabletop one, Dungeons and Dragons. The majority of these cameos are strictly promotional and non functioning, encouraging fans to design their own functional modifications. Some popular examples include modifications of Skyrim, Stardew Valley, and Minecraft. One indie developer, Chris Pirillo, has taken this to the next level, designing a short game simply titled Jimothy.
The World of Warcraft cameo of Jimothy has been rendered and published, but not yet added to the game. Instead, he will be added to the newest update, Patch 12.81: Curse of Ula’tek, as a companion pet players will be able to earn. Though it is unclear whether this will be widely available, The Sims have designed a costume type suit that takes on the raccoon’s appearance. Dead by Daylight’s social media team only posted about him, joking “Jimothy, you’ve got a friend in The Fog,” accompanied by an image depting a map with Tanuki on it. The Halo team hid Jimothy in not one, but two in game locations, equipping him with armor in one as an ‘Easter egg.’ RuneScape’s team only posted a few photos of Jimothy, but fans seem to be satisfied regardless, despite requesting additions. Finally, Dungeons and Dragons shared a brief stat block, which is available online.
In regards of fan made modifications, Skyrim’s modification just adds him as an intractable character, similar to Stardew Valley’s. Minecraft mods included molding a raccoon’s body to look more like Jimothy. Jimothy‘s first indie game is designed to br reminiscent of retro video game consoles, as it is a brief, 8 bit and pixelated display.