Did 2D Ocarina of Time creator fake his death?

We reported the passing of Richard "Dampe" Denton last week. Dampe was 15 years old and developing one of several 2D Zelda:Ocarina of Time games currently in the works by various artists. Now it seems we and many other media outlets may have been duped and that the reports of his death may have been erroneous.

Flashman of squidnews is reporting that he has done some pretty thorough research including trying to locate a non-existent police report, contradictory weather reports for the day of the accident (it was sunny when it was supposed to be raining) and the fact that 'someone' has logged onto Dampe's myspace page and has been "sited" in other online areas.

I don't know if Dampe is dead or not. Some of Flashman's research is solid and does make a compelling case for a kid under a lot of pressure just trying to make an escape. And I did find it a bit fishy that his family was so eager to immediately shut down the forums where he reported his progress to fans when you would think they had bigger fish to fry if their son had indeed just been tragically killed.

Digg readers seem to think Flashman is right and many of them are indignant. Heck, maybe Flashman is really Dampe.

I suspect we'll be hearing more about this in the future. We'll keep you updated when and if we learn more.

2D Ocarina of Time creator dies in car accident.

Richard Denton, the creator of the 2D version of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time, and better known as "Dampe" around the net, was killed friday when he was struck by a car. Apparently, the road was wet, the car slid and Dampe was struck and rendered unconscious at the scene. He died later at the hospital; he was 15. According to the police report the car that struck him was not speeding and no alcohol or drugs were involved. Apparently it was just a very very sad freak accident.

We send our condolences to Richard's family and friends and his girlfriend. Reportedly his last known words were an "I love you" to her.

At the request of his family, the game, the official OoT2D webpage as well as the forums are closed. The future fate of the game itself remains undecided at this time.

A video from late last year shows the game in action.

To Dampe, I want to thank you for your hard work and passion, hopefully you know just how many people were inspired by your talent and efforts. You will be sorely missed.