Okay family, I'm still convinced the
spindle icon is a key piece of the puzzle, and I have a new theory. To recap:
Start the VHS, pause the tape as soon as the tracking noise disappears (before Pete says 'boo!'). Wait 30 seconds.
A spinning tape spindle icon appears in the bottom right of the screen.
Some people have dismissed this as an insignificant loading icon, but I don't believe it is. The load/save icons elsewhere in the demo are a small ring in the top left. If this were a loading icon, why would it appear in this scenario (and nowhere else on the tape), and why would it never complete loading and disappear? It stays on screen indefinitely.
Furthermore, the VHS tape icon in the inventory has two small icons beneath it. All other items that have one purpose have one icon beneath them indicating their purpose. The VHS tape has two. One looks like the underside of an open (ie. playing) VHS tape, the other looks like this spindle icon. Making this icon appear is the tape's second purpose.
Something had been bugging me about the visual appearance of the tape spindle icon, and I've worked out what it is. The spindle that appears is
not a VHS tape spindle. It's an audio casette tape spindle. VHS tape spindles have 9 teeth and look nothing like this one. This one has 6 teeth and looks
exactly like an audio casette tape spindle.
The video tape is paused, but the audio tape spindle is rolling, as if it's recording. I think this is the point in the demo where it's listening for us to say the magic word.
What is the word? My first guess would be 'goodbye'.
"You will have to say goodbye eventually."
I can't test it right now, and I really don't know what it's listening for or what other conditions may need to be fulfilled, but I'm now convinced the spindle icon is telling us audio is involved at that point.