Polybius, if you believe this website, was a video game developed by the CIA (or some other shadowy government organization) back in the early days of video games, 1981. But the game was really a secret experiment in behavior modification. Only a few of the game machines ever saw the light of day. They appeared in a few arcades in a suburb of Portland. Kids who played the game reportedly suffered disturbing side effects. They "woke up at night screaming, having horrible nightmares." Some later developed amnesia. Occasionally black-coat types would come to collect 'records' from the games. So did Polybius really exist, or is it all a hoax? Here is a rare photograph of one of the Polybius machines (or perhaps it's just a modern photoshop). Even if it is just a hoax (which, yeah, it probably is) it still makes a pretty good story. (Thanks, Rob).
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But video games developed by a government organization is a reality. Take for example the popular video game America's Army developed by the U.S. Army as a recruiting tool.
The existing ROM has been altered to LOOP MODE. ACCESS IS DENIED.
I cannot provide anymore information out of fear of being traced.
I was tracking discussions in various forums a few years back, but I had fallen out of it due to a lack of intelligent conversation about the topic. I've brushed back on it from time to time, but it's just become a fun story, one I thought had stopped being told by now, but it seems it still has a following... Perhaps I'll resume my position.
http://www.archive.org/audio/netlabels.php
look for a link to something called "The Conet Project - Recordings of Shortwave Numbers Stations"
I like to imagine that Polybius is related to these transmissions, but you don't really think... do you??? The collection is 133 MB, and very much worth the download, just go there and find it and get it, and then... I dunno, do whatever you want.
To be continued...
i like legends/myths/hoax or what not because you can usually find humor in it.
thanks for the laughs XD
To be continued...
My name is Steven Roach, one of five programmers based in the Czech Rupublic that put Polybius together almost twenty-five years ago.
I'm quietly enjoying all the Urban Myths and good-humoured Paranoia that has been spread liberally around the internet but I felt it was about time someone put the record straight, mainly because of the fake mock-ups and screenshots doing the rounds are a bit of a slap in the face to a game that should have been one of the guiding lights of the industry at the time.
My full statement is on coin-op.org. Thanks for taking the time to read this and if you have any questions, please feel free to drop me a line at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Steven
Uh, what's Polybius?
Where am I?
If you could tell me please let me know.
anyway, i came across the polybius story after a friend of mine, dave, tole me of his dream;
"I was in an asteroid field, but each asteroid was like a greek island, with villages etc on em. When i went past one, the villigers came out saying "We are being attacked by The Polybius". I went in, and i saw the most bizzare creature - it was simply your (my) head, with no body,. but with wings where the neck ended. It (I) flew past repetedly screaming "I am the polybius!". It flew so fast, that it could evade any arrows shot at it. So I (dave) got the Nexus Warrior, and he used the NExus Arrow which, when fired, split into an infinate arc of other arrows (barring a small cone around the nexus warrior). there were so many, that the polybius could not avoid them."
I AM THE POLYBIUS!
by stevenroach. Comment: "I think it's about time I laid this to rest, however entertaining the speculation. My name is Steven Roach who is primarily based in the Czech Republic. Sinneschlossen was a company set up by myself and several oter mainly amateur programmers in 1978 that worked on component parts for Printed Circuit Boards that saw programming as a limited but very profitable sideline. We were approached around 1980 by a Southern American company that shall remain nameless for legal purposes to develop an idea they had for producing an Arcade Game with a puzzle element that centred around a new approach to Video Game Graphics.
The inspiried graphics combined with the puzzle elements and scintilating gameplay was something to behold - we playtested it for hours and hours and it certainly was an addictive game that was well loved professionally and recreationally by all that played it. The company couldn't have been happier and we all thought we were on the verge of something very special indeed. We then received a phonecall stating that the intense and engrossing gameplay of this new step was very much an unknown quantity so the game was put back several months due to divided opinion within their board of directors, much to our consternation for breaking our backs to finish it on time. We received heartening collated playtesting figures and were then told that the game would receive a temporary limited release which bouyed us significantly but shortly after, we received terrible news - a thirteen year old boy from the Lloyd District of Portland, Oregon had suffered an Epileptic Fit while playing the game, only six days after the machines had literally been installed. One of the senior employees that I knew very well contacted me to tell me that it caused immense ripples of panic throughout the company who were of the opinion that they had "created a monster" as such. It may sound laughable now but please bear in mind that this was 25 years ago when the Video Game Industry was in it's infancy. Every effort was made to withdraw the game from the public domain as quickly as possible but the scaremongering was already out in force and a lot of the children were queueing up or daring their friends to play this supposedly nightmarish game. Company Directors descended on the town to assess the situation which may account for these reports of "Strange Men in Black Suits hanging around" and the machines were often taken in daylight, causing minor but noticable incidents. As far as I was made aware, only seven machines were distributed around the area and no other health-related incidents were reported.
I'm sure people will doubt the sincerity of this so feel free to drop me a line at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) as I'm happy to answer any questions. Steven. " (2006-03-20 14:21:27Z)
http://www.coinop.org/g.aspx/103223/Polybius.html
He's also posted here, above.
thats the rom supposedly
The code for the higher options is 35-34-31-54-12-24-45-43 which is Polybius TM on a polybius square cipher. The orignial is real! Dreams of the game but zero nightmares. Slight paranoia remains...
http://www.spreadshirt.com/shop.php?sid=20099&search;[text]=Polybius
TO BE CONTINUED (Don't worry folks, the wait won't be NEARLY as long this time)
Just gose to show that computer games and the internet itself is creating there own Myths that are fact or fiction.
Sorry just going to look for Bigfoot
it was in spring toward then end of my ninth grade year in 1981. i wasnt really an avid arcade player but i would go with some of my friends occasionally (one of whom was REALLY into videogames). anways we usually would ride our bikes down to the arcade. one day i remember going and seeing the arcade really busy. it was suprising especially since there was rarely many people in there. i remember being pissed off and telling my friend we should leave. he wanted to see what the fuss was about and so we checked it out.
the amount of people around of that machine was unbelievable. i cant remember how the arcade cabinet looked but i remember seeing this kid about 12 years old just staring wide eyed into the screen. every so often he would turn his head as to look away from the screen (i assume it hurt his eyes). he was pressing a button and moving a joystick. the sound was wierd and it was almost piercing (the beeps). i remember someone shouting to the kid that he wouldnt make it through the level. the line that followed was riduculous and me and my friend decided that we would come back the next day (early) to try it out. unfortunately i was grounded later that day and couldnt go back to the arcade for another week. by that time the machine was gone. my friend claims he tried it while i was grounded, but his stories are inconsistent. it was only years later that i heard stories about this game. ever since then i wish i had played it
In his movies, Lynch often used stroboscopic effects, and the sentence "Portland, Oregon!".
Furthermore, his first film was titled "Eraserhead" (1977), that in German is Sinneloschen.
Besides, how could some game in the 80's even do effects like that? Hypnotizing effects, psychological affecting effects, et cetera? The games were, like, 8-Bit. This is just the stupidest story I've ever heard.
My brother was working for the gouverment in the states for 18 years. He came back to sweden, where he was born, in a private jet with the american flag. Thats all I can remember. Anyways, he had the game on the plane. I'll see if I can find it somewhere. I know I still got it in the garage, but its not ensembled. I'll put up some pics if you like?