Polybius .This story gallops those urban legends that have intrigued us most throughout history.A video game capable of driving its players crazy? To make them fall into marked states of stress and anxiety? Of epilepsy? To induce them to suicide?
This story halfway between reality and the most paranoid conspiracy, happened in 1981 and, to this day, we still have no feasible evidence of the famous arcade game.No copies of the Polybius, there is no trace of it.But, yes, we have the memory of many of those young people who came to play at some time in the recreation rooms of the most humble neighborhoods of Portland (Oregon).
Polybius, the damn video game
What does the legend tell us about the controversial Polybius? Well, we know the name of its developer.If you are a fan of these media, you may hear the name of Ed Rottberg. It was the one who designed Atari and who created the name «Battlezone» .We were in the early 80s, when a game never seen before was released.The Polybius.
The arcade was distributed by a German company called Sinnesloschen INC.The truth is that each element of this story is worthy of appearing in the "X File", since if we now wonder about the meaning of the name of that entity, you will be even more surprised. "Sinnesloschen ", in German, could be translated by something like "loss of the senses" or "erase the senses".
It is also said that it was the government itself of the United States who commissioned such a design, such a psychedelic game. And so it was, the commission was supposedly carried out and, of the night in the morning, in some almost marginal neighborhoods of Portland (Oregon), incredible video games appeared in the recreational rooms to which the youngest used to go every day.
The impact of these machines was surely amazing They were of an attractive black color, with the name of Polybius shining at the top.An almost futuristic device, practically torn from the world of «Blade Runner», to put it to the access of some boys who did not take even two seconds to catch that joystick and start the game.
But how did it work? The normal thing was always that the player moved the ship to destroy the enemies.In the case of the Polybius, what moved was the screen itself.A spectacular mobility where the graphics were accompanied by bright lights, so intense light flashes, that they almost prevented you from blinking. It was hypnotic and addictive .Very addictive.
There were mileage lines at the gates of the arcade to play with the Polybius.Seducia and it was impossible to stop thinking about el.But something unique happened, around the machines and wrapped in a spectral silence were also the men in black. You already know them.And what did they do? Observe, write down and, sometimes, change the configuration of the machines.
A few days later things began to happen.The young people who played with the Polybius fell ill.They were unable to sleep, had nightmares, vomited , convulsions, visual and auditory hallucinations and even sudden epileptic attacks.Portland medical consultations were filled nonstop.
There was a lot of talk about the subliminal messages that the boys said they had seen while playing.Phrases and images that appeared only a few thousandths of a second, short texts such as "Kill Yourself" , "No Imagination", "Conform" or "Do not question authority".
But finally the inevitable fatality came: a 13-year-old boy died. He passed out while playing.Seconds after the fading, he lost the vine in the midst of convulsions without anything being done for him.It is not known if this Death was real or is another piece of the conspiracy theory, but whatever it was, this was lost which meant the end of the Polybius.The machines were removed in a single night and no trace of them was left, as if would have never existed.
Government experiment? One more urban legend? We do not know, but the repercussion of the Polybius is still very present in our present day.You may even have seen it in some chapter of the Simpson: a unique recreational machine that is clearly and ironically marked as : “Property of the United States government”.
If you found this story interesting, also discover the urban legend about men in black.
Image: Roͬͬ͠͠͡͠͠͠͠͠͠͠͠sͬͬ͠͠͠͠͠͠͠͠͠aͬͬ͠͠͠͠͠͠͠ Menkman, Svyatoslav Reyentenko
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