Nice write up of Polybius, the government's experimental mind control game

[Flojomojo]

http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-urban-legend-of-the-governments-mindcontrolling-arcade-game

 

From Atlas Obscura, which is always a fun site. The story is bullshit of course, but it's a fun concept and the government has done stupider things in real life. The footage looks like Super Hexagon, one of my favorites.

 

In terms of video game legends, I prefer the entirely fictional Lucky Wander Boy, by one of the show writers for the TV Game of Thrones. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucky_Wander_Boy

[CatPix]

Always fun to see some Polybius stories poking here and there.

I heard and read some other details about it, most notably that Sinneslöschen was an East German development studio.

German AtariAge members might confirm what I read, that Sinneslöschen is pidgin german and so is more likely to have been created by just picking up German words in a dictionnary.

Also an East German company would be named "VEB Sinneslöschen" but you can argue that they might drop the VEB on screen.

 

I never heard of that Lucky Wander Boy, but that sounds like a title for a BitCorp Gamate game

[Andromeda Stardust]

Sorry for the bump. Lost Classics is doing a run of preorders for Polybius. Is this game any good?

http://www.lostclassicvgs.com/collections/atari-2600/products/polybius

[mbd30]

Pokemon Go is their new game.

[Hyperboy]

Sorry for the bump. Lost Classics is doing a run of preorders for Polybius. Is this game any good?

http://www.lostclassicvgs.com/collections/atari-2600/products/polybius

I was wondering the same thing.

 

Sent from my non beer holding hand.

[Mr SQL]

http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-urban-legend-of-the-governments-mindcontrolling-arcade-game

 

From Atlas Obscura, which is always a fun site. The story is bullshit of course, but it's a fun concept and the government has done stupider things in real life. The footage looks like Super Hexagon, one of my favorites.

 

In terms of video game legends, I prefer the entirely fictional Lucky Wander Boy, by one of the show writers for the TV Game of Thrones. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucky_Wander_Boy

 

Interesting read Flojomojo!

 

Subliminal messaging experiments have been around for along time, sometimes it's as subtle as product placement. The concept and potential for a Polybius style program is an interesting possibility, particularly with the Atari 2600 because it's got such fine grain control over the Television that other computer systems don't have.

 

The Party Games version of StarBlitz may be close to a real Polybius because all of the audio and video in the game can be controlled with a fine HZ tuner and every object on screen is sequenced at the same HZ - there is either zero flicker at 60 HZ or several variable "Polybius" settings that may potentially alter mood and consciousness of the experimenter.

[Necron99]

Sorry for the bump. Lost Classics is doing a run of preorders for Polybius. Is this game any good?

http://www.lostclassicvgs.com/collections/atari-2600/products/polybius

 

 

I was wondering the same thing.

 

Sent from my non beer holding hand.

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/218594-polybius/?hl=polybius&do=findComment&comment=2866251

 

According to these threads, it's a game likely built using batari basic. not that that make it bad...

 

This is actually a Re-Release as the first batch of 30 were sold at PRGE in 2012 or 2013 i believe.

[Andromeda Stardust]

Thank you. I think I'm gonna pass on this...

[Gamemoose]

Man, stuff on this board I'm reading today remind me of my Dad...

 

He came up with a book idea where a video game was made that would use color and sound to make the brain more susceptable to suggestion and programming while monitoring pulse and body temperature to adjust the game. The game basically would bring the player into a type of paranoia state and bring them to a form of combat-readiness. It was to be a government experiment but the code got out (if memory serves) and was put into a public arcade cabinet. I think the first chapter involved someone murdering people becauae he was in that "game mode" in his head and saw everything as a threat.

 

It got pretty involved on the technology side, going from a cabinet to dang near a VR "dome" that lowered over the player, using multiple screens or video projections. Movement was done on a huge trackball the player would "walk" on and a light gun type interface brought in the bio-metric reading. Whether this was really possible in 1988, we didn't know.

[CatPix]

Thank you. I think I'm gonna pass on this...

 

I like the idea, but that's something I'd put on the Harmony cart, not waste bucks on it.

It woul be more interesting on a puzzle game, like Soko-ban, because you're staring at the screen and your brain is focused.

Tho, maybe something like Sokoban is too "intellectual" to render someone more "receptive" of subliminal messages. But that's the idea : having a dull and boring video game with flashing messages.

 

IT GOT ELECTROLYTES

Edited September 20, 2016 by CatPix

[Andromeda Stardust]

 

I like the idea, but that's something I'd put on the Harmony cart, not waste bucks on it.

It woul be more interesting on a puzzle game, like Soko-ban, because you're staring at the screen and your brain is focused.

Tho, maybe something like Sokoban is too "intellectual" to render someone more "receptive" of subliminal messages. But that's the idea : having a dull and boring video game with flashing messages.

 

IT GOT ELECTROLYTES

Any Sokoban fans out there who own an NES will love The Incident:

http://www.khangames.com/store/home/8-the-incident-complete-in-box.html

 

Uses Memblers GT-ROM to save progress directly to flash ROM. Does not work on NOAC clones though.

[CatPix]

Looks awesome! But this sells to me easily with the strong Silent Hill 1 vibe they put on the design

Edited September 21, 2016 by CatPix

[CRTGAMER]

Pokemon Go is their new game.

 

So true, I always turn off Data on my cell phone until actually needing it to web browse. The concern for privacy not the main reason, but just to save the cell phone battery due to all the tracking access even in the background while making a call!

 

Polybius is a strange game, shooting targets at the center making up the correct number divider. I made a Thread on some obscure Arcade games with links to emulated versions. Scroll down the link for Polybius.

 

Arcade Cabs: Prototype and Urban Legends Released - http://www.racketboy.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=296545#p296545

 

 

Edited September 21, 2016 by CRTGAMER

[SumerNivek]

I never heard of that Lucky Wander Boy, but that sounds like a title for a BitCorp Gamate game

 

Lucky Wander Boy is a book that came out around 2003. It is no longer in print (makes the game sound even more full of mystique), but you can get a used copy on Amazon. That is what I did. It is a good book, about a early 30-something (back around 2000 or 2001) trying to remember his childhood obsession (the eponymous "Lucky Wander Boy") and then trying to find a working cab of the game and then it's creator. The main character is a little too smart for his own good, but the author made him like that for a reason.

 

I read it earlier this year and recommend it to anyone here on AtariAge. Like someone said, the author is the co-writer on Game of Thrones, and the book is his first work for the general public. Besides Polybius, it also has shades of the internet urban legend "Candle Cove." All in all, the book is enjoyable, but I have to read it again at some point, as I think there is some hidden meaning I missed near the end.

[Simon]

I just remembered this old forum post here, when I saw this video of a C64-Polybius:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvlCaKJz35k

[Swami]