Polybius
| Fandom | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Polybius |
| Abbreviation(s): | |
| Creator: | |
| Date(s): | 1981 (alleged), 2000 (first known mention) |
| Medium: | Video Game, Creepypasta |
| Country of Origin: | |
| External Links: |  Custom Polybius cabinet created by Rogue Synapse. Photograph by DocAtRS. |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Polybius is an urban legend centered on an alleged video game that could be found in some arcade parlors in Portland, Oregon in 1981. According to the myth, the game was highly addictive, and caused medical side effects including headaches, nausea, night terrors, and amnesia. Men in black reportedly frequented the cabinets to collect some kind of data from them. After roughly a month, the cabinets vanished without a trace.
While the story is generally considered to be a hoax, it's still circulated in the gaming community. A wide variety of works have been created riffing off the legend, from pranks to amateur fan films, to entire fangames and custom cabinets.
Origin
Rumors that the Polybius myth has been circulating online since the early 1990s cannot be verified. The first confirmed instance of the myth comes from an entry on the video game catalog website Coinop.org,[1] made in 2000. Gaming journalist Stuart Brown has claimed that the entry was written by site owner Kurt Koller as a deliberate hoax to drive traffic to the website.[2]
Fan Games
Multiple fan games have been made in honor of the Polybius legend. An early example was released by Rogue Synapse in 2007;[3] it is a shoot-em-up bearing a slight resemblance to Tempest. The game contains several "subliminal messages" which flash on the screen during gameplay.
A 2017 VR game by Llamasoft takes its name from the Polybius myth and takes inspiration from its alleged gameplay style, but does not try to replicate the legend. In 2021, a game called Polybius Invaders was published by Ecomasphere Games on Steam; the game's description makes reference to "Infra-Sound" and "Subliminal Messages", a clear homage to the myth.
Several games inspired by the legend can be found on itch.io, a popular gaming storefront, especially for small independent developers.
Other Fanworks
Fic
- Cabinet by InfiniTeaElk, a The Magnus Archives fic told in the style of a statement about the Polybius game.
- The Game by rivendellrose, a Fringe fic in which two Observers monitor a Polybius cabinet.
- Polybius, a Rhett & Link fic in which the duo discovers and plays the titular game, with unnatural consequences. An orphaned work.
- Polybius by VelvetMorning, a Black Mirror: Bandersnatch fic in which Stefan is driven mad by the game.
- sinneslöschen by fairy_myeon, an EXO fic in which Baekhyun is psychologically broken by programmer Chanyeol via Polybius.
Music
- Polybius Secret Song and Polybius With Lyrics. The former is an instrumental track inspired by Polybius; the latter adds original lyrics to it.
References
- ^ The entry for Polybius on Coinop.org.
- ^ POLYBIUS - The Video Game That Doesn't Exist. A documentary detailing the history of the myth, in which journalist Stuart Brown makes his claim regarding Kurt Koller's involvement in the myth.
- ^ This article discusses the legend and the Rogue Synapse fangame.