/vr/ - Retro Games

My older brother played it. He is now in asylum.

>>1066317
No bullshit?

>>1066316
I want to believe.

OP's location acquired.
Heading there now.

>>1066319

Not at all. I visited him 1 time after his entrance. He can't even talk.

>>1066330
what do you mean?

>>1066337
Back against wall gun pointed at door

The possible origins of this urban legend are actually kinda more disturbing than the legend itself.

>>1066338
You never played it?

>>1066349
you know anything solid about it?

>>1066351
I wouldn't say solid, but if memory serves me right, chairman kaga style, there's two potential major contributors to the legend.

The less verified (if at all) one is that the prototype version of Tempest had the player's ship fixed in place at the bottom of the screen and the entire level rotating around the screen as you moved, the opposite of the released version. This supposedly caused disorientation and discomfort in playtesters.

And then there's the one that actually happened, which was Berzerk:

>Berzerk was the first video game known to have been involved in the death of a player. In January 1981, 19-year-old Jeff Dailey died of a heart attack soon after posting a score of 16,660 on Berzerk.[8] In October of the following year, Peter Burkowski made the Berzerk top-ten list twice in fifteen minutes, just a few seconds before also dying of a heart attack at the age of 18.[9]

>>1066350
Nope. I never had a chance. I'd probably would have played it, my bro told me it was weird as fuck.

>>1066359
In what type of way weird? Any details?
>>1066353
Where you did you get that from?

>>1066364
I forget the bit about the tempest prototype. Berzerk shit's all on wikipedia.

>>1066364
I don't remember very clearly, but I'm pretty sure he said something about spinning but extremely realistic. Like the flashing lights on the screen made you feel like you're spinning really fast or something like that.

>>1066368
http://www.classicgamesarcade.com/game/21684/berzerk.html this it?

>>1066369
How is he now? What's his age?

only place I ever remember seeing actual info. down for years now though

http://web.archive.org/web/20060209010203/http://www.solidsharkey.com/polybius.html

>>1066374
He is 44 now. Poor bastard can't even walk straight. Last time I saw him was around 2006. He didn't even recognize me. I heard he still enjoys video games, and loves to write about them in forums.

>>1066392
damn i'm sorry man

>>1066319
>>1066350
>>1066364
>>1066374
>>1066416

top lel

>>1066432

>>/v/

>>1066436
why yall niggaz got trolled lol

>>1066441
Subtle.

There was a long-running rumor, first applied to Missile Command (but migrating to other games as rumors are wont to do) that men in suits were writing down the initials from the high score tables.

The most rational (and least fun) theory about this game is that it was a beta version of Tempest and that a few kids had a seizure after playing it, so people (the men in the black coats from the legend) came and took it away.

http://www.sinnesloschen.com/
/thread

Also
>>1066441
>Polybius was rumored to first appear in Portland, Oregon
>Matt Groening grew up in Oregon

The,men in,suits rumor reminds me of the last star fighter movie

The closest thing related to Polybius would be an old East German computer called the Poly Play, which used a similar font and had multiple games (tying to the multiple interpretations of the game), and

"Polybius gets its name from the Greek historian who was known for his assertion that historians should never report what they cannot verify through interviews with witnesses"

Additionally, Ikgami Tsushinki, a hardware company that was initially hired by Nintendo to make Donkey Kong, seems to have some involvement.

I read the story about this maybe. .. 4 years ago.

I still get creeped out by reading it. The website the story was on was dark and scary, too.

>>1066961
That is a sweet fucking cabinet. All Atari style too with one button on the left. Seeing that font, I'm sure that's what inspired the fake Polybius cab and I never knew about that Greek business but that pretty much confirms that the name is a gag.

>>1066794
I also got a very Tempest-like vibe from the description of Polybius and that, combined with the fact that I've experienced disorientation from playing Tempest before makes me think this is very likely.

Now if we can just get some concrete info about specific incidents involving Tempest I might be willing to stick a fork in the whole Polybius thing. It's the kind of mystery /vr/ is the community to solve.

>>1066353
>the prototype version of Tempest had the player's ship fixed in place at the bottom of the screen and the entire level rotating around the screen as you moved
I find this unlikely since most Tempest levels aren't radially symetrical but if it was an early prototype with all rotatable levels I can, indeed imagine this causing seizures.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAnsJJB6Qws

Also I have a memory of a Tempest arcade machine that had additional flashing lights around the monitor but I can't find any verification. Am I imagining it? Am I thinking of Qix or some other vector game?

>>1067040
Not a business, but a historian from ancient Greece.

>>1067106
Business is American slang for pretty much anything. Like "deal" or "stuff"

>>1066375
oh god you mother fucker.

good job ;_;

>>1067084
>Also I have a memory of a Tempest arcade machine that had additional flashing lights around the monitor but I can't find any verification. Am I imagining it? Am I thinking of Qix or some other vector game?

Confirmed for FBI-brainwashed Polybius player.

Bump for creepy vidya myths and urban legends.

>>1067132
>ttp://web.archive.org/web/20060209010203/http://www.solidsharkey.com/polybius.html

AAAAHHHHH HAHAHAHA

Here, have a palate cleanser.

>>1067458
I found this game floating in a lake at camp one year

>>1068037
Oh you're the faggot that defaced the SNES Super Metroid cart with a /vr/ time stamp. Fuck off.

>>1066316
A home arcade version was planned, but production was cancelled after many of the developers experiences psychological problems. Only a couple prototype carts survived.

>>1068046

NOW who's talking about urban legends? I think you're pulling the collective legs of /vr/. No one would ever do that man.

>>1068037
For something that was floating in a lake there isn't a whole lot of water damage. Are you jesting us, anon?

>>1066316
So, this game is nothing but a huge hoax, right?

>>1068067
No, this was a real deal during the golden age of arcade gaming. Your parents might remember hearing about it.

>>1066316

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpGXEEa1c5I#t=33

notto disu shitto agen

sage

>>1066441
>PROPERTY OF US GOVERNMENT
Every time.

http://youtu.be/JQdoZCIqD0s
This video states pretty much everything that was said in the video.
It's a shame this rumor didn't get out of hand like most.

>>1068129
Fake.

Seattle in the first sentence isn't capitalized, the font used is wrong, and August 31, 1982 was a Tuesday, not a Sunday.

>>1068129
>>1068490
I don't think a newspaper would use times new roman font either. It sure looks off

>>1068490
Also the obvious ones: Completely flat against a white background even though the outline suggests the paper is folded back (an often-mimicked stock newspaper image), the font is perfectly legible and justified, there's no fading or shading on the paper, folded back papers usually have creases from wear and tear, Dallas is nowhere near Seattle (A small one, but don't you think a Seattle paper would be better used for a Seattle incident?)

+1 for noticing the date. Nice work.

>>1066961
>Polybius gets its name from the Greek historian who was known for his assertion that historians should never report what they cannot verify through interviews with witnesses
...Subtle.

>>1068129
>Seattle, OR
Seattle is not in Oregon

>>1068490
>>1068537
>Government employees acting like basement-dwelling nerds ostensibly trying to expose false evidence; actually attempting to discredit and bury legit evidence through lies and propaganda.

The only urban legend here, is the idea that Polybius is an urban legend.

The links between Battlezone and the US Army might have fueled the rumor also.

>>1066375
0/10 try chemtrails next fagget

My dad started working on a game sometime in the summer of 1979. He said something about "vector graphics" and that it was going to be a huge leap beyond anything before it. I was only about 6 at the time so I don't remember things very clearly, but my dad started to come home really late. He was always a pretty happy guy but he just became really distant all of a sudden. Something was just off. At night I could hear him sobbing from my bedroom sometimes. Once at dinner I remember my mom asking him how the game was going and he said everything was fine but then a few minutes later he started throwing up his food. He had OCD for most of his life but it started to get really bad after that. He made us take everything blue out of the house. Another time I woke up in the middle of the night and saw him sitting perfectly still watching the tv except it was tuned to static. He wasn't blinking.

We played catch on my birthday then he said he had to go into work for a couple hours. I never saw him again. What happened and whether or not he was working on Polybus, I don't know. My mom says she thinks he was having an affair but I can tell she doesn't believe it.

>>1068979
woah that's heavy anon

>>1068979
neat story and so credible with lots of citations, this board really needs more true stories like this one, so authentic!

My mom began working on a game sometime in the fall of 1981. She mentioned something about "interactive controls" and that it would be the start to a new trend beyond anything previous. I was only about 9 at the moment so I don't recall things vividly, but my mom started to arrive home really early. She was always a pretty jovial woman but she just became really introverted all of a sudden. Something was just different. At dawn I could hear her laughing from my bedroom sometimes. Once at dinner I remember my dad asking her how the game was going and she said everything was fine but then a few hours later she started involuntarily defecating. She had IBS for most of her life but it started to get really bad after that. She made us take everything brown out of the house. Another time I woke up in the morning and saw her sitting perfectly still watching the toilet flush except it was filled with sand. She wasn't pooping.

We played tag on my birthday then she said he had to go to the bathroom for a couple hours. I never saw her again. What happened and whether or not he was working on Polybus, I don't know. My dad says he thinks he wasconstipated but I can tell he doesn't believe it.

polybius found

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Emg09EcatE

translate: http://www.recensopoli.it/2011/01/leggende-videoludiche-polybius-il-gioco.html

is very fucking interesting...

>>1068979

>>1069004
tryingtoohard/10

>>1068979
Sounds like your dad was electronicd

>>1068979
Sounds like your dad was electronics

>>1066857
However the episode this was in was written by Matt Warburton from Ohio.
Here's a thing to give it some thought:
This episode of the simpson is from 2006, the episode is "please homer don't hammer 'em".
And the article on >>1066375 is also from 2006.

>>1069841
Fuck yeah

Polybius+punk rock

>>1066330

I kind of want to make a fake Polybius cabinet for a halloween prank.

>>1072306
If you do, coat the joystick in a whole bunch of LSD, or something else that will give a psychedelic high from just touching it.

>>1068052
he did, I was there man

>>1072306

see >>1069015

>>1070174
Would any computer be able to do anything with that?

>>1066375
I WAS WEARING HEADPHONES YOU CUNT

>>1068979
>>1069004

My dad's name was Todd Howard.

Screenshot from ebay probably ten years and three computers ago.

>>1074837
There's a green port just over to the left, they could skip like 3 adapters.

>>1074837
Did you just call a PS/2 mouse socket a "Green Port"?

>>1078180
Meant to reply to >>1078057

>>1078180
I've been using mac for 10 years, I don't know what those things are called.

>>1078202
>2003
>using macs

>>1078219
>2003
>using windows xp

>>1074792
WTF

>>1078734
http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4362

>>1078765
Dude, that's a nice article!

>Most famously, in 1996 the US Marines ordered a modified version of the first-person shooter game Doom II and used it to train ground troops on specific missions. The version has since been made available to the public for download. Today the distinction between games sold to the public and games used by the military has been blurred into virtual non-existence.

How have I never heard of this?