Years ago in my beginnings in the world of video games at a professional level, I got to hear an anecdote from one of my colleagues. Something about a supposed video game that was never officially launched, since it hid a huge secret.

Its name is "polybius" it is a supposed arcade video game that, if it existed, would have been released during 1981.

causing devastating effects to its players; for example, insanity, stress, horrible nightmares and even suicidal tendencies, the subject of an inconsistent conspiracy theory that claims that shortly after its release, the game would have disappeared without a trace.

According to urban legend, a never-before-seen video game appeared in various arcades in the suburbs of the city of Portland (Oregon), known as Polybius. Supposedly, the game was manufactured by a company called "Sinneslöschen" and programmed by Ed Rottberg.

In the game, the player controlled a ship that fired at a series of enemies while the phases were developed with a puzzle-like theme. Likewise, all the witnesses agreed that a peculiarity of the game was that the ship did not move with the controller, but rather that the screen rotated around the ship.

The game was a revolution at that time, and its graphic appearance, with its vivid colors and abundant lighting effects, was a great attraction for all video game players.

In a short time the game became very popular, to the point of causing addiction in some players.

There were always long lines to play. The stories of the people who had the opportunity to play it spoke of combinations of strobe lights and graphics, which contained subliminal messages.

The game produced neurological conditions in the players, such as dizziness, nervous tics, vomiting, memory loss, auditory and optical hallucinations, epileptic seizures and night terrors.

They also claimed to see ghostly faces out of the corner of their eyes scrolling across the game screen at an almost imperceptible speed .......

Without a doubt, an urban legend. But really fascinating.

#gaming  #shortstory


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