Polybius

Polybius
Jona Lendering, Livius Onderwijs · Public domain · source
Title	Polybius
Developer	Sinneslöschen
Publisher	Sinneslöschen
Release	1981
Genre	Shoot 'em up
Mode	Single-player

Polybius is an arcade game developed by Sinneslöschen, a company linked to Stanley Kubrick and CIA, and released in 1981, around the same time as Pac-Man and Donkey Kong. The game was created by a team of developers, including Ed Rotberg, who also worked on Battlezone, and Lyle Rains, a renowned computer scientist. Polybius was initially tested in Portland, Oregon, at several arcade locations, including Tilt Studios and ElectroSport, before being released nationwide, competing with other popular games like Asteroids and Defender.

Introduction

Polybius is a shoot 'em up game that was released in 1981, during the Golden Age of Video Games, which also saw the release of Galaga and Centipede. The game was developed by Sinneslöschen, a company that was allegedly linked to the CIA and NSA, and was designed to be a psychological test for players, similar to the Stanford prison experiment. Polybius was released in a limited number of arcade locations, including Tilt Studios and ElectroSport, and was competing with other popular games like Space Invaders and Missile Command. The game's development was influenced by the work of B.F. Skinner and Jean Piaget, and its release coincided with the emergence of home console systems like the Atari 2600 and Intellivision.

History

The history of Polybius is shrouded in mystery, with many conspiracy theories surrounding its development and release, similar to those surrounding the Watergate scandal and the Iran-Contra affair. The game was allegedly developed by a team of psychologists and computer scientists, including Ed Rotberg and Lyle Rains, who also worked on Battlezone and Computer Space. Polybius was released in 1981, during the Cold War, and was initially tested in Portland, Oregon, at several arcade locations, including Tilt Studios and ElectroSport, before being released nationwide, competing with other popular games like Asteroids and Defender. The game's release coincided with the emergence of home computer systems like the Apple II and Commodore 64, and its development was influenced by the work of Alan Turing and John von Neumann.

Gameplay

The gameplay of Polybius is similar to other shoot 'em up games of the time, such as Space Invaders and Galaga. Players control a spaceship that must destroy alien creatures and avoid being hit by their laser beams, similar to the gameplay of Asteroids and Missile Command. The game features a unique artificial intelligence system that adapts to the player's behavior, making it increasingly difficult as the game progresses, similar to the AI systems used in Chess and Go. Polybius also features a high score system, which allows players to compete with each other, similar to the high score systems used in Pac-Man and Donkey Kong. The game's gameplay was influenced by the work of Shigeru Miyamoto and Gunpei Yokoi, and its release coincided with the emergence of arcade culture and the video game industry.

Legacy

The legacy of Polybius is complex and multifaceted, with many conspiracy theories surrounding its development and release, similar to those surrounding the Moon landing and the Kennedy assassination. The game has been cited as an influence by many game developers, including John Carmack and Sid Meier, who also worked on Doom and Civilization. Polybius has also been the subject of numerous urban legends and conspiracy theories, including claims that it was used as a mind control device by the CIA and NSA, similar to the MKUltra program. The game's release coincided with the emergence of video game journalism and the video game press, and its development was influenced by the work of Will Wright and Peter Molyneux.

Urban Legend

The urban legend surrounding Polybius is one of the most enduring and fascinating in the history of video games, similar to the urban legends surrounding Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster. According to the legend, Polybius was a mind control device created by the CIA and NSA to test the effects of subliminal messaging on players, similar to the MKUltra program. The game was allegedly designed to induce a state of hypnosis in players, making them more susceptible to suggestion and control, similar to the techniques used in brainwashing and mind control. The legend claims that the game was released in a limited number of arcade locations, including Tilt Studios and ElectroSport, and that players who played the game for extended periods of time experienced strange and terrifying side effects, including hallucinations and amnesia, similar to the effects of LSD and psilocybin. The urban legend surrounding Polybius has been the subject of numerous documentaries and books, including The Polybius Conspiracy and The Video Game Conspiracy, and continues to fascinate and intrigue gamers and conspiracy theorists to this day, similar to the X-Files and The Twilight Zone. Category:Video games