Like any good urban legend, I can’t even tell you when I first heard about Polybius. I grew up in the Portland (Oregon) area, and loved video games my whole life, yet I know I didn’t hear about it until well into my adulthood. I want to say it was brought to my attention after one of my first few visits to Ground Kontrol, a completely awesome retro cabinet and pinball arcade. Incidentally, I’ve written about Ground Kontrol a lot because I think about Ground Kontrol a lot, and it probably goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway) that I miss it a lot.
When I heard the title of the game it sounded vaguely familiar (though what good urban legend doesn’t?), but I found myself seeking out more information. It’s such a strange story that in a lot of cases, people can’t even agree on what type of game it was. Some say it was an abstract puzzle game with action elements, while others claim it was space shooter. There are even more claims that it was an amalgam of any of these options. Unless an actual cabinet is found, I doubt we will ever know.
Polybius was attributed to the developer Sinneslöschen, however there is no proof this German-based developer ever existed. The developer’s name generally translates to “sensory deprivation” though it’s not grammatically correct. It was said they created the game back in 1981 at the height of the arcade cabinet craze.
If you played this cabinet, it was rumored to cause any number of troubling psychological effects: amnesia, night terrors, insomnia, stress, and weirdly, the desire to no longer play any video games.
It was also said the game caused an unhealthy addiction where players would line up around the block of any place with a cabinet, often physically fighting to be the next to experience it.
The funniest and least believable part of the urban legend was that the fabled men in black would visit the machines, collecting data on the people unlucky enough to play it. There are more than a few rumors out there claiming it was developed by the government and used for psychological testing. There were also rumors of subliminal messages being encoded in the game.
What is far more likely is that the urban legend developed out of the effects of an early build of an actual game that came out around that time: Tempest. In this early state it caused photosensitive epilepsy, motion sickness, and vertigo. This is perhaps one of the reasons why we see the warnings we do on games today.
The men in black aspect likely came from the FBI investigating and raiding several arcades in the area due to to suspicions of the arcade machines being used for gambling purposes. They continued to monitor the cabinets for signs of tampering, thus likely incurring the rumor that they were gathering data from the fictional Polybius machines.
It also didn’t help when people started looking for these cabinets (which of course they didn’t find), thus even more rumors began that they had all magically been confiscated. Apparently there are still occasional reports that one has surfaced, usually in the vicinity of Oregon.
What I think is the best part about all this is that for the Portland Retro Gaming Expo in 2013, a very limited run of 30 “homebrew” Atari 2600 Polybius games were created and marketed by Chris Trimiew, owner of Lost Classics. The gameplay wasn’t based on the original ROM (if it ever existed in the first place), but was, what I assume to be, his own take on the game.
Now it was funny to write this up, as I’m wholly convinced that Polybius (as we have heard of it) is a myth. My conjecture is that it may have been an actual game that perhaps caused seizures in some (which is not entirely uncommon in a very small demographic), yet was completely blown out of proportion due to any number of reasons.
But it sure would make for an interesting story if an actual cabinet was uncovered someday.
It would also make for a heck of a horror movie, no?
Categories: games
Rebekah Lang 
That is grade A X-Files material right there! I can hear the theme music playing now. “Trust no one”
It is both fascinating and sad that there may or may not be this game that we may or may not be able to gather reliable info about, especially for such a young medium. Of course, that’s also the reason why the story is so interesting.
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I WANT TO BELIEVE
isn’t it weird? turns out a few years back someone in newport, oregon claimed they found a cabinet in a storage facility, but when it was taken up to portland (for potential sale, i assume) it “disappeared.” there used to be a photo of it, but some claimed it was a repurposed pac man cabinet. i guess we’ll never know.
i also meant to ask you, what’s your handle on game informer? i’ve never been able to figure it out. but if you’d rather not divulge, i understand.
oh, also, i really wish they would make a horror movie out of this urban legend. i think a lot could be done with it, just as i thought the same about the “nightmare box” in haunted by chuck palahniuk.
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I have no problem divulging that, it’s “Drthvdr” (which is also my psn) although I’m not nearly as active there as I’d like to be. I go there to read the magazine and interesting articles, but rarely comment. I’ve thought about also posting my blog there but haven’t really looked into how to actually do it.
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ah ha! i found you! and sent you a friend request. friendship, ho!
(please note that was me exclaiming a positive adventure and not calling you a “ho.” i would not do that.)
once you are active enough on the site and reach level 5 (you can see on the point structure how soon you get there. it doesn’t take long) you can post blogs to the blog page. it’s a good time. :)
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Nice! I guess I’ll have to do more than simply “lurking” over at GI. Good thing I know who to go to for tech support when I get there.
Ha ha! Now in my head I’m hearing someone address me as “friendship ho” and it’s hilarious!
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i can provide the most lackluster tech support possible. :) you’re welcome.
sigh. and i even tried to explain it. oh well. as long as you like it!
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Very interesting,I’ve never heard of this before so I learned alot from this.
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it’s a truly weird story that seems like it’s so close to the truth, yet obviously an urban legend. i mean, sure there is the possibility that a handful of the cabinets exist somewhere, but they may never see the light of day.
on the other hand, i feel like there is enough reason to see it isn’t true. but there is still that tiny shred of possibility…
i’m still hoping it gets made into a movie one day. i think that could be exceedingly well done.
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It’s a pretty crazy story but yeah their definitely is some truth in this story. Like you said the cabinets will never see the light of day.I’d watch that movie.
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i’d watch it, too!
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That’s a topic to write about sometime if you think it’s a good idea.
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I’ve learned something interesting just now. An now i want to see this
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i do, too! alas, i doubt we ever will.
but it’s an interesting story, for sure. makes you wonder…
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But, in order to do that, you must ‘Stay Alive.’
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OH NOOOOOOOOO!!!
do i look like an a**hole? yes, i have the hyperblaster.
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Here’s what I love about stuff like this- it gives you something to pursue, something to look forward to. Real or not I can tell you it brought classic gamers together in a very Indian Jones/ X files fashion. As for a horror movie, please nobody make it! Last thing I want to do is start to second guessing looking at a arcade cabinet.. T_T
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indeed! it’s something that can always nag at the mind.
oh i think that would be great! it would bring danger back to the arcades! wait. there was never danger at the arcades.
i would still love it. :)
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T_T I liked feeling safe at arcades..
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i’m certain you are. i was just being silly. :)
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Whew! :)
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This is such a fascinating legend. The idea of a mysterious and malevolent game cabinet is such a cool premise for a creepy horror story.
And from this day forward I will never look at arcade games the same way… :P
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isn’t it?! i just love the idea. i mean, i’m sure it’s complete urban legend, but there is always that tiny nag in the mind of…”or is it?”
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