Polybius: The story behind the world's most mysterious arcade cabinet [Eurogamer.net]
Legend has it that in 1981 an arcade cabinet called Polybius briefly took residence in Portland, Oregon. But Polybius was no ordinary video game. Many believe that it was a tool of the United States government to test one's mental and physical agility as a method of recruiting soldiers, just like The Last Starfighter. Others say that it caused seizures or brain aneurysms, and was possibly being tested by the CIA as a brainwashing tool. Some think it was just a prototype version of Tempest. Many more believe the whole thing was a hoax, while others say it never existed at all.
Documentarians Todd Luoto, Jon Frechette and Dylan Reiff are seeking the truth behind the mythical arcade cabinet, wherever that might lead them, in their upcoming film The Polybius Conspiracy - now seeking funding on Kickstarter. It's not a simple matter of proving whether Polybius was real or not, but rather coming to some understanding on how all these wildly divergent rumours began in the first place. And oh boy, are there a lot of stories out there, many pertaining to real world events.
You see, in the span of a week, three children really did fall ill upon playing video games at arcades in the Portland area. Michael Lopez got a migraine, the first he'd ever had, from playing Tempest. Brian Mauro, a 12-year-old trying to set the world record for playing Asteroids for the longest time, fell ill after a 28-hour stint. And only a week later 18-year-old competitive gamer Jeff Dailey died due to a heart attack after chasing the world record in Berserk. One year later 19-year-old Peter Burkowski followed suit for the same reason playing the same game.
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