Polybius is Jeff Minter’s PlayStation VR Exclusive

October 7, 2016

Jeff Minter has been teasing the unveiling of a PlayStation VR project for the past few weeks, and now he’s finally revealed what he has been working on. The next game from the mind behind TxK, Space Giraffe, and Tempest 2000 is called Polybius. A 3D shooter that looks like a familiar spin on the Tempest formula, and looks as psychedelic as one would expect from Jeff Minter (a man that regularly Periscopes himself hanging out with sheep).

If the name sounds familiar, it’s because Polybius is also the name of an urban legend about an arcade machine made by the government. Rumor has it that the machine ended up causing seizures and deaths, and that it was all part of one giant conspiracy. It’s a theory that has gained some notoriety, and even The Simpsons lampooned it in a background gag.

Going with the urban legend vibe, Minter tells a pretty crazy story about the game’s origins over at the PlayStation Blog. The whole thing is worth reading, but here is a snippet.

Finally it was time for me to play. the back was replaced and the cab turned on. The title screen appeared, the name floating in what looked like an infinite void which slowly began to fill with geometric forms pulsing and glowing in colour sequences that even Eugene Jarvis could never have imagined. I grabbed the joystick firmly – it felt oddly warm and I thought I felt a slight tingling, but I was assured the sensor lace wasn’t active so that could have just been my imagination. I pressed the one player button and…

I needn’t have been told that I couldn’t tell people detailed descriptions of the gameplay because I couldn’t even if I wanted to. My immediate thought was that the game had malfunctioned because the next thing I clearly remember is standing back from the machine, the words GAME OVER throbbing in Robotronian colour sequences.

This whole thing is so Jeff Minter, and I absolutely love it.

Polybius is in development exclusively for PlayStation VR.