Top 10 Unsolved Video Game Mysteries
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WRITTEN BY: Nick Roffey
Can someone please give us an answer to these? In this list we'll be looking at the greatest mysteries in gaming who's answers still elude us to this day. Welcome to Watchmojo.com, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 unsolved video game mysteries.
To have your ideas turned into a WatchMojo or MojoPlays video, head over to http://WatchMojo.comsuggest and get to it!
To have your ideas turned into a WatchMojo or MojoPlays video, head over to http://WatchMojo.comsuggest and get to it!
Top 10 Unsolved Video Game Mysteries
These inscrutable gaming mysteries continue to perplex. Welcome to Watchmojo.com, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 unsolved video game mysteries. For this list, we're looking at the most elusive and controversial unexplained references and unanswered questions in video games.
Diablo II
“Diablo II” features gems for every occasion. Just place one in a socket and voila: magic gear! But there was one gemstone that bamboozled everyone. Embedded in the Battle.net chat interface is a gem that when clicked changed colour and produced the messages “Gem Activated” and “Gem Deactivated”. Sometimes this changed to “Perfect Gem Activated”. And sometimes the somewhat enigmatic “Moooo”. Did it upgrade gems in your inventory? Guarantee the presence of a Gem Shrine? Game director Jay Wilson has said the gem worked correctly and exceeded both expectations and nightmares. He’s also said it did nothing . . . Sooo there’s a good chance it was just an in-house joke.
Various Games
Urban legend, or cursed murder-game? Admittedly, one seems a lot more likely than the other . . . According to Creepypasta, “Misfortune” is a game hidden inside other games and accessed through glitches and cheats. Players take control of a boy as he navigates a trap-filled maze in defiance of a demonic being who may really be the devil. The gameover screen is alleged to have sinister effects, such as depression, and even suicide. Does the game really exist? We’ll leave that up to you to decide, but either way, the legend lives on.
“World of Warcraft" series (2004-)
Aren’t kids the cutest? Look at them, skipping about town . . . gallivanting through the woods . . . and standing like Satanic sentinels in the shape of a pentagram. In “World of Warcraft’s” Elwynn Forest live six children who run each morning to Stormwind City, back to Goldshire, then to the riverside outside Northshire, and home again . . . all in the same pentagram formation, swapping positions, except for Cameron, who remains at their center. Since they appeared, players have wondered: Who are these kids, and why are they so weird? Why is their house so creepy . . . and what happened to their parents? Maybe it’s better we don’t know.
“Undertale” (2015)
In a world of odd and enigmatic characters, one stands out above the rest. During the player’s subterranean adventure in “Undertale”, non-player characters drop hints about the mysterious figure W. D. Gaster, a royal scientist who in an experiment gone wrong “fell into his creation” and “shattered across space and time”. But fans theorize that he’s actually the skeletal figure that quickly disappears in room 269. The name W. D. could stand for Wingdings, and other font-named characters also appear as skeletons. So what and where exactly is he? Is he travelling between dimensions? Or is he everywhere and nowhere at the same time?
“Pokémon” series (1998-)
The original Poké Balls were made from Apricorn fruit, hollowed out, and fitted with a special device. But what this device does is left to the imagination. The Poké Ball seems to convert Pokémon into energy, but once inside, what’s it like? Do Pokémon enter a sort of stasis, or are they wide awake and trapped in endless darkness? We like to think there’s a comfortable room in there that appears when it closes, or maybe even a whole universe. But ultimately, this one remains a mystery.
“Super Mario Galaxy 2” (2010)
Who are these creepy silhouettes? And what do they want with Mario? During the intrepid plumber’s progress through Shiverburn Galaxy in “Super Mario Galaxy 2”, these strange humanoid figures peer down from distant mountain tops. The game files reveal that the textures are named “Hell Valley Trees”, but if so these are the most unsettling ever, with round holes for eyes that seem to stare into your soul. Is this galaxy really Hell? Was the level originally named Hell Valley? Or are these three lost souls from a completely abandoned level? If so, perhaps their curiosity and forlorn stares are understandable.
Phantom Entertainment
What’s in a name? Sometimes a lot. Announced in 2002, the Phantom promised to deliver gaming on demand and the power of a PC in a console. But somehow as time dragged on the release date was always just around the corner . . . Eventually, the US Securities and Exchange Commission accused Phantom Entertainment CEO Timothy Roberts of running a “pump and dump” scheme. The only Phantom hardware that ever saw the light of day was the “Phantom Lapboard” - a couch keyboard. So did the console ever exist, or was it a phantom in truth? Over the years, people have produced photos and videos of prototypes, but that doesn’t prove they actually functioned.
“Half-Life” series (1998-)
“Half-Life” was one of the most lauded games of all time, as was the sequel. So when Valve announced a trilogy of episodic games to continue the story, fans were excited. It seemed like a great lead-up to the inevitable “Half-Life 3”. Although “Half-Life 2: Episode Two” ended with one heck of a cliffhanger, the third episode just never appeared . . . In the meantime, Valve has developed a number of other titles, leaving gamers with so many questions: who was the G-Man? What happened to the Borealis? And will there ever be more Half-Life?
"Polybius" (Unconfirmed)
We like to think of video games as harmless fun. But urban legend has it that this isn’t always the case. According to rumours, Polybius was an addictive government-designed arcade game released in 1981 that left players insane, suffering from insomnia and hallucinations. Allegedly, mysterious men in black visited the arcades to collect data, but after just one month, it’s believed the game suddenly disappeared. The legend seems to have arisen in the year 2000, and found support in the testimony of one Steven Roach, who claimed to be one of the Polybius’ programmers. But so far there’s no hard evidence the game ever really existed.
“Swordquest” series (1982-84)
These bejeweled artifacts were prizes in real quests. To promote their “Swordquest” series, Atari ran a competition that called on gamers to solve clues in the games and comic books for the chance to win one of five treasures. The “Talisman of Penultimate Truth” and “Chalice of Light” were both claimed, but in the midst of financial troubles, the competition was cancelled after the third game’s release in 1984. So what became of the “Crown of Life”, the “Philosopher’s Stone”, and the “Sword of Ultimate Sorcery”? Some say these spoils went to Jack Tramiel, who purchased the company; others say that the crown was awarded in secret. We’ll never truly know.
These inscrutable gaming mysteries continue to perplex. Welcome to Watchmojo.com, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 unsolved video game mysteries. For this list, we're looking at the most elusive and controversial unexplained references and unanswered questions in video games.
#10: Diablo II Chat Gem
Diablo II
“Diablo II” features gems for every occasion. Just place one in a socket and voila: magic gear! But there was one gemstone that bamboozled everyone. Embedded in the Battle.net chat interface is a gem that when clicked changed colour and produced the messages “Gem Activated” and “Gem Deactivated”. Sometimes this changed to “Perfect Gem Activated”. And sometimes the somewhat enigmatic “Moooo”. Did it upgrade gems in your inventory? Guarantee the presence of a Gem Shrine? Game director Jay Wilson has said the gem worked correctly and exceeded both expectations and nightmares. He’s also said it did nothing . . . Sooo there’s a good chance it was just an in-house joke.
#9: Misfortune.gb
Various Games
Urban legend, or cursed murder-game? Admittedly, one seems a lot more likely than the other . . . According to Creepypasta, “Misfortune” is a game hidden inside other games and accessed through glitches and cheats. Players take control of a boy as he navigates a trap-filled maze in defiance of a demonic being who may really be the devil. The gameover screen is alleged to have sinister effects, such as depression, and even suicide. Does the game really exist? We’ll leave that up to you to decide, but either way, the legend lives on.
#8: The Children of Goldshire
“World of Warcraft" series (2004-)
Aren’t kids the cutest? Look at them, skipping about town . . . gallivanting through the woods . . . and standing like Satanic sentinels in the shape of a pentagram. In “World of Warcraft’s” Elwynn Forest live six children who run each morning to Stormwind City, back to Goldshire, then to the riverside outside Northshire, and home again . . . all in the same pentagram formation, swapping positions, except for Cameron, who remains at their center. Since they appeared, players have wondered: Who are these kids, and why are they so weird? Why is their house so creepy . . . and what happened to their parents? Maybe it’s better we don’t know.
#7: W. D. Gaster
“Undertale” (2015)
In a world of odd and enigmatic characters, one stands out above the rest. During the player’s subterranean adventure in “Undertale”, non-player characters drop hints about the mysterious figure W. D. Gaster, a royal scientist who in an experiment gone wrong “fell into his creation” and “shattered across space and time”. But fans theorize that he’s actually the skeletal figure that quickly disappears in room 269. The name W. D. could stand for Wingdings, and other font-named characters also appear as skeletons. So what and where exactly is he? Is he travelling between dimensions? Or is he everywhere and nowhere at the same time?
#6: What Happens Inside a Poké Ball?
“Pokémon” series (1998-)
The original Poké Balls were made from Apricorn fruit, hollowed out, and fitted with a special device. But what this device does is left to the imagination. The Poké Ball seems to convert Pokémon into energy, but once inside, what’s it like? Do Pokémon enter a sort of stasis, or are they wide awake and trapped in endless darkness? We like to think there’s a comfortable room in there that appears when it closes, or maybe even a whole universe. But ultimately, this one remains a mystery.
#5: Hell Valley Shadow People
“Super Mario Galaxy 2” (2010)
Who are these creepy silhouettes? And what do they want with Mario? During the intrepid plumber’s progress through Shiverburn Galaxy in “Super Mario Galaxy 2”, these strange humanoid figures peer down from distant mountain tops. The game files reveal that the textures are named “Hell Valley Trees”, but if so these are the most unsettling ever, with round holes for eyes that seem to stare into your soul. Is this galaxy really Hell? Was the level originally named Hell Valley? Or are these three lost souls from a completely abandoned level? If so, perhaps their curiosity and forlorn stares are understandable.
#4: Was The Phantom Ever Real?
Phantom Entertainment
What’s in a name? Sometimes a lot. Announced in 2002, the Phantom promised to deliver gaming on demand and the power of a PC in a console. But somehow as time dragged on the release date was always just around the corner . . . Eventually, the US Securities and Exchange Commission accused Phantom Entertainment CEO Timothy Roberts of running a “pump and dump” scheme. The only Phantom hardware that ever saw the light of day was the “Phantom Lapboard” - a couch keyboard. So did the console ever exist, or was it a phantom in truth? Over the years, people have produced photos and videos of prototypes, but that doesn’t prove they actually functioned.
#3: What Happened to Half-Life 2 Episode 3?
“Half-Life” series (1998-)
“Half-Life” was one of the most lauded games of all time, as was the sequel. So when Valve announced a trilogy of episodic games to continue the story, fans were excited. It seemed like a great lead-up to the inevitable “Half-Life 3”. Although “Half-Life 2: Episode Two” ended with one heck of a cliffhanger, the third episode just never appeared . . . In the meantime, Valve has developed a number of other titles, leaving gamers with so many questions: who was the G-Man? What happened to the Borealis? And will there ever be more Half-Life?
#2: The Polybius Conspiracy
"Polybius" (Unconfirmed)
We like to think of video games as harmless fun. But urban legend has it that this isn’t always the case. According to rumours, Polybius was an addictive government-designed arcade game released in 1981 that left players insane, suffering from insomnia and hallucinations. Allegedly, mysterious men in black visited the arcades to collect data, but after just one month, it’s believed the game suddenly disappeared. The legend seems to have arisen in the year 2000, and found support in the testimony of one Steven Roach, who claimed to be one of the Polybius’ programmers. But so far there’s no hard evidence the game ever really existed.
#1: The Swordquest Treasures
“Swordquest” series (1982-84)
These bejeweled artifacts were prizes in real quests. To promote their “Swordquest” series, Atari ran a competition that called on gamers to solve clues in the games and comic books for the chance to win one of five treasures. The “Talisman of Penultimate Truth” and “Chalice of Light” were both claimed, but in the midst of financial troubles, the competition was cancelled after the third game’s release in 1984. So what became of the “Crown of Life”, the “Philosopher’s Stone”, and the “Sword of Ultimate Sorcery”? Some say these spoils went to Jack Tramiel, who purchased the company; others say that the crown was awarded in secret. We’ll never truly know.
