For a game that is almost 20 years old, Pokemon Red still remains close and popular to the hearts of many Pokemon fans and also gamers in general. Recently, a channel opened up on the video game streaming website Twitch where the game is being played by thousands of members inputting commands in real time.
Sounds chaotic to you? Because it is. If you go ahead and watch the stream, most of the time it would just be Red going around in circles for hours. They make significant progress however, albeit slow.
How It All Started
Twitch Plays Pokemon was launched as a social experiment launched on February 12, 2014 by an anonymous Australian programmer using Python code and a Game Boy emulator VisualBoyAdvance. It quickly became popular, reaching about 50,000 viewers in just 36 hours.
The system accepts certain commands ("up", "down", "left", "right", "a", "b", "select", and "start") that are typed in the chat window by members. However, there is about a 30-second delay between typing it in the chatroom and being read by the script. Combine that with the high volume of inputs being entered in real time and you could just imagine the chaos and conflict that ensues.
The erratic nature of the control scheme and trolls in the chat room make the progress of the game really slow. As of this writing, Red only has 5 badges.
Memes
Due to its popularity and viral status, fans have created various image macros and in-jokes about the event. I've compiled some of them here. In my opinion, most of them are really funny.
Useful Links
If you're coming in late in the game, it's most likely that you won't understand a lot what's happening and the several inside jokes the viewers are referring to. I've listed some useful links below for a more detailed explanation of TPP. So if you're wondering what the anarchy vs. democracy thing is all about, go to the links below.
- TPP progress report
- A very datailed documentation of what has happened as of February 18, 2014
- Reddit page
- Know Your Meme - TPP
Finally, you can watch the live stream below.
Watch live video from TwitchPlaysPokemon on www.twitch.tv
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