Twitch Plays Pokemon - Organized chaos

To paraphrase an old saying, “An infinite number of monkeys with an infinite number of typewriters will eventually produce Shakespeare.” Recently, this theory was put to the test but with a slight variation.

A few weeks ago, a stream went up on the website Twitch.tv – where people can stream video games being played for others to watch – called “Twitch Plays Pokemon” that allows viewers to control the game being played, rather than just watching. The catch is that every viewer can input a command which will then take place in the stream. Viewers came slowly at first but as word of the stream spread around the internet, its popularity exploded. As I write this now, there are over 28,000 people watching the stream (and was up over 30,000 as I continued to watch and write) and over 43 million people have viewed it in its lifetime.

It’s hard to say what makes “TPP” so popular. It could be the allure of something that’s never been done before – the same game being played by thousands of people. Or it could be the unpredictable nature of the stream, where items are collected and used willy-nilly and high level Pokemon are released to the wild for no apparent reason – even though it’s mostly just watching the main character (Red in Gen. 1; AJ in Gen. 2) walk around in circles due to the random inputs from the stream. The phrase “It was like a car wreck – I couldn’t look away” describes TPP with surprising accuracy.

It seems to me, though, that fan participation in creating lore and stories to explain the (mostly) random events of TPP is a big part of what keeps people watching and coming back to see what happens next.

Twitch Plays Pokemon Gen. 1

If you’ve been following TPP, you probably know all about the subreddit that keeps track of the action and current goals (http://www.reddit.com/r/twitchplayspokemon/) as well as several of the inside jokes/lore from Gen. 1 (the Helix Fossil, Bird Jesus and the PC/blood god) but if you haven’t allow me to try and explain.

As I said before, a lot of in-jokes and lore have sprung up around the events of TPP. The first stream of TPP followed the first generation Pokemon game, Pokemon Red. Red became the name of the trainer, since names of players and Pokemon in TPP are sometimes glossed over entirely, or names are replaced with a random string of letters as the stream tries in vain to produce something close to normal. (For instance, the Gen. 2 character’s name is technically “AJDNNW” but everyone mostly calls him AJ or AJ Downs.)

Twitch Plays Pokemon. Capped during the Gen. 2 civil war where a growing movement wanted Lazor Gator released

As the Gen. 1 game progressed, with viewers inputting seemingly random commands (sometimes there could be as much as a minute delay between your command showing up in the chat window and being carried out), somehow the inventory kept being accessed and the Helix Fossil, an early game item, kept trying to be used.

The joke eventually became that Red was so confused by the voices in his head, telling him to do so many things at once, that he would consult the Helix Fossil for guidance. As avid appreciation for the Helix grew, so did the disdain for its counterpart, the Dome Fossil. The Helix and Dome fossils in the game represent ancient, extinct Pokemon that can be brought back to life at a specific part of the game but the fossils themselves are otherwise useless. But to viewers, the Helix and the Dome became basically the Yin and Yang, the Alpha and Omega of TPP.

As the game progressed, it was decided that the constant and random nature of the inputs would counteract progress through the game. Eventually a “democracy” mode was implemented where over a period of 10-15 seconds, commands are tallied as votes and the top command is issued.

Somewhat surprisingly, democracy caused a massive rift in the viewers of TPP. Many felt that much had been achieved without it and that democracy was unnecessary and ruined the spontaneity of TPP, while others felt that democracy would ultimately help in completing the game. Eventually, followers of the Helix claimed that anarchy was the true way TPP should be played and branded democracy an evil construct of the Dome. Even today in Gen. 2, democracy is only implemented once an hour and usually, votes of “anarchy” end it before it even begins.

More stories and events sprouted up around the utterly random occurances of TPP. While there are many other stories that could be told, the story of Bird Jesus is one that makes for a nice segue between Gen. 1 and Gen. 2.

A fan rendering of the Helix Fossil and Bird Jesus

In Gen. 1, besides the Charmander that Red started with, most of his other Pokemon weren’t capable of doing much. That is, besides Pidgey, a lowly Pokemon who, somehow, against all odds, continued to improve throughout the chaos of TPP. He eventually evolved into his ultimate form, Pidgeot, and for time was practically the only worthwhile Pokemon that Red owned, winning many battles he should have lost, even throughout the chaos wrought by anarchy.

Over time, Pidgeot came to be nicknamed “Bird Jesus” by the viewers of TPP, believing him to be a prophet of the Helix, sent to the stream to guide Red through his hardships. He managed to survive being released by the PC and was even part of the team that helped Red beat the game.

The PC has its own following on TPP. In the game, the PC can be used to store extra Pokemon but can also be used to release Pokemon – deleting them from your inventory permanently, in other words. Over time, the PC has come to be regarded as a cold, uncaring god that demands sacrifices. Due to the random nature of TPP, several Pokemon in Gen. 1 and 2 have been lost because of the PC – but Bird Jesus always managed to survive.

While there are many other stories that came out of Gen. 1 (the first exodus, the Flareon divide, the trials of the ledge and Team Rocket HQ), the stream has since moved onto Gen. 2 and Pokemon Crystal, bringing with it its own stories and lore.

Twitch Plays Pokemon Gen. 2

So far, Pokemon Crystal has been streaming for (at the time of this writing), 3 days, 9 hours and 7 minutes – or 81 hours straight. A few gyms have been bested and some Pokemon have been caught but the magic that enveloped Gen. 1 somehow seems missing – and it seems to me it’s because people are trying to force these moments and stories in Gen. 2 that seemed to happen organically in Gen. 1.

One of the first instances of trying to recreate the past was Brian, the Pidgey. With the tales and exploits of Bird Jesus still fresh in the hive-mind of TPP, several Gen. 2 viewers were desperately trying in vain to elevate the new Pidgey to the heights of their former avian messiah. Thus, the new Pidgey was nicknamed “Brian,” a reference to the Monty Python movie “Life of Brian,” which was the story of a man mistaken for Jesus Christ. Eventually, Brian was deposited into the daycare (where Pokemon would level up without needing to battle) and the viewers turned their attention inward, to Totodile.

Totodile (or Lazor Gator, referring to the animation of the “Leer” attack, which looked like a laser) was the Pokemon that AJ started the game with, similar to Charmander in Gen. 1. In a weird turn of events, it seemed that many viewers would rather sabotage TPP than try to work with the madness to complete Pokemon Crystal. As Lazor Gator won battles and progressed, many viewers were actively trying to prevent him from evolving, entering the “b” command during battles to try and cancel his eventual evolution. After a long struggle, he was eventually evolved – through democracy – and reached his final form, Feraligtr, where he has proceeded to demolish most every Pokemon he fought.

But as the stream progressed, those who desired to see Lazor Gator held back diverted their efforts to other avenues. As I write this now, a civil war has begun brewing among the TPP ranks. A growing contingent of viewers/trolls have been desperately trying to sacrifice Lazor Gator to the PC, claiming he is “overpowered” and ruining the game. Nevermind the fact that if Gator was lost, TPP wouldn’t have Surf anymore (a move that allows you traverse water) or the fact that Gator could simply be stored and not an active part of the team. No, many out there want Lazor Gator released to the wild forever, never to be seen again.

For about two hours now, TPP has been stuck in-and-around a Pokemon Center in Cianwood City, flirting with the PC over and over again. Some Pokemon have been stored and others retrieved. None have been released today, and many are still grieving over the loss of Admiral (a Sentrat named ADiiiiihhh, nicknamed Admiral, who knew Cut) as the civil war brewing in AJ’s head to save or expel Lazor Gator has brought TPP to a veritable stand-still. With democracy starting in about 10 minutes, we’ll see if any progress can be made or if the PC will have the blood it demands. (Update – they never managed to release Lazor Gator, who has been re-nick-named General Gator, but later in the day, Togepi [aka Prince Omelette] and Wooper [aka Wooper Goldberg] were released.)

It’s hard to say what will happen next in TPP – which is precisely what makes it so appealing. You can never be too sure where AJ will go, what Pokemon will be captured or if the PC will ever have the blood of Lazor Gator. What’s certain, though, is it will be a hell of a fun time watching and finding out.

To check out the stream visit http://www.twitch.tv/twitchplayspokemon

To check out the Reddit page which keeps track of TPP (don’t forget to check out the Live Updates section) visit http://www.reddit.com/r/twitchplayspokemon/