TwitchPlaysPokemon- Here's one of the weirdest subcultures on Google's video game streaming acquisition

Google is reportedly in talks to buy Twitch.tv, the live video-game streaming site that has exploded in popularity over the last year, currently ranking fourth in U.S. Internet traffic, behind only Netflix, Google, and Apple.

Twitch is a site where users can view other users playing popular video games. The site is also the host of Intel’s Extreme Masters World Finals, the “Champions League” of e-sports (organized video-game competitions). More than 23 million people tuned in this year to see the world’s best players square off in Counter-Strike, StarCraft II, and League of Legends.

The Twitch phenomenon was punctuated in March by one of the weirdest online experiments in recent memory. For over three weeks, nearly 1.1 million video game players collectively beat Pokemon Red on Twitch after 390 hours of game-time.

TwitchPlaysPokemon was one of the Internet’s most persistent memes in March, as users played a streamed version of the 1998 Gameboy game on Twitch.

Pokemon Red was the original game in the Pokemon video-game franchise, first appearing on Gameboy in 1998. In the game, players attempt to catch and train all 150 Pokemon and defeat other Pokemon “trainers.”

To play TwitchPlaysPokemon, users input commands — up, down, left, right, a, b, and start — into the chatbox. At its peak, more than 100,000 users were inputting commands at the same time. The ensuing chaos resulted in a cult following and has spawned an entire culture of memes, language, literature, and even a religion.

And the game lives on. Twitch has officially moved on to Pokemon Platinum. You can join in on the action here.

We sifted through the aftermath to find the weirdest things that have happened during the craze:

1. In the beginning, the game was run by a system called Anarchy that processed every single command from the group in order. It resulted in tons of duplicate moves and allowed trolls to input commands that could derail entire battles. It was a mess.

TwitchPlaysPokemon- Here's one of the weirdest subcultures on Google's video game streaming acquisitionYoutube

2. Users made thousands of GIFS to show the ridiculousness of what was happening.

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3. Early on, they picked up the Helix Fossil, an item used towards the end of the game to revive an “extinct” Pokemon. Despite being useless early in the game, the item was clicked on constantly.

TwitchPlaysPokemon- Here's one of the weirdest subcultures on Google's video game streaming acquisition3Youtube

4. Because of the persistence of the item, users adopted it as a religion to get things done. Tons of memes were spawned and users routinely invoked the “Helix Fossil” as the reason to band together.  

TwitchPlaysPokemon- Here's one of the weirdest subcultures on Google's video game streaming acquisition4Reddit

5. The team’s best Pokemon was a Pidgeot, which they dubbed Bird Jesus. Bird Jesus and the Helix Fossil formed the basis for the increasingly elaborate religious dogma.

TwitchPlaysPokemon- Here's one of the weirdest subcultures on Google's video game streaming acquisition5Youtube Screenshot

TwitchPlaysPokemon- Here's one of the weirdest subcultures on Google's video game streaming acquisition6bit.ly

6. Players went nuts when the Helix Fossil was finally revived into the extinct Pokemon Omanyte.

omanyte8Reddit

7. The Anarchy system finally failed when the team got stuck for hours in “The Safari Zone,” a confusing part of the game map that limits the number of “steps” a character can take. 

TwitchPlaysPokemon- Here's one of the weirdest subcultures on Google's video game streaming acquisition10Youtube

8. To solve the issue, the developer introduced a new system called Democracy. Users vote for the next move and, after 10 seconds, the move with the greatest number of votes wins. The Internet immediately revolted. Users spammed the Start9 command, which repeatedly sends the character to the Start menu, preventing any movement and crashing the system.

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9. The team eventually concocted coordinated strategies using a GoogleDoc to overcome the limitations of the Anarchy/Democracy system.

TwitchPlaysPokemon- Here's one of the weirdest subcultures on Google's video game streaming acquisition12GoogleDoc

10. Even so, chaos was constant. One time, they released their best Pokemon for no reason.

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11. Somehow they won through sheer perseverance. 

TwitchPlaysPokemon- Here's one of the weirdest subcultures on Google's video game streaming acquisition14Youtube Screenshot

The craze was so big that Twitch has moved onto the sequel, Pokemon Crystal. You can watch them chaotically navigate the game here.

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