The game sees you
catching ‘pets’.
Petscop: 3D Fan Recreation
PREVIEW
RELEASE
UnknownDEVELOPER
GDIEPUBLISHER
In-houseLINK
http://www.bit.ly/petscop3dNEED TO KNOW
For them, it all began with that single
anonymous video upload in which a
mysterious narrator, who would come to
be known as Paul, discusses a PlayStation
game he found. As he explores this
strange and unfinished game, he finds and
catches pets by solving a series of
rudimentary puzzles. Despite this
innocuous beginning, it soon
becomes clear this isn’t your average
game as things start to take a darker
turn and Paul, following the
instructions on an accompanying note,
finds a shadowy underworld full of bizarre
references and themes.
Over a year later and Petscop has
become a hotly debated web series with
thousands of people around the world
wading in with possible theories as to the
game’s origins and meaning. For one indie
game developer, though, who goes by the
name BubbleDerp, that wasn’t enough.
“When I first watched Petscop I was in
love,” says BubbleDerp. “I had wondered if
there were any recreations or stuff like
that yet. The previous weeks I was
messing with 3D in GameMaker. I decided
I had nothing better to do and why not
make my own?”Petscop: 3D Fan Recreation was the
result of that decision—a game that aims
to simulate the experience of the web
series, offering fans a chance to retread
Paul’s footsteps through the strange, eerie
story. I have to admit, it was a surreal
feeling to actually be playing Petscop.
From the familiar sounds of the
PlayStation startup sequence, to the
bright visuals and cute soundtrack, this is
an authentic recreation. It was difficult not
to mirror the actions of Paul, as I followed
his trail through the first level catching
pets as I explored.
It’s widely accepted that Petscop is not
a real game, in that it was never developed
back in the ’90s with the intention of being
released on the PlayStation. As
BubbleDerp tells me: “There is a lot of
things that a PlayStation could not do, like
the child library where Paul’s movement is
predicted perfectly and, well, coding that
onto PlayStation hardware would be very
hard, to say the least.”URBAN LEGEND
It wasn’t long into the game until my
knowledge of the series was tested, as
unless you know what it says on the
note that Paul got with the game, you
can’t progress past the first building.
This note, along with a weird
message about shadow monster
men, includes details of a code and where
to enter it, at which point the music stops.
An eerie silence descended around me. In
that moment I realized Petscop hadn’t lost
any of its claustrophobic atmosphere in its
transition to videogame form. Much like
other internet folklore, such as
Slenderman, Petscop’s journey into reality
from the obscure message boards that
propagated it increased rather than
decreased its potency.
Petscop 3D continues the tradition of
its progenitor to captivate and confuse.
The biggest question remains, though:
How will the game end? “I have not
thought about how the game will end,”
says BubbleDerp. “I feel like we are getting
close, however.” Truth is, nobody knows
when or how Petscop will end, meaning
Petscop: 3D Fan Recreation is intertwined
in that fate and committed to a journey
that, hopefully, leads to the answers
everyone seeks.
Jon CalvinI
n March 2017 a video was uploaded to
YouTube titled ‘Petscop’ with a
description that read, “The game I
found.” Little did I know that what was
shown would go on to become one of videogames’
greatest mysteries, one that would inspire a small
group of indie developers to recreate it.One of the strangest creepypastas
is being brought to lifePETSCOP: 3D FAN
RECREATION
PETSCOP 3D CONTINUES THE
TRADITION OF ITS PROGENITOR
TO CAPTIVATE AND CONFUSEPLAYED
IT