Shooter dev "gaslights" players about fake Space Whales for seven years, then sneaks them into the game

"People weren't definite what was existent anymore"

Every fewer moments successful the existent physique of arcade abstraction shooter Nova Drift there's a accidental the crippled volition spawn a Cargo Train. Whenever the crippled decides to spawn a Cargo Train, there's a 1/7777 accidental it volition spawn a Space Whale instead. "Nonsense," you bellow. "Space Whales are a myth. Designer Jeffrey Nielson has been telling america they're not existent ever since the archetypal Kickstarter successful 2017." Ah, you poor, unsuspecting mooncalf. You chirpy small starfish. Consider the subtleness of the sea; however its astir dreaded creatures glide treacherously hidden wrong downloadable bundle packages. Nielson has been telling you porkies.

He did, successful fact, surreptitiously adhd a Space Whale to the crippled soon earlier Nova Drift's 1.0 merchandise backmost successful August 2024, aft years of conspiracy theories. This, friends, is the bully benignant of lie, the benignant of prevarication that makes combing done a cardinal changelogs for imaginable headlines worthwhile.

Nielson has posted a afloat relationship of the moving gag connected Steam, opening with the archetypal Discord "space whale" gags backmost successful 2017. With speculation astatine fever-pitch, helium started baiting the whale-watchers with mock assemblage rules insisting that Space Whales aren't real. Finally, helium created a "Miniature Space Whale" companion arsenic an April Fool's gag successful 2023.

Said Miniature Space Whale update was heavy positioned arsenic a wind-up with arch allusions to predatory monetisation mechanisms, aka "pay-to-win-dark-patterns-bullshit", but immoderate players took it earnestly regardless. The Whale had, by this point, navigated the twisting currents of Ironic Process Theory and coasted into the balmy latitudes of the Streisand Effect. It had to go real. It had to person always already been real.

So Nielson sneakily began breeding a Space Whale. "I started enactment connected this soon after, but it got sidetracked, truthful the assets were successful the crippled for a portion earlier I really made it imaginable for the whale to spawn successful game," helium writes successful the post.

Having the assets in-game evidently meant that players could observe them. But Nielson foresaw this possibility, and yet made it portion of the fable.

"Knowing that my players emotion to information mine, I gave the files confusing names arsenic an effort astatine plausible deniability, but it was not enough," helium goes on. "Players utilized the Undertale mod tools to rip the sprites and past assemble them into thing approximating a whale, but I expected this. I claimed that putting them successful the motor was the easiest mode for maine to spoof that April Fool's time shot. But mostly I tried to enactment retired of the conversation. I'd muddied the waters capable that, with the assistance of the different assemblage members, radical weren't definite what was existent anymore. Perfect."

Good heavens! What a magnificent bastard.

If you brushwood the whale successful Nova Drift, you'll find it to beryllium non-hostile and "almost indestructible". It's a existent boon for early-game players, steadily emitting XP orbs portion successful motion. If that sounds similar it's going to wreck the balance, remainder casual successful the cognition that the likelihood of spawning mean you'll astir apt lone ever brushwood a whale each fewer 100 hours.

"My program was that it'd beryllium conscionable uncommon capable that players couldn't beryllium definite whether grounds was doctored," Nielson adds. "After all, the creation had existed successful the crippled files rather a portion earlier anyone captured it successful a surface shot. This was of people unsustainable arsenic video grounds did yet appear, but by the clip it did, we were mode past the information mattering. I'd conscionable assertion the video wasn't playing oregon that Discord was busted. Or I'd conscionable enactment truly impressed astatine their forgery skill."

I conjecture it's imaginable that determination are inactive nary Space Whales successful the crippled and that this Steam blog is simply a continuation of the conspiracy. Still, amusive story! Let's spot if we're inactive laughing arsenic and erstwhile Nielson goes into politics. Just think: if helium joined immoderate sleazy electoral societal engineering firm, I could constitute astir it and deploy the lone different Moby Dick gag I tin deliberation of here, "call maine Phishmael".

I similar erstwhile developers archer fibs to their players, providing it's worldly similar this alternatively than lying to you astir information collection, oregon deleting fractional the workforce from the credits. It makes the "live service" happening consciousness astir playful, alternatively than a glassy-eyed eternity of intravenous contented attrition. Besides which, each of these shenanigans volition yet run to the payment of living, non-digital whales. Nielson is apologising for "gaslighting" his players by donating 20% of the game's income to the WDC Whale and Dolphin Conservation foundation arsenic portion of World Ocean Day Festival 2025.