Sometimes it turns out to be legitimate though. For example, modders have recently found a new version of Half-Life 2 that they created through hidden files from the original game.
On the whole, finding gaming information is a hobby that has been taken up by a lot of dedicated video game fans who aim to find the best secrets they can find. Their objectives are: to find Easter Eggs, no matter how legendary or unknown, but also to uncover hidden game files or information about scrapped projects all together. Many fans believe that this information should be protected and held close as it is a fundamental part of gaming history.
Dev teams may think different however. Teams, no matter how big or small are not always forthcoming about the pre-release stages of their games. Most teams like to talk about the games once they have been released. Some information about concept and pre-alpha stages, for example, are as secret as Easter Eggs are themselves.
There’s a couple of notable reasons why video game developers do not wish the material from the cutting room floor to actually see the light of day. It’s either that they simply do not wish gamers to think that scrapped elements of the game (modes, character models, concept art etc.) should actually be in the game and therefore, they regret the decision to bin it.
Or the other reason in that they simply do not wish to give their ideas – no matter how much they believed they should be scrapped – to their competitors. It could fuel the imaginations of other development teams, and there would not be much they could do about it.
The internet has contributed to the framework of secret finding more than anything since print media. With so many resources available, finding information can be easier but not always. Like stated previously, if there is simply nothing there to find other than a hypothesis, then the internet is useless. The internet certainly makes a huge difference since using print media – mainly magazines- to find hidden button combos in beat-em-ups or the infamous sex toy in the shower of GTA: San Andreas.
What Did You Know Gaming and its contributors pride themselves on is the authenticity and legitimacy of their information and their findings. Their YouTube channel has a great deal of subs so it makes sense that they would take their time to fact-check what they are releasing to its fans. This is not always as easy as it seems, however as Gill notes.
Gill states that one of the methods of cementing authenticity is to contact the development teams of the games they are finding information about. One method is to contact them on LinkedIn but developers are not always forthcoming about replying in general. Their own is subject to secrecy and a reluctance to talk about it is commonplace. They believe that they should ascribe to the same practices and ethics as a normal journalist would. Therefore, they know that just because a theory is well-researched, it doesn’t necessarily make it “true.”
What would make researching secret information about games is if more print media was stored online or archived. Then a combination of this information and sources on the internet could be combined for more of an effective research method. But, again, this added level of transparency with video game secrets will make companies themselves, in turn, become more secretive. Then nobody will be able to find anything out if the companies themselves make it a priority for it not to be found.
With regards to scrapped games, there is even a sister-type of Wiki dedicated to cancelled games named The Cutting Room Floor. This demonstrates the size of the community and the interest by gamers in what they attempt to do.
It is clear to see that the community for video game secrets is a large one and it is growing too. There seems to be no better time to join it with the influence of social media and online sources.
We want to know if you think you have ever found a video game secret that is not known by many others. In general, what are your favorite game secrets and Easter eggs? Let us know!