Internet leviathan and search engine all-but-in-name monopolist Google isn’t shy of playful additions to their myriad services and have implemented a concealed text adventure game within Google’s source code.
Discovered by a Redditer by the name of attempt_number_1, the game is accessible by visiting Google.com, searching for ‘text adventure’ and booting up the console of your browser. You’ll be prompted to play with a message saying ‘Would you like to play a game? (yes/no)’. Typing ‘yes’ will transport you to Mountain View in California, seat of Google HQ. The game appears to work on most browsers and OS though you may have to tinker a little to get it working on your end.
Inspired by Google’s iconic and brilliantly simple multi colored letter logo, you must track down the missing friends of the blue letter G. With a selection of commands that will be familiar to text adventure aficionados, players can advance using north, south, east, west, up, down, grab, why, inventory, use, help, exists, map, and friends.
The game starts when you see the following introduction: ‘A strange tingle trickles across your skin. You feel lightheaded and sit down. Feeling better you stand up again and notice your reflection in a window. You are still the same big blue G you’ve always been and you can’t help but smile. But wait! Where are your friends red o, yellow o, blue g, green l, and the always quirky red e? You see a statue of a metal man peeking out of a building. A park is just across the street.’
From there you must navigate the HQ grounds, bumping into dinosaurs, volleyball courts, and ducks among other quirky encounters, use items, and ultimately track down the scattered letters. The game isn’t the first nor, we imagine, the last entry in the long list of Google easter eggs, but is a nice twist and a nod to the good old days when text adventures were all the rage. The question is how long has it been there?
