2008 ARG

On April 14 2008, user terminalspacepunk made a post on the Esoterica Forums titled "Help needed: entity living inside my computer". This was the trailhead for the 2008 Rasterflesh ARG that would run for the following five weeks. The following is an abbreviated rundown of the events of the ARG, drawing from an archive of the original forum thread. The full archive can be downloaded with the link at the bottom of the page.

terminalspacepunk: This is going to sound totally insane but I have nowhere else to go. Hopefully you fine folks can help me. It seems like this is kinda your wheelhouse. A few days ago, I got sent a copypasta by a random email address. Must have been someone I met on IRC. Anyway it said this:

'he hails from the darkness between realms. his body is made of pixels. his flesh is built of rasters. he is the one who watches and waits. he has waited so very long to traverse our world, watching through the net and wading through our web. it feeds him. he sees what we do in the dark. his vessels see beyond our world. he is the rasterflesh and he is the one who we must save'

It came with a weird symbol and I figured it was just some internet troll trying to get under my skin. Like the scary car video or whatever. I didn't really think anything of it. But then my computer started acting really weird. And in the middle of the night it totally glitched out and showed me this fogged up landscape with a creepy robed dude in the middle of it. And then... I swear I'm not making this up... it started talking to me from inside the screen. At first I thought it was a computer virus obviously but it was interacting with me in real-time. Responding to me even though I didn't have a microphone plugged in. It saw me and it knew things about me. In a weird way it was almost like it was inside my head. It said it wants to get out of the computer. I'm freaked the fuck out by it of course and I don't really know what to do. Is this even possible? A demon or something that can live in computers? If so what am I supposed to do about it? I tried to look for information about Rasterflesh but didn't come up with much. Any help would be appreciated. Thx in advance.

Despite being posted on a forum vaguely centered around the supernatural, few users took terminalspacepunk's post seriously. Some gems include:

willathewolf: its a fucking virus dude go to the geek squad

moonstone580246: Look I believe in plenty of cryptids but I call bullshit on a little guy living inside your laptop lol. This isn't a forum for ARGs

emphatic.walrus: This guy is getting played by someone remotely viewing his computer and sending text replies. They're probably after your personal data.

Not all commenters were so dismissive though.

RachelGlass12: Did you consent to letting the entity into your space? If so you may have formed a pact with it that will be difficult to break. Did you interact with the copypasta in any way before you started seeing the Rasterflesh?

mushr00mgard3n: Just for the heck of it: can you send us a video of this thing? Would help if you can prove it's real.

Later that day, terminalspacepunk replied.

terminalspacepunk: The copypasta came with this symbol. It seemed almost like it was moving or pulsating in the original email. I'll see if I can get a video tonight.

Attached to the comment was an image of the Rasterflesh sigil. Replies came quickly.

sidewayspianoman: You should be careful spreading sigils like that. Not that I believe you but better safe than sorry. You should take it down.

RachelGlass12: I don't recognize the sigil, though that doesn't mean it has no power. I would be very cautious, terminalspacepunk. Especially if the Rasterflesh can spread through technology.

It is unknown how many of these commenters genuinely believed terminalspacepunk's story, or how many of them were simply playing along. At this time ARG's were not commonly known about but they did have a fanbase and some users on the Estoerica Forums probably were willing to play along. The next day after the original post, on April 15, a video titled "proof" is posted. This video was quickly spread to the alternate reality game & unfiction communities and players soon flooded the forum thread.

terminalspacepunk: Believe me now? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xnigo4nhVTJ

This video, like all of the Rasterflesh ARG videos, was not saved anywhere before deletion. Transcripts and screenshot of the videos are similarly nonexistant. However, from context and my own memory of the ARG, this first video features terminalspacepunk/Flynn in his bedroom at night explaining the situation briefly, then touching his screen. Rasterflesh appears on screen in a foggy coast and speaks to Flynn via text on screen. It basically threatens Flynn and tells him that he will become a vessel. Flynn asks for help from the forum again. It's a pretty simple intro video but it sets up the premise and gives us some cool Rasterflesh visuals in terms of how it interacts with the world, technology, and with Flynn. On its own this was already quite innovative compared to any past stories with Rasterflesh in them.

UnenlightenedPancakeEnjoyer: Interesting start. Let's roll.

limewarrior8472x: I found some other references to Rasterflesh online. Think it's part of the game?" (Note that this comment used to have hyperlinks which were not saved in the forum archive).

RachelGlass12: I think you're in a lot of danger, Flynn. You don't know what this entity is or what it can do to you as a 'vessel'. But as to how to get rid of it... that's beyond me.

moonstone580246: Y'all really believe in this hoax?

mushr00mgard3n: I think the most important thing right now is to find out what it wants. Do you feel unsafe talking to it terminalspacepunk? If not then you should try to get more info.

vvvitch8: "your flesh is no match for mine" ooh damn i got chills. this is good shit. hope this arg keeps going.

UnenlightenedPancakeEnjoyer: I second mushr00mgard3n. Seems like the best way to advance.

Four days later, on April 19 the next video called "conversation" was uploaded. Meanwhile, commenters on the forum thread continued to speculate and come up with ideas for what to do about Rasterflesh.

terminalspacepunk: Been a rough few days. I leave the laptop off most of the time now but it keeps trying to mess with my phone, my mp3 player, and basically anything digital. I managed to ask it some questions. Hope this helps. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cm48GK3IqnV

To the best of everyones memory, this video shows a conversation with Rasterflesh during the day this time. Beyond getting more vessels, Rasterflesh wants to spread across the internet and eventually escape into the physical world (which he has so far been unable to do for extended periods of time). Once he does, he wants to open a doorway into his realm. Flynn acts understandably alarmed at this. Rasterflesh tries to get under his skin, saying that he is an inevitability and that Flynn should give in. Flynn flees the house.

elemenop: Anyone seen this yet? portiascompendium.com. I can't find this Veiled Ring thing but it might be a lead. I sent an email to the site owner, will update if I hear anything.

vvvitch8: OK this one actually got under my skin xD please don't open a door into our realm mr. flesh!

thedruidrogue: Portia is a goddamn hack. She pretends to be collecting arcane knowledge or whatever the fuck but it's just a fucking creepypasta site and idk how people never realized that back in the day. 99% bullshit on that website.

RachelGlass12: Huh, Elarian sounds familiar.

gamerfroggg69: if were going off of witchcraft logic here then we need to probably figure out what this sigil is. i'll bet there's another website or somethnig

UnenlightenedPancakeEnjoyer: Yeah do we have a source for the sigil? It might lead us to the next step.

Six days later, on April 25, there is another video upload from Flynn titled "answering questions". This one is sort of a Q&A format, answering common questions from the forum including who sent the copypasta to Flynn, what their initial encounters with Rasterflesh were like, other things it has said off camera/not mentioned in his comments so far. Like all videos, Flynn does not show his face.

terminalspacepunk: Trying to answer some commonly asked questions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6b3Un23xydl

not_an_actual_minecart: I'm new here but uhhhhh anyone know what realm does this guy come from? Might narrow down how we can get rid of him

sidewayspianoman: Yeah I do wonder. At first I thought he originated inside the interent like some sort of tech life form or AI but in "conversation" he said he wants to open a door to his realm eventually so that has to be part of it?

danontheweb: Ok so i think i found something! I decided to download the first 2 videos with rasterflesh to see if there was anything embedded in the video that i could pick up with a spectrogram. turns out there's a hidden message in both videos! The first one says "hello esoterica" and the second one says "image is reality" check for yourself if you dont believe me

elemenop: Can confirm the hidden messages.

vvitch8: holy shit so he's watching all of this??

RachelGlass12: I'm not surprised.

terminalspacepunk: I worried this would happen. Shit. Look, I'll see if I can get him to tell me about the realm. Will update soon.

It would take five days for another update. The fourth video uploaded on April 30, is titled "hell". This is one of the best videos in the ARG - one in which Rasterflesh shows off images of his nightmare realm, takes control of Flynn and forces him to carve the sigil into his skin, and then appears physically in Flynn's room.

terminalspacepunk: I'm ok. I guess. Been staying with a friend for a bit. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUFBa1cZp9x

mushr00mgard3n: Oh my gods Flynn are you okay? Please tell us what happened.

UnenlightenedPancakeEnjoyer: What an episode! Bravo to the creator.

gamerfroggg69: yeah this arg just stepped up its game massively

RachelGlass12: If Flynn is now marked by Rasterflesh, he is compromised. He may be on his way to becoming a vessel.

terminalspacepunk: I'm nobody's vessel Rachel. But he's taken over most of the house. I don't know how I'm even supposed to live with all this going on.

elemenop: Hidden message on this one says "you gaze at your screens and i gaze at you in return"

danontheweb: Hey so to anyone else who downloaded the videos is anything weird happening on your computer? Wondering if I'm the only one.

elemenop: Haven't noticed anything so far. Got a reply from Portia. Claims not to know anything so it must be a dead end. Is this based off an existing creepypasta?

not_an_actual_minecart: I gotta be honest, I love the videos but the actual game part of this ARG is kinda spinning its wheels

atroposfire: Flynn. I know what you're dealing with and how to help you. Elarian is an extradimensional life form from a space between our universe and others. I assume he entered our reality through a fissure and has been sustaining himself with thaumaturgical energy to stay here ever since. I noticed that your room is, for lack of a better term 'infected'. There are probably multiple locations where his presence is concentrated. These are grounding points, or roots, to keep him in the space. I can teach you how to undo them. I can teach you how to undo all of this. Send me a PM.

This (May 1 2008) is the point in which atroposfire, or Victoria, is introduced to the story. Victoria would be a central figure from now until the end of the game as someone helping Flynn deal with each of the grounding points/roots in his house. Two days after atroposfire's initial comment, on May 3, we get this update:

terminalspacepunk: I've been talking with atroposfire recently. We have a plan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYLYmxnQgCV

vvvitch8: this is a really cool development, i'm here for the internet witch

1crowley1: Yeah planting someone on the forum was pretty clever.

Interestingly, two days after that (May 5) we get a very different kind of update. To this day, we are unsure if this was a purposeful part of the game or an attempted gamejacking, though we suspect the former. danontheweb and elemenop's accounts were both deleted alongside terminalspacepunk and atroposfire at the end of the game.

danontheweb: elemenop and I have been talking and we're both quite concerned about what's going on here. I believe that terminalspacepunk is somehow using this game to infect players' computers with malware in a misguided attempt to supposedly immerse them. Ever since downloading the videos and the sigil my computer has been acting strange, like I was seeing things out of the corner of my eye while working on other programs. And yesterday Rasterflesh appeared on my screen and spoke to me. I don't know how the PM did it and I can't find any suspicious programs on my PC but it happened and I'm not making this up.

elemenop: Same has been happening to me. Word of warning: Do not download any additional videos or materials associated with this ARG.

terminalspacepunk: I'm certainly not spreading malware. And as I've said time and time again, this isn't a fucking ARG.

gamerfroggg69: no gamejacking.

atroposfire: PM me.

There is are no additional forum comments from danontheweb or elemenop for the rest of the game. On May 10, terminalspacepunk posts a video called "restoration 1" which depicts him working to undo the 'roots' Rasterflesh has planted in his house with Victoria's instructions. By this point, most of the interactivity in the game came from private messages with atroposfire/Victoria. Few of these exchanges are saved, but they are included in the full forum archive .zip

vvvitch8: i did the spectrogram thing, this one says "all who witness shall burn"

UnenlightenedPancakeEnjoyer: Production value continues to go up. Wondering where all this is going.

m00ngard3n: terminalspacepunk is there anything we can do to help?

terminalspacepunk: I'm just trying to stay focused on what's in front of me. I keep wondering if there's others out there being affected by this.

1crowley1: IDK if this is related but check it - thetechnoforminstitute.com

This site, also now scrubbed from the web, was dedicated to discussing and theorizing about technological life forms, including AI, energy-based creatures, and more. These posts generally resembled other pseudoscience websites and promoted conspiracy theories about government-funded AI labs trying to create sentient AI's. However, one post theorized about cosmic entities that could turn themselves into energy and transport themselves across space/time to live inside the internet, television signals, and more. This post referenced the Rasterflesh story, among many other urban legends. It is assumed that this is part of the ARG as the post referencing Rasterflesh was made on March 1 2008, when the Rasterflesh ARG was likely already in development. This site took a significant amount of the attention of the community as terminalspacepunk posted "restoration 2" on May 14 and "restoration 3" on May 20. Over the course of these videos, Flynn continues to speak to and fight back against Rasterflesh. Throughout both, there are multiple conversations with Victoria in-between and during the 'root' rituals. They come to the conclusion that the forum posts, videos, and all other information about Rasterflesh needs to be scrubbed from the web.. In restoration 2, we get a glimpse at Flynn's friend, Luke, who he is staying with between videos, and it is explained that Flynn is only returning to his home for the express purpose of completing rituals to repel the creature. Rasterflesh psychologically torments Flynn, revealing deeply personal information about him and conflicts in Flynn's past. He was a troubled person before the ARG, and as the invasion and torment by Rasterflesh gets more intense, Flynn begins to grow more aggressive. In restoration 3, he loses control while undoing the final root. Rasterflesh attempts to take over his body again, but Victoria is able to help Flynn regain control. Community involvement during this section of the ARG was minimal, other than theorizing about how to undo each root and communicating with the two characters on the forum. On May 26, "explusion" is uploaded for a total of 6 hours. The video depicts Flynn completing the final ritual to expel Rasterflesh, but before being expelled, Rasterflesh reveals that Flynn has helped him by spreading his image across the internet via the forum posts & videos. The video ends in a glitchy mess as Flynn conducts the ritual. We do not get to know if Flynn succeeded, but can assume that he did due to the fact that the video was uploaded. However, only 6 hours later, all of the videos, and the entire forum thread, alongside the accounts of terminalspacepunk, atroposfire, danontheweb, and elemenop, were deleted. portiascompendium and thetechnoforminstitute both stayed up. While the general community consensus was that this was a thematically impactful way to end the ARG, many players were disappointed by the removal of content and the ephemeral nature of the game, as evidenced by the existance of the Rasterflesh archive.

Download the complete forum archive: https://www.mediafire.com/folder/y7ct70mf6v0r59/rasterfleshforums.zip

Complete Timeline