Hot Coffee: GTxA Scandal
Published by Mark Marino July 21st, 2005 in Text Art.There has been a blogging scandal at Grand Text Auto (GtxA).
Today it was released that by performing a search on GtxA for “hot coffee,” users will uncover a scene featuring monkeys that has heretofore remained hidden beneath the fa?ade of academic blogging.
GTxA has not yet issued a comment, nor have they been contacted. Rumors are that the subpoenas are being written, though possibly by the aforementioned monkeys. Meanwhile, the material remains available.
Did GtxA know about this feature when they designed their blog? That remains unclear. What is clear is that the text is there for anyone who can input text and depress the enter key.
At a press conference, Senator Hillary Rockstar Clinton (D-NY) said, “Oh, they knew it was there. Just like they knew you could add your own modologues to the game.” Ludologists and narratologists continue to debate whether this is a “feature” or a “bug.”
I want to make it absolutely clear that we have never marketed GTxA to children, and the only easter egg of which I am aware is our homage to a certain Maxis game.
“Never marketed to children.”
In noah’s response is a code. See for yourselves. Do a search on GTxA for:
Children will love it
or
Children should go for it
(not in quotation marks)
and see how many articles you find. Clearly, the search bar interface solicits this kind of solicitous interaction.
The “Easter Egg” of this thread might be noah’s “hidden mission,” a 2008 Presidential bid (search for: elect noah president).
As apparent (sic?), I’m outraged to learn that this “subtext” was intentionally imbedded for helpless children to “explicate” using techniques generally available in any Homeland Security Monitored U.S. Library.
At least the modders didn’t unlock any typewriters. Combined with the monkeys, that would plunge today’s youth into total combinatorial decadence.