Petscop

About

Petscop is an ongoing alternate reality game (ARG) and fictional obscure Playstation 1 game developed by the company Garalina. In the fictional game, the player character must collect pets from their cages at the Gift Plane. However, after inputting a cheat code, the game begins to show a darker, completely different side of itself. The game is being recorded on a YouTube channel of the same name by an unnamed narrator and commentator, given the fan-name “Paul,” as he gives his findings on the game. The channel received notoriety for its similarities to the Ben Drowned ARG, though with an original creation rather than basing itself off of an existing property.

History

The Petscop Youtube channel launched on March 11th, 2017, and uploaded its first video, simply titled “Petscop” (shown below), the following day on March 12th. In the video, the narrator, “Paul,” plays through an obscure Playstation 1 game he found called Petscop, developed by Garalina. However, after putting in a cheat code from a note accompanying the game, the player character is teleported into a dark void with a grassy floor. Within 2 months, the video received almost 150,000 views.

On April 26, 2017 Venezuelan YouTuber Dross (officially titled “DrossRotzank”) uploaded a video titled “El misterio de Petscop” (which translates into English as “The mystery of Petscop”). As of May 2017, the video has over 2 million views.

On May 2nd, 2017, YouTube channel ScareTheater released a video analysis of the series up to that point (the first 7 episodes) (below, left) that gained over 160,000 views. On May 23rd, 2017 YouTube channel NightMind uploaded a video titled “Petscop: The Best Haunted Game Series Online” which analyzed the first 8 episodes of the series (below, right), and has over 80,000 views. The game has its own Wiki page^[4] and subreddit,^[6] and has been covered by Kotaku^[1] and Playground Magazine.^[2]

Newmaker Theory

One of the main themes throughout the game is child abuse, and the child abuse case of Candace Newmaker in particular is referenced throughout the game. Candace Newmaker (born Candace Tiara Elmore) was a 10 year old child who died from a 70 minute rebirthing session as part of attachment therapy.^[5] The session, which included wrapping Candace in flannel sheets, simulating a womb, and being restrained by four adults, had the objective of Candace escaping the sheets. During the session, Candace stated numerous times that she couldn’t breathe and was dying. One of the adults restraining her, Julie Ponder, replied “You want to die? OK, then die. Go ahead, die right now.” Forty minutes into the session, Jeane Newmaker, her mother asked “Baby, do you want to be born?”, to which she replied “No.” This would be her last word, while Ponder would say “Quitter, quitter, quitter, quitter! Quit, quit, quit, quit. She’s a quitter!”

There are numerous connections to the Newmaker story in Petscop. Examples include the Quitter’s room, where a character called Quitter resides, a reference to a quote from Ponder, the use of keywords being repeated in game, such as “Rebirth,” “Tiara,” and “Newmaker” and the Tool giving various answers alluding to Candace.

One of the most famous references to Candace takes place in the “Quitter’s room”, in which the player encounters a mirror image room, and encounters a sign which, when mirrored, reads “Do you remember being born?”(shown below).

Search Interest

External References