@incollection{Saarikoski2022,

title = {The Illuminatus Space Game: From an April Fools’ Joke to Digital Cultural Heritage},

author = {Petri Saarikoski and Antti Lindfors and Jaakko Suominen and Markku Reunanen},

editor = {Krista Bonello Rutter Giappone and Tomasz Z. Majkowski and Jaroslav Švelch},

url = {https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-88338-6_7},

doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-88338-6_7},

isbn = {978-3-030-88338-6},

year  = {2022},

date = {2022-03-26},

urldate = {2022-03-26},

booktitle = {Video Games and Comedy},

publisher = {Palgrave Macmillan Cham},

series = {Palgrave Studies in Comedy},

abstract = {In April 1989, the leading Finnish computer hobbyist magazine MikroBitti published a glowing preview of a 3D space-faring game called Illuminatus. It was described as an epic space flight, trading, combat and empire building title that was more than a game, rather a way of life. In reality, the game did not exist at all, but the April Fools’ joke was taken seriously by many readers. In this chapter we analyse the cultural and historical context of the prank, its plausibility, and repercussions. The technological optimism of the decade is an important backdrop for the joke, and the journalist behind it cleverly evoked the hopes and expectations of the audience. Even after more than three decades, Illuminatus is still referenced and remembered within Finnish enthusiast circles. Interestingly, it appears that the (non-) existence of the game hardly matters at all in the long run, as it has become part of the shared cultural memory of a hobbyist generation, just as if it had been any popular game of the time. },

keywords = {1980s, April Fools' joke, Cultural memory, Digital culture, Game journalism, Home computers, Humour, Simulation games},

pubstate = {published},

tppubtype = {incollection}

}