Space Paranoids is a first-person shooter arcade game appearing and featured in the 1982 movie Tron . According to the plot, it was created by Kevin Flynn but the code was stolen and released by ENCOM and the villain Ed Dillinger . In the movie Flynn is seen playing the game in his arcade.
59-537: An actual playable game based on what appears in the movie was designed and released by 42 Entertainment , a company that specializes in alternate reality games , for the 2009 San Diego Comic-Con . Instead of being credited to its real developer, it is credited to "Encom" (the fictional company in the Tron films) with a release date of 1982; the high score record holder is supposedly "Flynn" (the main character in Tron). The object of
118-477: A 2005 interview with Kerrang! , Trent Reznor raised his intentions to write material for a new release while on tour promoting With Teeth . He reportedly began work on the new album by September 2006. Reznor devised much of the album's musical direction on his laptop. Reznor told Kerrang! in a later interview, "When I was on the Live: With Teeth tour, to keep myself busy I just really hunkered down and
177-539: A concert in Lisbon , Portugal, a USB flash drive was found in a bathroom stall containing a high-quality MP3 of the track "My Violent Heart", a song from the then-unreleased album. Another USB drive was found at a concert in Barcelona , Spain, containing the track "Me, I'm Not". Messages found on the drives and tour clothing led to additional websites and images from the game, and the early release of several unheard songs from
236-517: A fan documentary for the German DJ Zedd 's 2015 album True Colors , which was released in 2016. Year Zero (album) Year Zero is the fifth studio album by the American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails , released by Interscope Records on April 17, 2007. Conceived while touring in support of the band's previous album, With Teeth (2005), the album was recorded in late 2006. It
295-658: A laptop in a bus on tour somewhere. That sound led to a daydream about the end of the world. That daydream stuck with me and over time revealed itself to be much more ... it takes place about fifteen years in the future. Things are not good. If you imagine a world where greed and power continue to run their likely course, you'll have an idea of the backdrop. The world has reached the breaking point – politically, spiritually and ecologically. Written from various perspectives of people in this world, Year Zero examines various viewpoints set against an impending moment of truth." —Trent Reznor on Year Zero , 2007 In
354-454: A mechanism of leaking the music and data we wanted out there. The medium of the CD is outdated and irrelevant. It's really painfully obvious what people want – DRM -free music they can do what they want with. If the greedy record industry would embrace that concept I truly think people would pay for music and consume more of it. On February 22, 2007, a teaser trailer was released through
413-521: A new Nine Inch Nails tour t-shirt contained highlighted letters that spelled out the words "I am trying to believe". This phrase was registered as a website URL, and soon several related websites were also discovered in the IP range , all describing a dystopian vision of the fictional " Year 0 ". It was later reported that 42 Entertainment had created these websites to promote Year Zero as part of an alternate reality game . The Year Zero story takes place in
472-406: A new album, he has to "go into battle with the people whose job it is to figure out how to sell the record. The only time that didn't happen was [for] With Teeth . This time, however, [he was] expecting an epic struggle. [ Year Zero ] is not a particularly friendly record and it certainly doesn't sound like anything else out there right now." Fifteen original tracks were considered for inclusion on
531-517: A recording from the USBM is played, claiming "By calling this number, you and your family are implicitly pleading guilty to the consumption of anti-American media and have been flagged as potential militants." It was named one of the best album covers of 2007 by Rolling Stone . While work continued on the album, Reznor hinted in an interview that it was "part of a bigger picture of a number of things I'm working on". In February 2007 fans discovered that
590-452: A world tour in 2007 dubbed Performance 2007 . The tour included the band's first performance in China. Reznor continued to tour with the same band he concluded the previous tour with: Aaron North , Jeordie White , Josh Freese , and Alessandro Cortini . The tour spanned 91 dates across Europe, Asia, Australia, and Hawaii. Between tour legs Nine Inch Nails gave a performance as part of
649-418: A writer for it, but then it fell to shit because we never had the right writer. I should have just done it [myself]." Year Zero received generally favorable reviews from music critics, with an average rating of 76% based on 28 reviews on review aggregator Metacritic . Robert Christgau described Year Zero as Reznor's "most songful album", while Thomas Inskeep of Stylus magazine praised it as "one of
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#1732851949711708-498: Is installed. The default controls for the online version are a keyboard and mouse, but if it is downloaded to play offline, it will be possible to configure it for joystick support, full screen and custom resolutions. Space Paranoids opened online on May 6, 2010. 42 Entertainment 42 Entertainment is an American company based in Burbank which specializes in creating and producing alternate reality games (ARGs). The company
767-599: The Billboard Hot 100 , and topped the Modern Rock and Canadian singles charts. The second single, " Capital G ", reached number six on the Modern Rock chart. In a post on the official Nine Inch Nails website, Reznor condemned Universal Music Group – the parent company of Interscope Records – for its pricing and distribution plans for Year Zero . He wrote that he hated Interscope for setting
826-703: The Los Angeles Times , praised the album and game concept as "a total marriage of the pop and gamer aesthetics that unlocks the rusty cages of the music industry and solves some key problems facing rock music as its cultural dominance dissolves into dust." In relation to the declining music industry, Joseph Jaffe of Brandweek commented that such "mysterious marketing measures [...] are what's desperately needed to gain attention in this uncertain era of distribution dilemmas and sagging sales", also commending acts such as Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead for being "more innovative than marketers". Entertainment Weekly gave
885-497: The United States military , which Reznor said "reflect[ed] future directions". Reznor later described Year Zero as "the soundtrack to a movie that doesn't exist". The album criticizes the American government's policies, and "could be about the end of the world". Reznor specifically cited what he labeled as the "erosion of freedoms" and "the way that we treat the rest of the world and our own citizens". Reznor had previously called
944-609: The Year Zero game. A small group of fans received fictional in-game telephone-calls that invited them to a "resistance meeting" in a Los Angeles parking lot. Those who arrived were given "resistance kits", some of which contained cellphones that would later inform the participants of further details. After receiving instructions from the cellphones, fans who attended a fictional Art is Resistance meeting in Los Angeles were rewarded with an unannounced performance by Nine Inch Nails. The concert
1003-561: The Bureau of Morality and the First Evangelical Church of Plano, as well as increased surveillance and the secret drugging of tap water with a mild sedative. In response to the increasing oppression of the government, several corporate, government, and subversive websites were transported back in time to the present by a group of scientists working clandestinely against the authoritarian government. The websites-from-the-future were sent to
1062-515: The Caribbean . In 2007, 42 Entertainment created The Vanishing Point for Windows Vista, which offered a sub-orbital trip to space as a grand prize. The company was also behind Year Zero , which had them working with Trent Reznor to build out a world for the Nine Inch Nails album Year Zero . The Year Zero game was hailed by Rolling Stone as "the most innovative promotion scheme since
1121-467: The Stone Age 's Josh Homme . The same year, Reznor contributed vocals to their song "Era Vulgaris", which was also cut from the album of the same name . The album's music features the styles of industrial rock , electro-industrial , electronic , and digital hardcore . Reznor called Year Zero a "shift in direction" in that it "doesn't sound like With Teeth ". He also said that when he finishes
1180-455: The United States in the year 2022; or "Year 0" according to the American government, being the year that America was reborn. The United States has suffered several major terrorist attacks, and in response the government has seized absolute control on the country and reverted to a Christian fundamentalist theocracy . The government maintains control of the populace through institutions such as
1239-574: The Warner Bros. movie The Dark Knight . In 2009, 42 Entertainment started the Flynn Lives Campaign for the Disney film Tron: Legacy . 42 Entertainment's latest contribution to alternate reality games is 2014's Paper Trail downloadable content for Infamous Second Son , item released on the same year as the game. As well as its involvement in the video game industry, 42 Entertainment worked on
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#17328519497111298-453: The address of a website involved in the alternate reality game. Reznor displayed displeasure at the extra dollars added to the CD's price in Australia for the thermo-coating. Included with the album is a small insert that is a warning from the fictional United States Bureau of Morality (USBM), with a phone number to report people who have "engaged in subversive acts". When the number is called,
1357-468: The album a B+, comparing it to The X-Files and calling it "A sci-fi concept album whose end-of-days, paranoia-drenched storyline has been disseminated via the Internet". It also stated: "Amid its carefully calibrated sonic assaults, Year Zero has a number of tracks that will stop you in yours. Sometimes, it's a matter of dropping the volume [...] Even his use of electronics has shifted to a new level [...] Is
1416-402: The album's laptop-mixed sound: "guitars squall against glitches, beeps, pops, and blotches of blurry sonic attacks. Percussion looms large, distorted, organic, looped, screwed, spindled and broken." Many reviews of the album compared the album's electronic sound to earlier Nine Inch Nails releases such as The Downward Spiral and The Fragile , while contrasting its heavily modified sounds to
1475-455: The album's release, marketing, and promotion were completely in Reznor's control. The album features remixes from artists including The Faint , Ladytron , Bill Laswell , Saul Williams , Olof Dreijer of The Knife , and Sam Fogarino of Interpol . Reznor himself strongly supports fan-made remixes of songs from the album, as evidenced by his decision to upload every song in multi-track form to
1534-450: The album, which Reznor described as "Highly conceptual. Quite noisy. Fucking cool." Reznor also described the album as a "collage of sound type of thing", citing musical inspiration from early Public Enemy records, specifically the production techniques of The Bomb Squad . Most of Year Zero ' s musical elements were created by Reznor solely on his laptop, as opposed to the instrument-heavy With Teeth . AllMusic 's review described
1593-517: The album. Following the discovery of the USB drives, the high-quality audio files quickly circulated the internet. Owners of websites hosting the files soon received cease and desist orders from the Recording Industry Association of America , despite Interscope having sanctioned the viral campaign and the early release of the tracks. Reznor told The Guardian : The USB drive was simply
1652-450: The artwork for Year Zero was created by Rob Sheridan , art director for Nine Inch Nails, who is also credited for artwork on With Teeth , among other Nine Inch Nails releases since 2000. The album features a thermo-chrome heat-sensitive CD face which appears black when first opened, but reveals a black binary code on a white background when heat is generated from the album being played. The binary sequence translates to "exterminal.net",
1711-505: The company did not officially launch until 2003, many of those who would become the management team were involved with creating and producing " The Beast " for Warner Brothers to promote the Steven Spielberg film A.I. The project was developed by Microsoft . The company began as 4orty 2wo Entertainment in 2003 and was launched by a management team which included Bob Fagan, Elan Lee , Sean Stewart and Jordan Weisman from
1770-568: The company in late 2008, and founded No Mimes Media in March 2009. In 2004 42 Entertainment produced I Love Bees , the prequel to the Xbox game Halo 2 . Other projects followed in 2005, such as (client in parentheses) Hex 168 (Microsoft Gaming Studios/Xbox 360), MSN Found (Windows Live Search) and Last Call Poker (Activision's GUN ). In 2006, the company created Dead Man's Tale , an interactive game for Windows Messenger and Disney's Pirates of
1829-588: The criticism, a spokesperson for the Australian Music Retailers Association said "It is the same price in Australia as it is in the US because of the extra packaging." Due to the pricing dispute, plans to release a "Capital G" maxi-single in Europe were scrapped. The track was instead released as a limited-edition single, without a " Halo number ", unlike most official Nine Inch Nails releases. Year Zero
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1888-594: The elimination of American civil liberties at the hands of the fictional government agency the Bureau of Morality. Regardless of being fictional, a columnist of the Hartford Courant commented, "What's scary is that this doesn't seem as far-fetched as it should, given recent revelations about the FBI 's abuse of the Patriot Act and the dissent-equals-disloyalty double-speak coming out of Washington in recent years." All of
1947-472: The expanding game. Rolling Stone described the fan involvement in this promotion as the "marketing team's dream". Reznor, however, argued that "marketing" was an inaccurate description of the game, and that it was "not some kind of gimmick to get you to buy a record – it is the art form". Part of this promotional campaign involved USB drives that were left in concert venues for fans to find during Nine Inch Nails' 2007 European tour. During
2006-458: The following month, and files for "The Beginning of the End", "Vessel" and "God Given" were released on the month after that. In response to an early leak of the album, the entire album became available for streaming on Nine Inch Nails' MySpace page a week before the album's official release. After taking a break from touring to complete work on Year Zero , the Nine Inch Nails live band embarked on
2065-465: The game is to go through the levels and score as many points as possible by destroying Recognizers, tanks and stationary gun turrets. The game is designed to look and feel like its movie appearance: for this, the controls of the arcade version are a joystick and a trackball The game is based on the Unity game engine which allows it to run from the browser, provided that the appropriate browser extension
2124-558: The leaked sex tape." Although Reznor insisted that the game was an extension of the album rather than a marketing attempt, it nonetheless was awarded a Cyber Grand Prix for digital marketing at the 2008 Cannes Lions . Starting in 2008, projects from 42 Entertainment include Stop the International (Columbia Tri-Star), If Looks Could Kill (Burrell/Toyota Camry), Bizarro is Here (Six Flags), Project Abraham (SCEA's Resistance 2), and Why So Serious? , an alternate reality game for
2183-536: The miniseries during an "Ask Me Anything" session on Reddit on November 13, 2012, Reznor said it was "currently in a holding state" and explained, "We [Reznor and Sheridan] didn't find the right match with a writer, and really have been avoiding doing what we should have done from the beginning: write it ourselves. [...] This project means a lot to me and will see the light of day in one form or another." In 2017, during an interview promoting new Nine Inch Nails EP Add Violence , Reznor said that "They got so far as hiring
2242-468: The more "organic" approach of With Teeth . Many critics also commented on the album's overall tone, including descriptions such as "lots of silver and grey ambience" and reference to the album's "oblique tone". The New York Times review described the album's sound by saying "Hard beats are softened with distortion, static cushions the tantrums, sneaky bass lines float beneath the surface." The article went on to describe individual tracks: "And as usual
2301-438: The most forward-thinking 'rock' albums to come down the pike in some time". Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone called the album Reznor's "strongest, weirdest and most complex record since The Downward Spiral ", and concluded that "he's got his bravado back." Rolling Stone ranked it at number 21 on its "Top 50 Albums of 2007" list. Several reviewers also commented on the accompanying alternate reality game. Ann Powers of
2360-676: The music is packed with details: "Meet Your Master" goes through at least three cycles of decay and rebirth; part of the fun of "The Warning" is tracking the ever-mutating timbres." Many of the songs on the album feature an extended instrumental ending, which encompasses the entire second half of the three-minute long "The Great Destroyer". The album was co-produced by Reznor and Atticus Ross , mixed by long-time collaborator Alan Moulder , and mastered by Brian Gardner . The album features instrumental contributions by live band member Josh Freese and vocals by Saul Williams . Nine Inch Nails' 2006 tour merchandise designs featured overt references to
2419-561: The official Year Zero website. It featured a quick glimpse of a blue road sign that said "I AM TRYING TO BELIEVE", as well as a distorted glimpse of "The Presence" from the album cover. One frame in the teaser led fans to a URL containing the complete album cover. In March, the multitrack audio files of Year Zero ' s first single, " Survivalism ", were released in GarageBand format for fan remixing . The multitrack files for " Capital G ", "My Violent Heart" and "Me, I'm Not" were released
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2478-503: The perspective of a character or characters already existent in the ARG, draw a connection between the music fan's passionate identification with songs and the gamer's experience of becoming someone else online." In 2008, 42 Entertainment won two Webby Awards for its work on the Year Zero game, in the categories of "Integrated Campaigns" and "Other Advertising: Branded Content". All tracks are written by Trent Reznor . Note: "Hyperpower!"
2537-419: The pre-production stage. Nevertheless, Reznor commented in 2008 that the project is "still churning along", and that he had begun working with American film producer Lawrence Bender . In 2010, Reznor started developing the Year Zero miniseries with HBO and BBC Worldwide Productions. Reznor and Bender collaborated with Carnivàle writer Daniel Knauf to create the science fiction epic. When asked about
2596-415: The price of the album higher than usual, humorously labeling the company's retail pricing of Year Zero in Australia as "ABSURD", [ sic ] and concluding that "as a reward for being a 'true fan' you get ripped off." Reznor went on to say in later years the "climate" of record labels may have an increasingly ambivalent impact on consumers who buy music. Reznor's post, specifically his criticism of
2655-467: The project. The album was promoted by two singles: " Survivalism " and " Capital G ". Year Zero received positive reviews from critics, who complimented its concept and production, as well as the accompanying alternate reality game. The album reached number 2 in the United States, number 6 in the United Kingdom, and the top 10 in some other countries. "This record began as an experiment with noise on
2714-464: The record is a concept album that criticizes contemporary policies of the United States government by presenting a dystopian vision of the year 2022. It was part of a larger Year Zero project, which included a remix album , an alternate reality game of the same name , as well as a conceived television or film adaptation. The game expanded upon the album's storyline, using websites, pre-recorded phone messages, murals, among other media in promotion of
2773-433: The recording industry at large, elicited considerable media attention. Reznor continued his attack on Universal Music Group during a September 2007 concert in Australia, where he urged fans to "steal" his music online instead of purchasing it legally. Reznor went on to encourage the crowd to "steal and steal and steal some more and give it to all your friends and keep on stealin'." Although Universal never replied publicly to
2832-577: The results of the 2004 US election "one step closer to the end of the world." Even though the fictional story begins in January 2007, the timeline of the album and alternate reality game mentions historical events, such as the September 11 attacks and the Iraq War . From there, fictional events lead to worldwide chaos, including bioterrorism attacks, the United States engaging in nuclear war with Iran , and
2891-648: The team which created " The Beast ". Notable employees and collaborators between 2003 and 2006 also included Susan Bonds, Joe DiNunzio, Jane McGonigal , Jim Stewartson and John Ziffren. In early 2006, 42 Entertainment merged with 3 Pin Media. The executive team of Michael Borys, Alex Lieu and Johnny Rodriquez joined the company at this time. In 2007, Jordan Weisman left the company to found Smith & Tinker . That same year, Elan Lee, Sean Stewart and Jim Stewartson stepped down to found Fourth Wall Studios. Creatives Steve Peters , Maureen McHugh and Behnam Karbassi left
2950-445: The then-newly launched Nine Inch Nails remix website. Instrumental versions of the songs on Year Zero are available at the site for download in multiple formats, including MP3 , WAV , GarageBand , and Ableton Live formats. A planned film adaption of Year Zero became a television project in 2007. Reznor met with various writers and pitched the idea to television networks. The 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike affected
3009-523: The truth in here? Dunno, but Reznor's claim that 'I got my violence in high def ultra-realism' sounds like gospel to us." On the fictional world depicted in the album and promotional campaign, the Cleveland Free Times commented that the album's fictionalized world and characters "often seemed heavy-handed and forced", but also conceded that "its clotted claustrophobia suited its subject matter". Ann Powers added, "The songs on 'Year Zero,' each from
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#17328519497113068-452: The way I normally do them. But not having the ability to do that forced me into trying some things that were fun to do." By the end of the tour, Reznor began work on the album's lyrical concepts, attempting to break away from his typically introspective approach. Reznor drew inspiration from his concern at the state of affairs in the United States and at what he envisioned as the country's political, spiritual, and social direction. Year Zero
3127-461: The year 2007 to warn the American people of the impending dystopian future and to prevent it from ever forming in the first place. The Year Zero game consisted of an expansive series of websites, phone numbers, e-mails, videos, MP3s , murals, and other media that expanded upon the fictional storyline of the album. Each new piece of media contained various hints and clues to discover the next, relying on fan participation to discover each new facet of
3186-406: Was mixed in January 2007, and Reznor stated on his blog that the album was finished as of February 5. The album's budget was a reported US$ 2 million, but since Reznor composed most of the album himself on his laptop and in his home-studio, much of the budget instead went toward the extensive accompanying promotional campaign. A song cut from the album included vocal work by Queens of
3245-529: Was cut short as the meeting was raided by a fictional SWAT team and the audience was rushed out of the building. Upon its release in April 2007, Year Zero sold over 187,000 copies in its first week. The album reached number two on the Billboard 200 and peaked in the top 10 in six other countries, including Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. The album's lead single, " Survivalism " peaked at number 68 on
3304-540: Was founded in 2003 as an independently owned, creative content and interactive agency under the name 4orty 2wo Entertainment . The company started with a nine-person management team and was originally based in Emeryville, California. It produced several alternate reality games between 2004 and 2014, as well as campaigns for the movie The Dark Knight , and the Nine Inch Nails Year Zero album. While
3363-419: Was produced by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross , and was the band's first studio album since 1994's The Downward Spiral that was not co-produced by long-time collaborator Alan Moulder . It was the band's last album for Interscope, following Reznor's departure the same year due to a dispute regarding overseas pricing. In contrast to the introspective style of songwriting featured on the band's previous work,
3422-555: Was the last Nine Inch Nails studio album released on Interscope. Reznor announced in October 2007 that Nine Inch Nails had fulfilled its contractual commitments to Interscope and could proceed "free of any recording contract with any label", effectively ending the band's relationship with its record label. A remix album , titled Year Zero Remixed , was released in November 2007. Due to the expiration of his contract with Interscope Records ,
3481-455: Was working on music the whole time, so this kept me in a creative mode and when I finished the tour I felt like I wasn't tired and wanted to keep at it." The limitations of devising the album's musical direction on a tour bus forced Reznor to work differently from usual. Reznor said, "I didn't have guitars around because it was too much hassle ... It was another creative limitation ... If I were in my studio, I would have done things
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