History VideoGame / PennAndTellersSmokeAndMirrors

'''''Penn and Teller's Smoke and Mirrors''''' is a 1995 game featuring illusionist duo Creator/PennAndTeller. It was made for the UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer, UsefulNotes/{{3DO Interactive Multiplayer}}, and UsefulNotes/SegaCD. Although the game was completed, it was unreleased when its publisher, Creator/AbsoluteEntertainment, went bankrupt, although the game had appeared in gaming publications beforehand. It resurfaced years later when an owner to a website that documents unreleased games received a copy of the Sega CD version from an initial reviewer.

'''''Penn and Teller's Smoke and Mirrors''''' is a 1995 game featuring illusionist duo Creator/PennAndTeller. It was made for the UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer, UsefulNotes/3DOInteractiveMultiplayer, and UsefulNotes/SegaCD. Although the game was completed, it was unreleased when its publisher, Creator/AbsoluteEntertainment, went bankrupt, although the game had appeared in gaming publications beforehand. It resurfaced years later when an owner to a website that documents unreleased games received a copy of the Sega CD version from an initial reviewer.

'''''Penn and Teller's Smoke and Mirrors''''' is a 1995 game featuring illusionist duo Creator/PennAndTeller. It was made for the UsefulNotes/SegaCD. Although the game was completed, it was unreleased when its publisher, Creator/AbsoluteEntertainment, went bankrupt, although the game had appeared in gaming publications beforehand. It resurfaced years later when an owner to a website that documents unreleased games received a copy from an initial reviewer.

The game is a collection of minigames, and is intended as a commentary on the perception that video games are harmful. As a Penn and Teller product, the game is humorous, and features their usual mix of illusion and debunking of fraudulent uses of such. Several of the minigames are actually meant to fool the second player in some way and there's hidden menus to set up some of the tricks beforehand.

* FullMotionVideo: Being made for the Sega CD, the game features live-action cutscenes with Penn and Teller that play between minigames.

* AllThereInTheManual: The elements of the game are not immediately obvious to those who just catch a glimpse at the game. [[http://www.pennfans.net/files/Smoke-and-Mirrors/Smoke%20&%20Mirrors%20-%20Manual.pdf The manual]] is designed so the owner can set up the tricks in order to fool their friends.

* TheComputerIsALyingBastard: The ''Desert Bus'' score counter has eight digits, but it caps out at 99 points, or "00000099" as shown in-game. Then again, getting to 99999999 points would take literally tens of thousands of years since you get one point for completing the full ''eight-hour'' drive, and even 99 points takes a little over one month of non-stop playing.

* EyeBeams: In ''Smoke and Mirror'', the Impossible difficulty setting has the player run into Music/LouReed after one screen, who will shoot beams from his eyes at the player, who in turn is instantly killed.

* ''Desert Bus'': The most well-known among the minigames, where you must drive 360 miles from Tucson, AZ to UsefulNotes/LasVegas, NV on a desolate highway, without being able to go faster than 45 MPH, and with the steering pulling slightly to the right to prevent you from simply putting a weight on the drive button to keep it moving. Has been a subject of ''WebVideo/LoadingReadyRun's'' ''WebVideo/DesertBusForHope'' charity drive, and has also been ported to [=iOS=] and Android devices with proceeds going towards Child's Play.

* ''Desert Bus'': The most well-known among the minigames, where you must drive 360 miles from Tucson, AZ to UsefulNotes/LasVegas, NV on a desolate highway, without being able to go faster than 45 MPH, and with the steering bus pulling slightly to the right to prevent you from simply putting a weight on the drive button to keep it moving. Has been a subject of ''WebVideo/LoadingReadyRun's'' ''WebVideo/DesertBusForHope'' charity drive, and has also been ported to [=iOS=] and Android devices with proceeds going towards Child's Play.

** Desert Bus is a deconstruction of supposed "realistic" games, by virtue of simulating a very real, very boring bus drive.

** ''Smoke and Mirrors'' deconstructs the "Impossible" difficulty label by pointing out that "impossible" is supposed to mean ''just that'', not just "really hard", and instant-kills you at the start of the game to demonstrate.

** ''Smoke and Mirrors'' deconstructs the "Impossible" difficulty label by pointing out that "impossible" is supposed to mean ''just that'', not just "really hard".

* DeconstructionGame: Desert Bus is a deconstruction of supposed "realistic" games, by virtue of simulating a very real, very boring bus drive.

* TheComputerIsALyingBastard: The ''Desert Bus'' score counter has eight digits, but it caps out at 99 points, or "00000099" as shown in-game. Then again, getting to 99999999 points would take literally tens of thousands of years, and even 99 points takes a little over one month of non-stop playing.

%% ZeroContextExample entries are not allowed on wiki pages. All such entries have been commented out. Add context to the entries before uncommenting them.

* PracticalJoke: The games aside from ''Smoke and Mirrors'' are designed so you can play one on player 2.

* ''Mofo the Psychic Gorilla'': A gorilla claims to have psychic powers and asks questions to predict the card a player draws from the deck. [[spoiler: The owner of the game is meant to use the intro segment to input the card drawn into the game via a series of control inputs under the guise of demonstrating the controls to whoever's playing the game.]]

* PinballScoring: Inverted in ''Desert Bus''. Driving the full, [[RealTime eight-hour]] route earns you '''one''' point. To further emphasize the point (no pun intended), the score is shown with eight placeholders, so after you drive eight hours, the score reads "00000001". [[note]] If you wanted to fill the score to "99999999", you'd have to play for 33,333,333 days, which is approximately 91,264 years… assuming you play perfectly. Unfortunately, the score counter only goes up to 99, which is "only" 41 days straight.[[/note]]

The game is a collection of minigames, and is intended as a commentary on the perception that video games are harmful. As a Penn and Teller product, the game is humorous, and features their usual mix of illusion and debunking of fraudulent uses of such.

* ''Mofo the Psychic Gorilla'': A gorilla claims to have psychic powers and asks questions to predict the card a player draws from the deck.
* ''Buzz Bombers'': Claims to be a demo for an "upcoming" two-player arcade shooter.
* ''What's Your Sign'': Penn & Teller uses the Personometer to determine the player's sign as well as his/her birthday.
* ''Sun Scorcher'': A space shooter which involves the use of "thermographics", as well as unskippable disclaimers that such features make the screen dangerous to touch.

* ForegoneVictory: Player 1 will always win in ''Buzz Bombers''. A trick to reverse the scores and disguise to the patsy exists.

* MediumAwareness: The [=NPCs=] of ''Smoke & Mirrors' are aware they're game characters. One might mention that his job as a "sprite" has led him to meet various other characters, and another will say that he's sworn to secrecy about what he sees when he walks off-screen.

* {{Deconstruction}}: Desert Bus is a deconstruction of supposed "realistic" games, by virtue of simulating a very real, very boring bus drive.

** DeconstructionGame: It's all done to show how aiming for full realism will not translate as fun.

* PinballScoring: Inverted in ''Desert Bus''. Driving the full, [[RealTime eight-hour]] route earns you '''one''' point.
** But to further emphasize the point (no pun intended), the score is shown with eight placeholders, so after you drive eight hours, the score reads "00000001". [[note]] If you wanted to fill the score to "99999999", you'd have to play for 33,333,333 days, which is approximately 91,264 years… assuming you play perfectly. Unfortunately, the score counter only goes up to 99, which is "only" 41 days straight.[[/note]]

** But to further emphasize the point (no pun intended), the score is shown with eight placeholders, so after you drive eight hours, the score reads "00000001". [[note]] If you wanted to fill the score to "99999999", you'd have to play for 33,333,333 days, which is approximately 91,264 years… assuming you play perfectly. [[/note]]

** But to further emphasize the point (no pun intended), the score is shown with eight placeholders, so after you drive eight hours, the score reads "00000001".

* DevelopersForesight: Think you can cheat Desert Bus by clamping down the acceleration button? The bus constantly veers to the right, and, if it hits the sand on the side of the road, the bus gets towed back to town (also in real time).

* AllThereInTheManual: The elements of the game are not immediately obvious to those who just catch a glimpse at the game. [[http://www.pennfans.net/files/Smoke-and-Mirrors/Smoke%20&%20Mirrors%20-%20Manual.pdf The manual]] is designed so the owner can set up the tricks in order to fool his friends.

'''''Penn and Teller's Smoke and Mirrors''''' is a 1995 game featuring illusionist duo Creator/PennAndTeller. It was made for the [[SegaGenesis Sega CD]]. Although the game was completed, it was unreleased when its publisher, Creator/AbsoluteEntertainment, went bankrupt, although the game had appeared in gaming publications beforehand. It resurfaced years later when an owner to a website that documents unreleased games received a copy from an initial reviewer.