Need for Hoaxes: Most Wanted

A big thanks to Christoph J. Landers for this article!

Humans by nature are both sceptical about and receptive of a 'great deal'. We all know the saying: if it sounds too good to be true...then it probably is. On the other hand, the reason why a great deal is so tempting is, because deep in our hearts we all wish them to be true. One of the latest Palm Pré hypes is the Need for Speed: Pré video that is circulating the web . And whether you believe it to be a hoax or a leak is up to you; I'm not going to try and convince you...but rather, I want to take a different direction here, and present the NFS-video - as if it were a hoax - as a basis of how I personally would set up such a hoax.

Now, setting up a good hoax implies that it should contain at least a certain level of credibility. And two important aspects to remember about credibility are: A. it shouldn't be too far fetched, and B. it's all in the details.

The overall story for the NFS-video is fairly simple: Palm is about to deliver GPU acceleration in WebOS to facilitate 3D gaming. The great thing about this story is that it's not presenting some radical idea (everyone expects Palm to be investigating GPU acceleration and 3D gaming; particularly in light of the competition); it's 'merely' claiming that Palm is a few steps further along the road the we all expect. So once the main story is established - and we made sure it wasn't too far fetched or over the top - it's time to extend our credibility by juicing it up with some nice details.

The first problem we'd encounter when setting up such a story is of course 'the source'. The story has to come from somewhere. And like with so many stories: it's just as trustworthy as its source (which is why nobody trusted Peter any more when he cried wolf). No one is going to believe you when you start your story by saying: 'Hay, I was with my buddy Jon...and Ruby - I call him Ruby - Ruby whispered and said: hay Chris, I want to show you something. And then he showed me this Need for Speed game on his Pré. Yes, ma man Jon Rubinstein has Need for Speed running on his Pré. He even shot me this hush hush video that I was supposed to keep a secret!' - That won't work. That's why many of these stories rely on unnamed acquaintances who happen to be 'in the know' because they work at some company or another. Of course we all know that even people who work at companies might have friends. However, credibility is - as I said - in the details (sitting right next to the devil). So be creative! - In the case of the NFS-video I wouldn't have chosen some friend who works at Palm...way too boring and generic. Instead we could have grabbed the opportunity and claimed that our friend is working at the mobile division of Electronic Arts and wanted to show you something they are working on. It's still the same unnamed source. But by giving it a creative and unexpected twist, people are more likely to accept it...because you just don't come up with this stuff.

By the way, while we're on the subject of Electronic Arts...great choice for a company! - We all know that EA is actively developing mobile versions of their franchises. We also know that they have shown an early interest in WebOS with  some extremely simple games. So what better company to pick than EA? - Sure you could have taken some small-time developer. But in the end EA is a great and credible choice for our story.

Personally, I would have done the presentation of the evidence itself a bit differently though. First of all, I would have claimed that it was an early version of a NFS Demo. Single car, single track...racing only. That way there's never going the be any problem with the lack of options or things not running and handling smoothly. Secondly - assuming it's simply a small video played on the device - I would have shown you the hardest evidence possible: a startup straight from the launcher. Of course doing this using your own homebrew application is quite trivial. Al you need to create is a quick application that has a name, an icon, starts up a card that says 'NFS: Undercover - Demo' and explains the controls while pretending to load for a second or so, and than shows the pre-saved video full-screen. Absolute and undeniable proof.

Then there's the screenshots...we need screenshots. The more, the merrier! - Since I wouldn't want any of the video-frames itself to be subject to everyone's scrutiny, I'd probably tell you that NFS is a native (C-based) GPU-enabled application, and that the conventional way of creating an in-game screenshot failed and produced only a black screen. So instead I would have presented my homebrew loading-screen...just because it looks good. As for the screenshots that were presented in reality...as mentioned, I would have chosen for an EA-friend rather than a Palm-friend, so the whole concept of an internal Palm-employee-only app catalogue would not have come to me. But I have to say:  I love it. It's a nice little detail.

That being said, if I had created this story, I would probably have taken it a couple of steps further. As mentioned by others, the presented shots can be easily photoshopped (even using only images available on the internet)...and there appear to be some obvious mistakes (or at least things that don't agree with the app catalogue we all know). One thing you have to remember though is, that such differences can be your greatest ally in creating a credible story. Of course you have to employ them correctly. Since this is supposed to be an internal catalogue, I would have renamed the application...'palm catalogue' has a nice ring to it. If it were a real application, this difference in name would help Palm employees to identify the dif ferent catalogues. Next I would have changed the colour more drastically... I would want to focus on these differences to make sure everybody sees them. Otherwise people might believe them to be mistakes. And while functional details increase the credibility of our story, mistakes decrease it.

At this point, I have to make another comment about screenshots, because in the original presentation, a small screenshot was visible in the app catalogue. While you're a lot more safe with small thumbnails, there are still two things to realise: first of all, if possible use images that you created yourself. That way no one will uncover where you took them from...because that would just ruin the hoax. Secondly, if you have to use images from the internet, try to use those from an obscure source. So unless not otherwise possible, try to avoid images that will show up in the first seven or eight pages on Google Images.

Now with the entire hoax set up there's still one crucial point missing: getting it out there. The first rule is: don't be a stranger. If this is your first post on a forum or site no one is going you believe you. Be a somewhat active member, spend some time there...be patient! - If it's a good story today it's probably still a good story in three weeks. Especially if it's outed by a valued member of the community. During that time you might drop some casual hints about a friend of yours at EA games who's been on the team of NFS for the iPhone, and how you're a little jealous him and these games on that platform. And then, when you're ready, drop the bomb, the second rule applies: Don't drop it all at once...start with the overall story, then add a shot of our start-up screen, continue with the video and some additional details...and your hoax is capitalized.

So does NFS exist on the Pré or not? - Frankly, I couldn't tell you. But then again, I can't even tell you whether the Pré itself really exists, or whether it's just one big elaborate hoax everyone seems to be playing on me. Because until it's available in the Netherlands, and until I can hold one in my own hands, I might just as well be a sceptic.Therefore mr. Rubinstein, here's my final plead: if this so called Palm Pré actually exists, then please allow me to buy one...it doesn't even have to have 3D gaming capabilities.