Factsheet
Developer:
BPP Marcin Borkowski
Based in Warsaw, Poland
Founding date:
Feb 1997
Steam:
TUSFitG
Press / Business contact:
bpp@bpp.com.pl
Social:
facebook/Marcin Borkowski
facebook/TUSFitG
Discord
Release date:
January 2021
Description
The USB Stick Found in the Grass is more of a combination of a literary work and a forensic puzzle than a game in the strict sense of the word. The player is given a virtual representation of a physical USB stick found at a scene of a possible crime. They assume the role of a police investigator trying to find out whether the object is related to the events that took place at the site, and what might have happened to its owner. The investigation can be carried out employing tools that can be used under Windows, starting with free, open source software, and ending with professional tools used by digital forensics experts. TUSFitG requires some deduction and computer skills, but it doesn't call for expert-level knowledge, making it accessible to most computer-savvy players.
Project history
Despite his years-long participation in the computer game community, Borek (Marcin Borkowski) had not been directly involved in game development for over three decades. A major change came in 2018 when Borek ‘accidentally’ dropped 20 USB sticks containing the original Polish version of Pendrive znaleziony w trawie (Polish for The USB Stick Found in the Grass) during Pixel Heaven, an annual event for computer and retro games fans held in Warsaw, Poland. Although people were apprehensive of picking up a USB stick found in public and checking its contents, the concept intrigued them. Their interest was large enough for Borek to start distributing physical USB sticks in a more trustworthy manner (via postal service), and also converting the original project into a software version available in English. Fast forward and here we are.
Videos
Trailer teaser YouTube
Images
Selected reviews
- "a perfect execution on a devilishly clever concept"
- Defunct Games, read more, watch here - Nośnik intrygi (in Polish)
- Polityka, read more - Analysis of the game in a wider popcultural context (in Polish)
- Game Oven!, read more - "something I found while I was in my Digital Forensics class and wanted more practice" (walk-through from DF perspective)
- SamanthaCTF blog, read more - "If the investigation is so intriguing, does it really matter if we’ve got a murder or simply a lost USB stick on our hands?"
- Gamespew, read more
Awards & recognitions
- Nomination for the 2021 Polityka's Passport Award in the Digital Culture category (in Polish)
- Polityka, read more
Team & Repeating Collaborator
Marcin Borkowski
almost everything
Karolina Piwowarczyk
‘sorry, what you wrote is not English’
Contact
basically everything e-mail:
bpp@bpp.com.pl
Marcin Borkowski AKA Borek
https://www.facebook.com/marcin.borek.borkowski
Based on presskit() by Rami Ismail (Vlambeer), some parts manually edited by MB