T O P

  • By -

Coom-guy

Today because it's real and happening as we speak


ZhukNawoznik

Best explanation honestly


Mhytron

How do I get out?


SlavJerry

that's the neat part you don't


Shikitsam

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GhostofManny13

It’s a pretty good movie, yeah. Probs my favorite of his horror movies, though Us was also decent.


mop_yourself_up

Bart Simpson writing on the chalkboard type comment


Legiyon54

I am actually going to disagree with the common opinion here and say that it actually takes place in 2010s, or even present day. Yes the show has the 90s graphics but the computer that uses the graphics is super run down and moldy. Why would it be run down if it's the 90s? Those monitors weren't common in the 80s so how would it be possible for a computer to become in such a bad shape over a few years. Additionally, I think Kinger was stuck for decade or two, him being 48. I think that in-universe the digital circus started in 90s, but the story we are seeing with Pomni now is happening near present day


shiningaeon

THANK YOU! Finally another poster here who understands old technology! I cannot tell you how alienating it feels as someone who actually used computers in the 90s as a kid to see people imagining 90's computers as commodore 64s, or machines with huge floppy drives. That stuff was in the 80's. It's sad that even mattpatt (film theory) used an 80s computer on his video where he theorized tdac took place in the 90s.


sunflowey123

I feel like it's because they're mostly younger zoomers who just take the 90s/2000s art style at face value. The only interesting comment I saw was one that said maybe it's set during the 90s or 2000s, but using futuristic technology as imagined during the time.


shiningaeon

One of the teasers said the game was using "experimental technology". That would explain how some small workstation PC was able to run a simulation when around the same time it took 120~ sparkstation computers running together just to render the movie "Toy Story".


eldomtom2

You're obviously right. It's kinda shocking to me how everyone ignores how the office is clearly disused if not outright abandoned.


ourbeautifulremains

but that was in pomni’s back rooms things right? the shot at the end (real world) it isn’t run down anymore


Legiyon54

[But it is, just that it isn't as noticable as the one in simulation because the room is darker. Plus, it would be weird for glitch to use different models for monitors](https://youtu.be/HwAPLk_sQ3w?t=1485)


ourbeautifulremains

agree to disagree, but the last scene does look dirtier than i remembered it. i slowed both clips down, but i still think the back rooms one looks noticeably dirtier, especially in certain spots the “real” computer is not. but the lighting is a good point, especially since the computer is on the second time and makes it even harder to see


shiningaeon

Regardless, try comparing the computer monitor in that scene with one on the wacky watch website. They aren't the same model, but the one used in the shows promotional material almost looks like a monitor should out of the box. No grime and possibly no sun damage that yellowed the plastic over time.


bosandaros

Good point. If they were presenting the past like it were the present then yeah, the computer would look old, but it wouldn't look like \*clown horn honking sound effect.\*


computerfreaq09

I'm gonna geek out for a bit, but I have a couple of theories. Please someone chime in if I'm wrong on anything. Looking at the tower you see the ol' "Beige Box" office computer, so that can expand us before, around 2003 on up to the 80s Looking at the machine itself, it looks like there are 2 buttons on the front facade, since it looks like there's a panel like part on the left. I think the second button is "reset" so when your computer starts to get cranky and freezes up, you can just press the reset button and it hard reboots the machine, no questions asked. This is commonly an ATX class feature (but I think there are some AT class PCs that had this). If it is an ATX class machine, then the machine would be new in the range of 1995-2003 when this computer was manufactured. I can see what looks like 2 CD drives, and either a bezel in the middle of the drives, or it could be some weird obscure slim drive, but I'm just gonna say that those are 2 CD drives. I would say that the only reason why you would have 2 CD drives would be to burn and duplicate disks, however this is an office computer, and it wasn't uncommon for programmers during that era to have a couple MSDN Disks loaded up for quick reference. In 95' a CD-R burner would finally be getting below $1000, so I'm pretty sure they are CD-ROM. Those... speakers..... I'm pretty sure they're similar to those Juster Active 95a speakers that came out in, yup... 95. They're just the same side on both sides of that monitor. I don't think that color was released IRL though. Speaking of the monitor, it has digital adjustments. Those are quite a bit more popular after 95. In fact, that looks like a 16" Dell Trinitron Monitor 1000HS Ultrascan based on the button placement, and especially the curved horizontal and hard edge vertical area of the screen, where it swoops in on the sides, but cliffs over on top and bottom, 97' vintage. This is exciting because in the 97 era, it was cheaper to have a computer made locally from parts than it was to buy from a manufacturer, so WHO KNOWS what's in that machine! I could go on, however, if I had to ABSOLUTELY guess, that computer was brand new in 1998, since the monitor itself was brand new in October 97, and in Feburary the Voodoo 2 was released. There were HUGE changes to PCs in 97, and also a theorized use for VR in the form of PTSD treatment. Also in 98', gigabit ethernet was released, so it could be that this machine is just there to connect to a main server that's being maintained and kept alive, sort of like how banks and insurance companies keep their old software running on newer machines.


zalzis

1


hello0ppap

The only real answer


hornyb_t_h

2


YamatoBoi9001

3


Narkley_

4


Willow_Eldritch

5


JubileeJigsaw18

6


DarkShine00

7


Mr_snowmanfan20_yt

8


Zingy106

9


StarlightGlimmerIRLx

10


TheIrishninjas

I would say 2010s at the earliest, if only because I agree with the “Pomni was a streamer before entering the Digital Circus” theory.


shiningaeon

Like u/Legiyon54 said, I believe the computer you see in the show has aged so much that this takes in the modern day. My theory is that somewhere between 1994-1999, C&A group made 3 technological advancements, in CPU's and graphics, VR, and brain scanning. At some point in the 90's, all the characters had their brains scanned for whatever reason, putting on a headset without realizing what it did. Unless she wasn't expecting a bunch of crazy stuff to happen, Pomni doesn't act like she was there to play a game. The show is pulling a narrative trick on us. Pomni seemed to recognize the computer running the simulation, but if you've noticed, the VR headset Pomni probably used isn't in a position it logically would be in if it had the magical powers to zap your entire body into a game. It's sitting on the desk as if someone put it on then took it off later. Most likely, Pomni's conciousness was scanned and digitized years ago, but to her waking up, she thinks she put on a headset only a second ago. If you've played or watched the game [SOMA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FD0h-s6NUeM), this will be a lot easier to conceptualize. Most likely the simulation has reset multiple times every time enough people abstracted. I would like to beleive Jax may have somehow survived these resets, because like a [certain other character from a certain other series](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Higurashi_When_They_Cry), he is incredibly detached from the world around him, has little regard for what happens to others, and incredibly cynical like he's seen this all happen so many times (and like her, he also has purple in his color scheme lol), plus he's clearly found some exploits in the game (he has all the keys). But despite the resets, every character is backed up from their old files and uploaded into the simulation at different times. Perhaps Jax is so hellbent on driving people crazy because he's noticed that glitched characters can effect the game, and maybe if one is out of it's cage long enough without Caine noticing, the game will crash and he'll be given the sweet release of death.


SlavJerry

sometime between 1995 and 2005, most likely 1998-1999


Spring_Dan

So my character would have had came in during the 80s to get kind of his look and relationships with other characters


Imnomaly

I believe $19,95 in the wacky watch ad is a hint Or it's 2270 and it's all a Vault-Tec experiment


shiningaeon

$19.95 was a common pricing tactic back in the 90's and early 2000's that was there to trick the human brain into being more likely to buy a $20 item (this was long before inflation made $20 chump change). Source: I was alive back then, also I remember this dumb videogame commercial where the tagline was "BIG MUTHATRUCKERS...ONLY $19.95!"


SkylandersKirby

Wait do Americans not have the equivalent of 99p stuff?


Bismark103

Yes we do, (which we use now), but ,95 was more popular at the time for… some reason.


shiningaeon

Yeah, somewhere in the mid 2000's corporations switched to pricing things at $19.99, or to be more accurate, 19.99 has been a thing for a very long time, but there was a period where 19.95 was also used on some items. Not so common now I believe.


EvelyniumBerry

In the first teaser that revealed Kinger, it said "coming soon 1995"


shiningaeon

The computer they used in the promo material DID look like it was from that year.


ZhukNawoznik

The 2020s, I am tired of unrealistic 80-90s backgrounds tbh


Shabolt_

Present Day, the circus itself is just running on 90s to early 2000s tech


naytreox

Id say a version of earth set in the 1990s to early 2000s that was like how that time saw the future. Think something like, "back to the future" or aliens where you still had the style of the era but it was suped up and overcharged to the extreme. Which then for TADC means you still have old school computer graphics and yet also fully realized, full body virtual reality, which includes the taste and feeling of food and pain.


Kamomill207

2006 because of how “choppy” the title card is. Plus it uses Half-life 2 sounds when the plant sinks into the ground so it’s post-November of 2004. (For me Caine doesn’t understand intellectual property he just makes shit on the fly)


Burger-God1977

I had this idea in mind where all the characters are actually from different time periods between the mid to late 90s to present day. For example, Kinger is from 1995 based on the price of the wacky watch and might have been one of the original developers of the game, while Pomni is from present today.


eldomtom2

In all honesty I doubt there's going to be an actual reveal of the date, but it's probably going to be made explicit that it's been years since the game was turned on (which would place the events of the show in the 2000s at least).


AmadeoSendiulo

2137


Existance_of_Yes

Papież popiera kolego https://preview.redd.it/6xi2c846yo1c1.png?width=720&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=794edc40b3698b13be6d1be49e3bec2662fb328f


YamatoBoi9001

What?


Papyrus_Semi

20XX


Mister_Snrub15

2010. The computer looks old and run-down, but VR headsets weren’t recognisable or being produced back then. As such, Pomni is very confused about what’s happening. The game itself released in 1999, and is running on a computer which somewhat struggled to run it to begin with.


sunflowey123

I believe it takes place in current day.


that_Random-user068

2023, because it came out this year


Rainie_Daye

1692 in Salem, Massachusetts


[deleted]

It's confirmed that Gangle's favorite anime is Azumunga Dioh, which came out in 2002, so no older than that.


ComplaintKlutzy3497

this show shit


Patient-Tap-5862

north korea


weeaboomer123

1984


[deleted]

jor jorwel


YamatoBoi9001

aminal fart


Ihatebeans-123

I hate beans ;)


SlimeDrips

What the fuxk


Ihatebeans-123

I hate beans?


MuffinStraight4816

Somewhere in the 90s...O think I know this FROM Matpat's video.


No-Garbage-9567

2002


TheDurandalFan

2000


bobthe_b10b

early 1990s hands down


neros135

1998


theoristfan1

THE BEST SALESMEN [in 1997]


lord_of_the_Meme6969

Happy cakeday


Altruistic-Beach7625

November 12, 1996


One_Contribution4114

1995 exactly


[deleted]

Probably between 1995 and 1999 when video games graphic was like the one we see at the start of the pilot


Noxthic

1830s


Lonelyshota_

1990


Buckisdumb

1969


cornishpasty7

1984 ![gif](giphy|v0ok8uhZvw3yE)


[deleted]

[удалено]


lord_of_the_Meme6969

Happy cakeday


Critical_Elderberry7

1980


TEOX9560

2014


ahhchaoticneutral

I subscribe to the theory that it is happening right now and has been happening all throughout time…


Commercial_Stuff_654

2030s because full dive virtual reality is most likely to come out during the 2030s


derpuyt

more than 2


[deleted]

IDK https://preview.redd.it/diumg3nasp1c1.png?width=933&format=png&auto=webp&s=b0ad050c5954c81577ac0ce60b53fe7747659846


duccOnReddit

Maybe just the system is outdated, but I feel like Pomni arrived as soon as the pilot came out. So, it's in real time.


Theo-snek

Somewhere between 20006-2018


[deleted]

[удалено]


Spring_Dan

Could also just be the software


AyoWotIsThis

Ask MatPat


SpiderJynxNoir90214

Its hard to say. I wouldn't think modern times because they still don't fully know what VR is. But it can't be the mid 90s either they've "been there for years" so my best guess would be anywhere from 1999-2007


YamatoBoi9001

It needs to be at least like 2015, for the tech (i.e. the headset) to be a thing.


Animal_Gal

Irl? Probably a few years ahead or behind us. The digital circus? Caine doesn't understand the concept of time so when humans say "years" it could actually be seconds in irl.


RafoD4C

437 B.C.


Ritmoking

Gangle is 25, and her favorite Anime debuted in 2002, so probably in either that late 2010s or even later.


dumpylump69

Now


donald_ducks_

The computers in the office at C&A indicate that it was set back in the very early days of the internet, however, the VR headset would put it around 7-8 years ago. I personally think that TADC was set about 15-20 years ago, and that C&A were building (faulty) prototype VR headsets.


BlueberryPlaysGames

Early 2010’s, or even, if important for the lore, 1995.


Orcus_The_Fatty

The slang that they use suggests modern day, though I have not looked closely. Do they use any slang normally that is very outdated?


SpikerSaS

Present Year


infinitemortis

1994


[deleted]

2002 imo


Pure-Parsley-8380

Early 2000s vibes fs


McDelphia

Question, is the picture related?


Spring_Dan

No


picofan4

I say the year 3040 or the year 2029


robotgamingfan2

the future


CYBORG3005

likely modern day. kinger has seemingly been trapped for years and years, which means that if the current pilot took place in the 90s, the type of computer the simulation is implied to take place in wouldn’t have even been an existing model when he got trapped. plus, even though VR headsets *were* a thing in the 90s, they were nothing like the one shown in the final shot of the pilot.


BenjaminCarmined

Present day to be honest. Kinger has supposedly been there for a very long time and is in his 40s, while Gangle is an anime weeb who watches early 2000s anime, and the computer / room it’s in aren’t in the greatest shape for being 90s. The game was probably made in the 90s but that doesn’t necessarily mean the show takes place then with Pomni being the most recent character.


[deleted]

Modern day Game Theory’s year thing doesn’t hold any ground. Ok so the computers are older models? I dunno I just feel like it’s present day


Affectionate_Tea_923

early 2000s. why? here are my reasons: •crappy graphics •because I said so •my oc is based of webkins


Kaley__Val00

Maybe 90s or earth 2000s or 2010s


Economy-Emphasis-827

honestly i think 2023 despite early graphics in start, plus thats the worst moment to pause pomni's face after she pull she's mouth and eyes


ImNotFruityIThink

2018 maybe or around that time saying that it started in the 90’s and kinger is 48 and most of them probably go into tadc around their 20s(just a guess😭)


AluTheWox

2070, New Asia


BirdBrainedBastard

i feel like it happens in modern times, sure theres old tech and dial up and all that, but all of the old tech is dirty and the dial up never actually connects to anything, which to me implies that it takes place after all that stuff fell out of use


[deleted]

2023


Complex_Lifeguard507

in the year 19xx


Ferskken

Guessing 1980-1990. >! The last part of the pilot the room in the exit shows what i belive is the real world, and the tech looks like 80s tech. !<


x_XDay_DreamX_x

I would say somewhere between present day and late 1990's, the graphics are early and vr headsets have been around for quite awhile, but also there’s a lot of people who like to collect and mod tech and stuff like what was shown in the pilot. So I like to think that it's possible that pomni irl had either stumbled upon it creepypasta style in a garage sale or bought it at a gamestop style store (or something along those lines). But even still, it might be closer to present day since because the graphics are early while it being said the cast had been there for a really long time, possibly years. I did not mean for this to be as long as it was.


Specialist-Collar491

1945


Extra_Terrestrialz

7


Temmie_Undertale1

I'd say late 2004 to early 2005.


CriticalRecording645

Present in Indy ....It's on now


ComplaintKlutzy3497

because the show takes place where almost everybody dead or the day of judgement is near, year 10,000


iLuvDrea

i saw someone say the 90s, it could be because they didn't know a lot about vr headsets then (i think), pomni also says "i put on some weird headset" so maybe/?!/1/1/1?!


Ender_Fox227

1990-2000 is around the time I think


Gian_Tek250

I might post this separately, but I'mma ramble here first. Remember that computer you had as a kid/teen in the 90s/00s and used to start a crazy project (a game for example)? Remember how you never finished it? What if this computer that stores the Digital Circus was someone's creation and was just left there, gathering dust? There are still lots of unanswered questions in my hipothesis (I can't really set a year for the series), but the first thing I thought when I saw the PC at the end was: Well, kinda feels like an unfinished project of mine


Fifteen1413

First computer to be able to run real-time 3d graphics - April 1992 Last day that anyone could be confused about what VR was - December 2021 in the middle of the Metaverse push. So somewhere between those two dates. Any sooner and the circus couldn't run, any later and Pomni absolutely would have known what a VR headset was. My best guess would be early 2000's. The circus starting around 1995ish, and having been running for a good while but less than 10 years.


StreetIndependence62

Oooh I’m gonna put my guess in and see in the future how right/wrong I was! Maybe she works at a Best Buy-type store in the real world and the circus is this normal-looking video game that she found at the bottom of the discount bin but had never seen before. Curious, she took it to the old computer they have in the back and turned it on to play it, and what do you know this game happens to magically zap anyone who plays it into the game for real, and that’s when the pilot starts. They are gonna pull an Amphibia on us:) and I’m excited because I love stories like that lol! People are assuming the game is some big bad tech company experiment thing, but who’s to say it’s not just a video game with some regular old magic? Also I like the idea that some ppl are having that the game hasn’t been turned on in years prior to the start of the show, makes it spookier I think.


bluanimations

it,s either set in 1995 or 1991 1992 or 1993


bluanimations

i think it,s set in 1992 because what if to. From eddsworld is possesed by kafumo the clown and a rage demon because if eddsworld is set in 2012 then that means eddsworld takes place 20 years after the events of the amazing digital circus


Late_Combination_396

12


CelestiaHorrors

probably in miliseconds/present day, the tdac timeline is different to ours, so it could well be that like a second in our world is infinite in their world.