They say reality is stranger than fiction. Well, this proves to be true in the case of a group of gamers who found themselves solving a murder case.
In the new Peacock Documentary titled "Perfect World: A Deadly Game," a group of gamers helped catch a murderer via an MMO and Discord in 2019.
According to VICE, one of the gamers' friends said he killed three people and was about to kill another. With this, the members of a gaming forum sprang into action. However, they were faced with a terrible situation, they had no idea where the alleged killer was.
What's the Real Story Behind the Documentary
The story kicked off when Maroon Ayoub received a message on Discord from an online friend who went by the username "Menhaz."
The Menhaz account wrote: "I just slaughtered my entire family, and will most likely spend the rest of my life in jail if I manage to survive. I hope I made you laugh at one point or another, I hope you remember the good times. I will miss you all."
Eventually, the Menhaz account then sent Ayoub a collection of photos that allegedly showed his family members lying dead on the ground, covered in blood, and with their throats cut. Online acquaintances of both Ayoub and the Menhaz account received similar messages.
According to the chat logs, Menhaz began talking about killing himself and his family as early as March. This is a disturbing development that PWV players considered a "dark joke."
Menhaz first killed his mother, then his grandmother, and said he was waiting for his sister and his father.
The group of gamers dedicated themselves to finding an IP address connected to the Menhaz account. They believed that if they could find it and connect it to a home address, there's a chance of alerting the police to the location, said VICE.
The search eventually paid off as they located a home address connected to the Menhaz account.
Menhaz's account began asking for his acquaintances' email addresses so he could send them money via PayPal. One of the gamers checked previous payments coming from Menhaz's PayPal account and found a home address that lined up with the information from their IP address search.
One of the players contacted the police and reported the incident. When the police finally arrived, the Menhaz account ended his conversation with one of the gamers. He wrote: "Police are here. Goodbye."
Read Also: 27 Unique Malwares Being Spread Through Discord; Exposed Users Could Be Hacked!
'Perfect World: A Deadly Game' is Like a Lot of True Crime Documentary
"Perfect World: A Deadly Game" is a pretty straightforward two hours like a lot of true crime documentaries, said PCGamer.
The documentary is mostly talking heads telling the story, interspersed with various shots of Discord messages, MMO characters, motherboards, and cityscapes.
The mini-series is simply about a group of people who witnessed a horrible crime and used online tools such as reverse image searches and IP addresses to find a murderer.
The game is not treated as part of its novelty, but rather as a background for the online expertise that they had to use to try to identify the murderer.
PCGamer said that the show adds a literal ticking clock to these events to try to heighten the drama, along with several dramatic sound hits. Although, the story itself is gripping enough on its own.
Related Article: Discord Tries Out New Mod Tools, Forums, And Homepage Features For More 'Organized Conversations'
