Chip's Challenge - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Chip's Challenge is a tile-based

Tile-based game

A tile-based game is a game that uses tiles as one of the fundamental elements of play. Traditional tile-based games use small tiles as playing pieces for gambling or entertainment games...

, puzzle

Computer puzzle game

Puzzle video games are a genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles to be solved can test many problem solving skills including logic, strategy, pattern recognition, sequence solving, and word completion....

video game for several systems, including the hand-held Atari Lynx, Amiga

Amiga

The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...

, Commodore 64

Commodore 64

The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...

, ZX Spectrum

ZX Spectrum

The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...

, DOS

DOS

DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...

, and Windows

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...

(included in the Microsoft Entertainment Pack

Microsoft Entertainment Pack

The original Microsoft Windows Entertainment Pack is a collection of simply-designed 16-bit computer games for Windows. These games were somewhat unusual for the time, in that they would not run under MS-DOS. Many of the games were later released in the Best of Windows Entertainment Pack...

and Best of Microsoft Entertainment Pack). It has also been ported to the TI-84+ calculator and the TI-89 Titanium. The original game was designed by Chuck Sommerville, who also made about a third of the levels. Most of the conversions from the Atari Lynx original to other formats were carried out by Images Software of Fareham.

The Windows version is 16-bit

16-bit

-16-bit architecture:The HP BPC, introduced in 1975, was the world's first 16-bit microprocessor. Prominent 16-bit processors include the PDP-11, Intel 8086, Intel 80286 and the WDC 65C816. The Intel 8088 was program-compatible with the Intel 8086, and was 16-bit in that its registers were 16...

and therefore cannot run on 64-bit

64-bit

64-bit is a word size that defines certain classes of computer architecture, buses, memory and CPUs, and by extension the software that runs on them. 64-bit CPUs have existed in supercomputers since the 1970s and in RISC-based workstations and servers since the early 1990s...

versions of Windows; it can, however, run on 64-bit versions of Unix-like

Unix-like

A Unix-like operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system, while not necessarily conforming to or being certified to any version of the Single UNIX Specification....

systems, e.g. Linux

Linux

Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...

, using Wine

Wine (software)

Wine is a free software application that aims to allow computer programs written for Microsoft Windows to run on Unix-like operating systems. Wine also provides a software library, known as Winelib, against which developers can compile Windows applications to help port them to Unix-like...

.
The premise of the game is that high-school nerd

Nerd

Nerd is a derogatory slang term for an intelligent but socially awkward and obsessive person who spends time on unpopular or obscure pursuits, to the exclusion of more mainstream activities. Nerds are considered to be awkward, shy, and unattractive...

Chip McCallahan has met Melinda The Mental Marvel in the school science laboratory and must navigate through Melinda's "Clubhouse" (a series of increasingly difficult puzzles) in order to prove himself and gain membership to the very exclusive Bit Buster Club.

Gameplay

The games consists of a series of 148 two-dimensional levels (149 in Microsoft's version) which feature the player character, Nerdy Chip McCallahan, often called just Chip, and various game elements such as computer chips, buttons, locked doors, water and lethal monsters. Gameplay involves using arrow keys, directional pad or mouse to move Chip about each of the levels in turn, collecting enough chip

Integrated circuit

An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit is an electronic circuit manufactured by the patterned diffusion of trace elements into the surface of a thin substrate of semiconductor material...

s to open the chip socket at the end of each level, get to the exit, and move on to the next level.

Levels can be skipped by entering an appropriate four-letter non-case-sensitive password

Password

A password is a secret word or string of characters that is used for authentication, to prove identity or gain access to a resource . The password should be kept secret from those not allowed access....

. For the PC versions, game progress is automatically saved. On the Windows version of the game, the passwords can easily be crack

Password cracking

Password cracking is the process of recovering passwords from data that has been stored in or transmitted by a computer system. A common approach is to repeatedly try guesses for the password...

ed, thus making it easy to skip levels without playing; if one is having a lot of trouble with a level, the game allows the player to skip to the next level. The Microsoft version has another, hidden, option, "Ignore Passwords", that appears in the Game menu when one of several key combinations is pressed, including Control-D.

In the Lynx version of the game, entering the password "MAND" gives the player access to an Easter egg: a Mandelbrot set

Mandelbrot set

The Mandelbrot set is a particular mathematical set of points, whose boundary generates a distinctive and easily recognisable two-dimensional fractal shape...

and a Julia set

Julia set

In the context of complex dynamics, a topic of mathematics, the Julia set and the Fatou set are two complementary sets defined from a function...

fractal plotter.

Progress is not just measured in terms of completed levels but also in terms of the player's score, which is a sum of the scores obtained on each level. Level scores for timed levels can be improved by quickly completing the level (e.g. with more time left on the clock), and scores on all levels can be improved by using fewer attempts to complete the level.

Levels

While the same set of rules applies to each level, there are many different kinds of levels. Some are action-oriented and some are puzzle-oriented. Most levels have a time limit. Types of levels include:

Chip solving a block-pushing puzzle (similar to Sokoban
Sokoban
is a type of transport puzzle, in which the player pushes boxes or crates around in a warehouse, trying to get them to storage locations. The puzzle is usually implemented as a video game....

) to clear a path to the level exit.
Chip must actively dodge enemies (creatures which move in various ways) and make his way to the end.
Chip must find his way through a maze. The maze can take various forms, such as a path across an icy surface with set points where he can make turns.

The first eight levels are "lesson levels" or tutorial levels.

Level 34, CYPHER, has the passwords to some later levels hidden in its layout.

The ending sequence plays on completion of level 144. There are, however, four (five in the Microsoft version) levels beyond this which can only be reached by password. On completion of level 149, the ending sequence plays again. The password for level 146 is hidden in the earlier level CYPHER, but level 145 (which is only present in the Microsoft version) can only be reached by cracking or guessing the password, which is "TONY", or using the cheat code (Ctrl-K) which unlocks all levels.

Music

For the Windows version, the game's soundtrack features two looping midi tracks titled "chip01.mid" and "chip02.mid". If "canyon.mid" is found in the Windows directory, the game will alternate among the three songs.

Chip's Challenge 2

The success of Microsoft's version eventually led Chuck Sommerville to create a sequel, Chip's Challenge 2, usually abbreviated to "CC2". CC2 included many new kinds of elements and many new levels in addition to the original ones. However, the game has never been released to the public, as Sommerville and the copyright holder of the game could not agree on terms. On July 30, 2006, in a posting to the annexcafe.chips.challenge newsgroup, Sommerville stated, "Never give up hope
that CC2 will be released, I am continuing to explore opportunities. ". Currently Chuck Sommerville is involved in Chuck's Challenge.

Internet community

An informal Internet

Internet

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

community of players has developed around the game, particularly the Windows version, producing text, map, and video

Video

Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...

walkthroughs

Strategy guide

Strategy guides are instruction books that contain hints or complete solutions to specific video games. The line between strategy guides and walkthroughs is somewhat blurred, with the former often containing or being written around the latter. Strategy guides are often published in print, both in...

, FAQ

FAQ

Frequently asked questions are listed questions and answers, all supposed to be commonly asked in some context, and pertaining to a particular topic. "FAQ" is usually pronounced as an initialism rather than an acronym, but an acronym form does exist. Since the acronym FAQ originated in textual...

s, level editors, and screenshots of the game. Most members of the community reside on Usenet

Usenet

Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...

at news://news.annexcafe.com/annexcafe.chips.challenge or alternately http://chips.kaseorg.com/ . Chuck Sommerville also posts there. They have produced a second set of 149 levels for the Windows version of the game with the name "CCLP2" (an abbreviation of "Chip's Challenge Level Pack 2") featuring contributions by a large number of people. This version is considered the unofficial sequel in place of CC2.

Other unofficial software produced by them include:

ChipEdit, a level editor
MyChips. Given a Microsoft CC executable
Executable
In computing, an executable file causes a computer "to perform indicated tasks according to encoded instructions," as opposed to a data file that must be parsed by a program to be meaningful. These instructions are traditionally machine code instructions for a physical CPU...

, this creates a new executable identical to it except that it uses a different level file and a different score file. The purpose is to make it easier to play fan-made levels.
ChipCap, a program to assist in recording Chip's Challenge AVI
Audio Video Interleave
Audio Video Interleave , known by its acronym AVI, is a multimedia container format introduced by Microsoft in November 1992 as part of its Video for Windows technology. AVI files can contain both audio and video data in a file container that allows synchronous audio-with-video playback...

video walkthroughs
Tile World, an open source
Open source
The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...

emulation
Emulator
In computing, an emulator is hardware or software or both that duplicates the functions of a first computer system in a different second computer system, so that the behavior of the second system closely resembles the behavior of the first system...

of Chip's Challenge available on multiple platforms
CCTools, a set of utilities for Chip's Challenge, including CCEdit, a level editor, CCLM, a "level manager", and CCHack, a program which can change the resources
Resource (Windows)
In Microsoft Windows, resources are read-only data embedded in EXE, DLL, CPL or MUI files.The Windows API provides for easy access to all applications' resources.-Types:...

in CC.
Chip's Controls, another program to make it easier to play fan-made levels
CCDesign, the latest level editor, which uses a tabbed interface and includes cut/copy/paste functionality.

Chip's Challenge Level Pack 3

Chip's Challenge Level Pack 3 (CCLP3) was released on December 24, 2010. Voting took place from April 1, 2010 to August 14, 2010.

Chuck's Challenge

Chuck's Challenge has been released by Niffler, which Chuck Sommerville is founding member of. Sharing similar gameplay, enemies, and puzzles to Chip's Challenge, it is Chuck's way of creating a new Chip's Challenge game without violating copyright. The premise is that Sommerville, the creator of Chip's Challenge, has been summoned by an alien called Woop to create video games for them to play.
The game features 100 levels, multi-player racing, weekly puzzles, and a built-in level editor. Chuck has stated that if it does well, he would like to release other platform versions as well such as PC, Mac, & Android. Version 1.0 was released on December 17 2010 on the App Store for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad.

Emulators

Many emulators exist, though the most notable are WebCC and Tile World. These emulators, presented as freeware, are primarily used by players who do not own the original version, or have 64-bit computers that do not run the original version.

WebCC

WebCC is one of the most notable emulators. The website hosts a full suite of completely free and online map packs with user-generated levels and a forum for submitting new tile ideas. WebCC also has versions for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad for sale in the App store.

Tile World

Tile World is a game designed to emulate

Emulator

In computing, an emulator is hardware or software or both that duplicates the functions of a first computer system in a different second computer system, so that the behavior of the second system closely resembles the behavior of the first system...

Chip's Challenge. It was written by Brian Raiter in platform-neutral C

C (programming language)

C is a general-purpose computer programming language developed between 1969 and 1973 by Dennis Ritchie at the Bell Telephone Laboratories for use with the Unix operating system....

and SDL

Simple DirectMedia Layer

Simple DirectMedia Layer is a cross-platform, free and open source multimedia library written in C that presents a simple interface to various platforms' graphics, sound, and input devices....

. To avoid copyright infringement

Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...

with Chip's Challenge, the game does not use the original graphics, sound, or music.

Tile World has two rulesets intended to emulate two different implementations of Chip's Challenge: the Microsoft Windows implementation and the Atari Lynx version. The two rulesets have many differences: Under the Microsoft ruleset, the player and monsters move one tile at a time, in effect disappearing from their current locations while simultaneously appearing on their destination locations, without any between-tile animation frames to smooth out the movement. Many bugs from the Microsoft implementation are also emulated, in order for scores obtained from Tile World to be consistent with that implementation. With the Lynx ruleset, all objects move smoothly from one tile to the next. The Lynx and MS rulesets also have a variety of subtle differences in how monsters and other game elements work. For instance, in the original Lynx version, most monsters avoid fire; in the MS version, most monsters enter the fire and die. In addition, in the Lynx ruleset only a restricted subset of tile objects, which include Chip, monsters and blocks, are allowed to coexist with other tiles at the same location (e.g. Chip on ice). The Microsoft implementation however uses two layers of tiles, therefore allowing all possible combinations of 2 tiles to coexist in one location, as can be seen in many fan-made levels. The Lynx ruleset does allow some things the actual Lynx implementation of the game does not, such as arbitrary connections of buttons to traps and clone machines (in the actual Lynx game the connections are made implicitly based on positions of the buttons and objects), a concept borrowed from the Microsoft implementation.

External links

The Chip's Challenge Corridor, a fan site containing the most official discussion boards.
Chips Portal, unofficial discussion boards.
Official Chip's Challenge Wiki
Facebook group for discussion of Chip's Challenge.
Mike L's Chip's Challenge Site, tips, downloads, scores, and similar games.
List of most fan-made levels available on the Internet
WebCC, an online game in the style of Chip's Challenge with the ability to create levels.
Tile World Homepage
Chip's Challenge Ultimate Package, a download that includes Chip's Challenge, Tile World, CCTools, custom skins, and 750+ levels
the best of chip's challenge's levels

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.