Hacker (computer game)
Encyclopedia
Hacker is a 1985
computer game by Activision
. It was designed
by Steve Cartwright
, produced
by Brad Fregger
and was released for the Amiga
, Amstrad CPC
, Apple II, Atari XL/XE
, Atari ST
, Commodore 64
, Macintosh
, MS-DOS
, MSX
and ZX Spectrum
. The game was released two years after the release of the film WarGames
, when computer
hacking
and computer security
were in the limelight.
, a person experienced in breaking into "secure" computer systems
who accidentally acquires access to a non-public system. If they can hack in, they can gain control of various gadgets and access a secret global network. The game was shipped with minimal instructions to get the game going, but no information on how to play, thus building the concept that the player did hack into a system.
The player must attempt to hack into the Magma, Ltd. computer system at the beginning of the game by guessing the logon
password
. Access can be gained if the player knows the password, which really only ever becomes apparent to the player after gaining access, through another means of entry, to the later stage of the game. Typing help or h in the command line would give a clue as to what the valid password is. Since initial attempts at entry would consist of guessing (and likely failing) access would eventually be granted to the player due a malfunction in the security system, thus allowing the player entry. Once admittance has been made, the player is then asked to identify various parts of a robot unit, by pointing the cursor at the relevant parts and pressing the fire button. Most parts of the unit have exotic and technical names, such as "asynchronous data compactor" or "phlamson joint" -- this again, allows for more room of error by initially trying to guessing which part each name belongs to. Failure to identify each part correctly and without any error, forces the player to take a retest until a 100 percent identification is made, at which point, the player is then allowed to continue.
The player gains control of the robot
which can travel around the globe via secret tunnel
s, deep within the earth. The game's text says the robot is powered in some manner by magma
.
Before getting far, the player is informed that shredded portions of a secret document containing Magma, Ltd.'s plans for world domination have been stolen. The player is instructed to retrieve the document by bargaining with the spies
who stole it, who are located at various locations throughout the globe. The player is warned it must be retrieved in order to prevent the US government
from thwarting their plans. At this point, the player's objective is clear: retrieve the strips of the stolen document, but then deliver them to Washington DC
.
The robot's tunnel system is extensive, but unmarked, so getting around is initially an exercise in trial and error. Throughout the globe, there are several cities where the robot can surface and interact with people, primarily the spies who want to bargain for their piece of the evidence.
At the various surfacing cities, the player must try to convince the agents to turn over their piece of evidence. Initially the player only has $5000 to bargain with, but his arsenal of items grows over time and bargaining. The real challenge of the game is determining what each spy wants and how to get it for them. Eventually, all the spies' whims can be satisfied for all the pieces of the secret document. Note that different copies of the game, even on the same computer platform, have differences in which items the spies want.
If this isn't enough, however, Magma Ltd. discovers the player's break-in shortly after penetration. It launches a security satellite
which, when it intersects with the player's position, questions him with information, which supposedly only a legitimate user would know. The information queried was given to the player previously in the game, but the questions will only be able to answered if the player has taken careful notes as some of the information it asks for is rather obscure.
Since the game lacks a save game feature, a player who fails must start again from the beginning to try to solve the game's puzzles.
by the much more difficult Hacker II: The Doomsday Papers. In the sequel, the player is actually recruited based upon his (assumed) success with the activities in the original game. Once again, they are tasked with controlling a robot, this time to infiltrate a secure facility in order to retrieve documents known only as "The Doomsday Papers" from a well-guarded vault to ensure the security of the United States.
1985 in video gaming
-Notable releases:* Brøderbund releases Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, the first game of the prolific Carmen Sandiego series* Nintendo releases Super Mario Bros. on September 13, 1985, which eventually sells 40 million copies making it the best-selling video game of all time until 2008.*...
computer game by Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
. It was designed
Game design
Game design, a subset of game development, is the process of designing the content and rules of a game in the pre-production stage and design of gameplay, environment, storyline, and characters during production stage. The term is also used to describe both the game design embodied in a game as...
by Steve Cartwright
Steve Cartwright
Steve Cartwright is an American computer and video game designer. He is best known as one of the original Activision game designers credited with such hits as Barnstorming, Megamania, Seaquest and Hacker...
, produced
Game producer
A video game producer is the person in charge of overseeing development of a video game.The earliest documented use of the term producer in games was by Trip Hawkins, who established the position when he founded Electronic Arts in 1982...
by Brad Fregger
Brad Fregger
Brad Fregger is an American entrepreneur, author and former game producer publisher, and book publisher.Fregger was involved in the computer and video game industry at its inception...
and was released for the 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...
, Amstrad CPC
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...
, Apple II, Atari XL/XE
Atari 8-bit family
The Atari 8-bit family is a series of 8-bit home computers manufactured from 1979 to 1992. All are based on the MOS Technology 6502 CPU and were the first home computers designed with custom coprocessor chips...
, Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
, 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...
, Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
, MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
, MSX
MSX
MSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
and 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...
. The game was released two years after the release of the film WarGames
WarGames
WarGames is a 1983 American Cold War suspense/science-fiction film written by Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes and directed by John Badham. The film stars Matthew Broderick and Ally Sheedy....
, when computer
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
hacking
Hacker (computer security)
In computer security and everyday language, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers and computer networks. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, including profit, protest, or because of the challenge...
and computer security
Computer security
Computer security is a branch of computer technology known as information security as applied to computers and networks. The objective of computer security includes protection of information and property from theft, corruption, or natural disaster, while allowing the information and property to...
were in the limelight.
Description
The player takes the part of a hackerHacker (computer security)
In computer security and everyday language, a hacker is someone who breaks into computers and computer networks. Hackers may be motivated by a multitude of reasons, including profit, protest, or because of the challenge...
, a person experienced in breaking into "secure" computer systems
Computer
A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...
who accidentally acquires access to a non-public system. If they can hack in, they can gain control of various gadgets and access a secret global network. The game was shipped with minimal instructions to get the game going, but no information on how to play, thus building the concept that the player did hack into a system.
The player must attempt to hack into the Magma, Ltd. computer system at the beginning of the game by guessing the logon
Login
Login is the method whereby a user obtains access to a computer system.Login may also refer to:*Magazines:** LOGiN, published by Enterbrain** ;login:, published by USENIX* Login, Carmarthenshire, an hamlet in Carmarthenshire...
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....
. Access can be gained if the player knows the password, which really only ever becomes apparent to the player after gaining access, through another means of entry, to the later stage of the game. Typing help or h in the command line would give a clue as to what the valid password is. Since initial attempts at entry would consist of guessing (and likely failing) access would eventually be granted to the player due a malfunction in the security system, thus allowing the player entry. Once admittance has been made, the player is then asked to identify various parts of a robot unit, by pointing the cursor at the relevant parts and pressing the fire button. Most parts of the unit have exotic and technical names, such as "asynchronous data compactor" or "phlamson joint" -- this again, allows for more room of error by initially trying to guessing which part each name belongs to. Failure to identify each part correctly and without any error, forces the player to take a retest until a 100 percent identification is made, at which point, the player is then allowed to continue.
The player gains control of the robot
Robot
A robot is a mechanical or virtual intelligent agent that can perform tasks automatically or with guidance, typically by remote control. In practice a robot is usually an electro-mechanical machine that is guided by computer and electronic programming. Robots can be autonomous, semi-autonomous or...
which can travel around the globe via secret tunnel
Tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...
s, deep within the earth. The game's text says the robot is powered in some manner by magma
Magma
Magma is a mixture of molten rock, volatiles and solids that is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and is expected to exist on other terrestrial planets. Besides molten rock, magma may also contain suspended crystals and dissolved gas and sometimes also gas bubbles. Magma often collects in...
.
Before getting far, the player is informed that shredded portions of a secret document containing Magma, Ltd.'s plans for world domination have been stolen. The player is instructed to retrieve the document by bargaining with the spies
SPY
SPY is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:* SPY , ticker symbol for Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts* SPY , a satirical monthly, trademarked all-caps* SPY , airport code for San Pédro, Côte d'Ivoire...
who stole it, who are located at various locations throughout the globe. The player is warned it must be retrieved in order to prevent the US government
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
from thwarting their plans. At this point, the player's objective is clear: retrieve the strips of the stolen document, but then deliver them to Washington DC
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
.
The robot's tunnel system is extensive, but unmarked, so getting around is initially an exercise in trial and error. Throughout the globe, there are several cities where the robot can surface and interact with people, primarily the spies who want to bargain for their piece of the evidence.
At the various surfacing cities, the player must try to convince the agents to turn over their piece of evidence. Initially the player only has $5000 to bargain with, but his arsenal of items grows over time and bargaining. The real challenge of the game is determining what each spy wants and how to get it for them. Eventually, all the spies' whims can be satisfied for all the pieces of the secret document. Note that different copies of the game, even on the same computer platform, have differences in which items the spies want.
If this isn't enough, however, Magma Ltd. discovers the player's break-in shortly after penetration. It launches a security satellite
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
which, when it intersects with the player's position, questions him with information, which supposedly only a legitimate user would know. The information queried was given to the player previously in the game, but the questions will only be able to answered if the player has taken careful notes as some of the information it asks for is rather obscure.
Since the game lacks a save game feature, a player who fails must start again from the beginning to try to solve the game's puzzles.
Legacy
This game was followed in 19861986 in video gaming
-Events:-Notable releases:*Namco releases Sky Kid Deluxe, Hopping Mappy, Toy Pop, The Return of Ishtar, which is the sequel to Tower of Druaga, Genpei Tōma Den, and Rolling Thunder....
by the much more difficult Hacker II: The Doomsday Papers. In the sequel, the player is actually recruited based upon his (assumed) success with the activities in the original game. Once again, they are tasked with controlling a robot, this time to infiltrate a secure facility in order to retrieve documents known only as "The Doomsday Papers" from a well-guarded vault to ensure the security of the United States.
See also
- System 15000
- Neuromancer
- System ShockSystem ShockSystem Shock is a first-person action-adventure video game developed by Looking Glass Technologies and published by Origin Systems. Released in 1994, the game is set aboard the fictional Citadel Station in a cyberpunk vision of 2072...
- UplinkUplink (computer game)Uplink is a video game released in 2001 by the British software company Introversion Software. On 23 August 2006, it was made available for purchase on Valve's Steam service and on 24 March 2011 it was made available for purchase from the Ubuntu Software Center...