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General Category => Huh? => Topic started by: ChrisSmolinski on September 24, 2019, 1851 UTC

Title: The mysterious origins of an uncrackable video game
Post by: ChrisSmolinski on September 24, 2019, 1851 UTC
With the digital equivalent of trowels and shovels, archaeologists are digging into the code of early video games to uncover long forgotten secrets that could have relevance today.

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20190919-the-maze-puzzle-hidden-within-an-early-video-game
Title: Re: The mysterious origins of an uncrackable video game
Post by: Josh on September 24, 2019, 1937 UTC
Oooooh the atari! So much fun! Missile command, pole position, and miner 2049er are the ones I remember.

I wonder what lang they used, mebbe just asm?
Title: Re: The mysterious origins of an uncrackable video game
Post by: ChrisSmolinski on September 24, 2019, 2001 UTC
I wonder what lang they used, mebbe just asm?

Hand coded. IIRC you had 2K program space, and 128 bytes of RAM. You had to build much of the graphics on the fly, it used a crude version of the player missile system similar to what the Atari 400/800/5200 later used.
Title: Re: The mysterious origins of an uncrackable video game
Post by: Fansome on September 24, 2019, 2028 UTC
Hmm...
Title: Re: The mysterious origins of an uncrackable video game
Post by: Pigmeat on September 26, 2019, 0547 UTC
Hmm...

Didn't they let you and Dale Gribble operate the backhoe to bury those things, Al?
Title: Re: The mysterious origins of an uncrackable video game
Post by: ChrisSmolinski on September 26, 2019, 1015 UTC
Hmm...

Didn't they let you and Dale Gribble operate the backhoe to bury those things, Al?

The reason they only found a few thousand of the ET games at the landfill is Al secretly grabbed the rest and has them stashed in a storage locker outside Mt Kisco. He's waiting for their inevitable collectability to provide a comfortable retirement.
Title: Re: The mysterious origins of an uncrackable video game
Post by: Fansome on September 27, 2019, 0215 UTC
You are standing in your own way; step aside.