3 ms·

The interesting variation discovered on the Internet Archive copy of the game looks an awful lot like maybe some kid back in the day was poking around on the co

The interesting variation discovered on the Internet Archive copy of the game looks an awful lot like maybe some kid back in the day was poking around on the computer at school trying to cheat at lemonade stand or something. And that just happens to be the floppy that was later archived and became the most widely distributed copy ever. God, I hope it wasn’t me. So my new thought: is this a good game hack? I think if it were being played competitively in a classroom, as this game commonly was, it could give someone with knowledge of its behavior an advantage. I wonder if there is more to the story!

xp84 3y ago
This reminds me of playing around on my school's Apple II clone at a textmode "Stock Market" game. Once I realized it was a BASIC program, I started updating the names of the companies for the lulz, and screwing around with the game mechanics!
- DonHopkins 3y ago
  The Prisoner 2 for the Apple ][ had a scene where you're at the psychiatrist in the hospital, and they give you a psychological test, and in the middle of it, the game pretends to break into AppleSoft with an error at the line number of your secret resignation code, and it tries to trick you into entering your secret number like "LIST <number>": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prisoner_(video_game)#Gameplay https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prisoner_(video_game)#Game... >The game continually tries to trick the player into revealing the secret three-digit code. One of the most nefarious attempts (which occurs in Prisoner 2) is a simulated game crash that includes the error message "Syntax error in line ###", where the line number is the player's resignation code. This was a common error message in the Apple II's BASIC programming language, and the logical step for users of the time would be to review the erroneous line of code with the command "List ###" (again substituting the specific number in question). Typing the secret three-digit code at any time resulted in the game being lost, however, and that included typing such a BASIC command since, unknown to the player, the game was actually still running. Ironically, being able to list the program's code from within it was one way to solve and win the game by means of analyzing the program and deducing a solution. Yet such a solution was entirely within the spirit of the game, as its clues sometimes broke the fourth wall with an acknowledgement that a computer game was being played. https://mocagh.org/miscgame/prisoner-alt-manual.pdf https://mocagh.org/miscgame/prisoner-alt-manual.pdf <6>. If you think the program isn't working, try again. What you may at first believe to be an error may not be the case. A trick might be played on you; certain possessions must be gained or tasks performed to get something to work, or the computer may be waiting for you to press certain keys or make certain responses. Don't be too quick to assume an error, and remember that <CTRL C> can get you out of any section of the program. If you do discover an error of any kind, read the Warranty.

xp84 3y ago

This reminds me of playing around on my school's Apple II clone at a textmode "Stock Market" game. Once I realized it was a BASIC program, I started updating the names of the companies for the lulz, and screwing around with the game mechanics!

DonHopkins 3y ago
The Prisoner 2 for the Apple ][ had a scene where you're at the psychiatrist in the hospital, and they give you a psychological test, and in the middle of it, the game pretends to break into AppleSoft with an error at the line number of your secret resignation code, and it tries to trick you into entering your secret number like "LIST <number>": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prisoner_(video_game)#Gameplay https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prisoner_(video_game)#Game... >The game continually tries to trick the player into revealing the secret three-digit code. One of the most nefarious attempts (which occurs in Prisoner 2) is a simulated game crash that includes the error message "Syntax error in line ###", where the line number is the player's resignation code. This was a common error message in the Apple II's BASIC programming language, and the logical step for users of the time would be to review the erroneous line of code with the command "List ###" (again substituting the specific number in question). Typing the secret three-digit code at any time resulted in the game being lost, however, and that included typing such a BASIC command since, unknown to the player, the game was actually still running. Ironically, being able to list the program's code from within it was one way to solve and win the game by means of analyzing the program and deducing a solution. Yet such a solution was entirely within the spirit of the game, as its clues sometimes broke the fourth wall with an acknowledgement that a computer game was being played. https://mocagh.org/miscgame/prisoner-alt-manual.pdf https://mocagh.org/miscgame/prisoner-alt-manual.pdf <6>. If you think the program isn't working, try again. What you may at first believe to be an error may not be the case. A trick might be played on you; certain possessions must be gained or tasks performed to get something to work, or the computer may be waiting for you to press certain keys or make certain responses. Don't be too quick to assume an error, and remember that <CTRL C> can get you out of any section of the program. If you do discover an error of any kind, read the Warranty.