"Hacking" in games

[6787f7f834807Kyur]

Tags: °article °gaming °hackingMany games include hacking (or other forms of electronic bypassing) as minigames and there are various approaches and interpretations on this topic. Let's look up some of them.

Note: I won't be talking about minigames in general, since there are many themes out there - lockpicking is a popular example. Since this is a cyberpunk sci-fi orientated forum, I'll stick to hacking here. Feel free to open up a ""Lockpicking" in games" thread in The Cat's Cave.

System Shock

Image: http://img860.imageshack.us/img860/3613/hacking1systemshock.jpg

Mechanics: Reconnect the power circuit so that the power flows from the input on the left to the output on the right. By clicking on a single X or +, it's polarity changes to the opposite. The bar on the bottom indicates the overall progress. All + transfer power as long as there is a direct connection to the input port.
The tricky thing about this mini game is that in most circuits every single/clickable part of the circuit is most likely indirectly connected to others in the grid, thus changing the polarity of one single part switches the polarity of more than the one you just clicked on. Luckily, there is always a certain logical and mirrored pattern through the whole grid.

Image: http://img806.imageshack.us/img806/580/hacking2systemshock.jpg

Mechanics: Rewire the circuit for the necessary power level with the giving number of wires and slots on both sides. The necessary power level is marked by a red line on the top bar, while the actual power output is indicated by the green bar. The player restores more or less power to the system by wiring the right or wrong slots. It is notable that the green indicator always fluctuates to certain amounts up and down, depending on what slots have been wired. By this, it is possible to just wait for the power level to jump over the last remaining distance to the mark if the overall power level is high enough.


System Shock 2

Image: http://img23.imageshack.us/img23/1611/hackingsystemshock2.jpg

Mechanics: Connect three live nodes (squares) in one line by clicking on them. Clicking on a square can result in success (the square lights up) or failure (the square goes black). Squares with red frames are proteced, thus clicking on them bares some risk as a failure results in immediate hack shutdown and setting off the alarm. The amount of proteced squares depends on the characters statistics/skills. It is possible to reset the grid at any time, repaying the cost for the hack. The layout of the grid is the same throughout the whole game.
The very same minigame is used for modifying and repairing items.


Bioshock

Image: http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/2107/hackingbioshock1.jpg

Mechanics: Strongly based on Pipe Mania. Establish a vital connection from the input to the output port by click-rotating on the various parts on the grid. At the beginning of the minigame, the player has a certain amount of time before the blue liquid takes a start from the input port. The player can keep puzzling as long as the liquid keeps flowing. There are some special pieces with different good or bad purposes. The characters statistics/skill have further influence on the difficulty of the whole minigame.


Star Trek: Elite Force 2

Image: http://img853.imageshack.us/img853/1342/hacking1eliteforce2.jpg

Mechanics: Based on Pipe Mania. Connect the input and output ports of one ore more connections by click-rotating single pieces on the grid - sometimes with time limit. Connecting a red piece results in immediate failure (with a satisfying short circuit sound effect).

Image: http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/3743/hacking2eliteforce2.jpg

Mechanics: Recreate a given wave form by changing the amplitude, frequency and offset. Each aspect can be change in 9 steps. The game provides a helpful overlay in the middle of the screen for fine tuning.


Mass Effect

Image: http://img864.imageshack.us/img864/636/hackingmasseffect.jpg

Mechanics: Get your cursor to the center until the time runs out. Each minigame consists of 6 big-to-small centered rings on which the player's curser can travel (anti-)clockwise. Orange blocks are stationary and cannot be passed, while red blocks travel in circles and contact results in a reset of the player's cursor the the starting position.


Batman - Arkham Asylum

Image: http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/1844/hackingbatmanarkhamasyl.jpg

Mechanics: Find the right frequency by modulating your own. The player's display changes to green if he is close to the target frequency and only fine tuning is necessary. The difficulty of this minigame can be reduced by the characters unlockable equipment during the game.


Fallout 3

Image: http://img861.imageshack.us/img861/1827/hackingfallout3.jpg

Mechanics: Strongly based on Mastermind. The player needs to guess the right password out of a given selection with a limited amount of tries. Each word has the same lengh of letters. Everytime the player clicks one password, the game tells the player how many letters of the guessed were common with the right and searched password. There are some hidden command lines hidden in the code which can be searched and clicked, resulting in reset of the available tries or removing false passwords. Using up all tries without finding the right password results in a failed hack immediate terminal lock up (unless the player has a special skill). The whole hack can be reset by exiting and retrying the hack.

It should be noted that most Fallout 3 players have or had problems with this minigame because it is never explained too much in detail. For example, the result "4/6 correct" could mean that 4 letters are correct in the right place/order letter-wise or just right overall. Even less players are aware of the fact that there are hidden command lines in the text which can be clicked for help by resetting all tries or removing false choices for the word to guess.


Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Image: http://img855.imageshack.us/img855/967/hackingkotor.jpg

Mechanics: Hacking (or "Slicing" in ingame terms) is simply performed by using up certain items which can be found or bought. In other words: hacking has its own currency and bypassing can simply be "bought". The amount of needed items to perform/buy a successful hack depends on the characters statistics/skills.


Deus Ex

Image: http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/9814/hackingdeu.jpg

Mechanics: Hacking in Deus Ex comes down to one thing: time. In the moment you start to hack, a countdown begins for your overall time at the terminal. The better the corresponding skill is (1 is minimum), the faster the password barrier is broken and thus the player has more time for using the hacked terminal. Bypassing electronic systems (and lockpicking doors) is even simpler by using up certain items.


Restricted Area

Image: http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/9769/hackingrestrictedarea.jpg

Mechanics: The games switches to a similar virtual game world which is simplified in visuals and mechanics. Like in the real world of the game, the player deals with enemies and collects/downloads objects/data by touching, which takes some time. The overall time which can be spend inside cyberspace is limited and ticks down as soon as the player enters the virtual world, while taking damage results in shortened time inside cyberspace. Various mechanics inside cyberspace can be manipulted in detail by the player and depends on the characters statistics/skills.


[To be continued...?]

[6787f7f834951Caco]

Don't forget SS1 cyberspace!

[6787f7f834dc1ZylonBane]

Don't forget SS1 cyberspace!

Sigh. SS1 cyberspace is not a hacking minigame.

Anachronox has a very simple little hacking minigame where you have to connect a node at the bottom of a grid to a node at the top. Kind of like a cross between Pipe Dream and Tetris.

[6787f7f83519bEnchantermon]

Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory has a simply hacking system where the game cycles through various IP address combinations. Each octet cycles separately. You start on the first and hit the spacebar whenever a bright green number is shown to lock it into place. Then you repeat for each of the other octets. You only have a certain amount of time to complete the hack or an alarm is set off. I don't recall if any of the previous SC games had hacking or not, and I haven't played any later than Chaos Theory.

[6787f7f835331Kolya]

Great article Kyur! With screenshots and all. Nice work.

[6787f7f835519Kyur]

@Caco: You made me think about it - is the cyberspace part of hacking in System Shock... Obviously ZylonBane does not agree, but hm *g* It's "digital" too in the world of System Shock, doors can be opened and info can be collected via cyberspace - although this happens only very few times. So, is the cyberspace part of hacking ? Maybe even the most sophisticated way of hacking, since you actually dive into the digital world ? Good question...

@ZylonBane & @Enchantermon: Thanks for the hints, I have to admit I never played these games and that's the obvious reason why they are not in my list. And since I like to write a few lines on how the mechanics work and don't know these titles, I think it's way better to write nothing at all than giving false info - so thanks to both of you for explaining it by yourselves !

@Kolya: Thanks, glad someone liked it.

There might be some titles I missed by myself at the moment, we'll see...

By the way...

@all: Which adaption is the best one in your opinion and why ?

[6787f7f835677Kolya]

For the context of an action RPG probably the one from Deus Ex. The depictions are so unreal anyway, that just a loading bar that keeps you glued to a spot while enemies might show up serves the same purpose as Tic-Tac-Triop without the random clicking. Seems more credible to me anyway.

[6787f7f83587aKyur]

Agreed, yet I also would like to praise aspects others did right - and what should be avoided in general.

For visual aspects (and audio, heh) I like the hacking in Fallout 3 most. In terms of fun for minigames it's Elite Force 2 for me, although for a Star Trek-based game the interface is very nice too. Overall gameplay-wise, the countdown from Deus Ex is simple and yet clever because it limits the player's time for the interactive interface behind the commenced hack - in other words: it's time-stressed micromanagement in a digital interface which interacts 1:1 with the actual game world. The better the character is at hacking, the more terminals can be hacked and: it can be done in time. What also comes along with this system is the fact that the player does not have to repeat the same minigame over and over again if (s)he does not feel like it - for example, I don't think all Bioshock gamers out there are necessarily fans of Pipe Mania.

Generally speaking, I personally don't like switching to fullscreen for minigames and it's even worse when the game world around the player pauses for it. It just cuts too deep in the game flow, makes the whole world less believable and the task of hacking a whole lot easier. Of course both fullscreen and/or pausing has been included to some games for various reasons (type/dimension of minigame, intended difficulty, system resources), nevertheless I believe that they can be avoided like System Shock (1) has proven back in 1994. Add a minimal interface from games like Dead Space (3rd person perspective) or Chronicles of Riddick (first person perspective) plus a basic system of hacking like Deus Ex for example, and we're close to what in my opinion is the best way of "hacking in games".

[6787f7f836e44Nameless Voice]

Sigh. SS1 cyberspace is not a hacking minigame.

What exactly would you call cyberspace then?
It doesn't quite match the definition of a minigame (a different, simpler game within another game), but it's something close, almost a sub-game, as it's a section of the game which plays quite differently and works by its own rules.


Something I've been thinking about lately is if it would be possible for a game to combine hacking and cyberspace in an interesting and enjoyable way.  SS1's cyberspace is a bit jarring since it freezes the "real" world while you're in there (the most egregious example being the finale, where you enter the final cyberspace section while standing in radiation that ought to kill you while you're in there.
One way to get around that would be to have time continue to pass while the player is in cyberspace, and the player being snapped out of it if they are attacked in real life.  Possibly displaying a little mini-view of the real world in a corner of the cyberspace interface.
Another possibility would be to have cyberspace (which is generally wireframe and transparent anyway) overlaid over the normal view, so the player can see both at once, but is navigating cyberspace instead of the real world.

It still begs the question of how cyberspace can be made interesting as a hacking mechanic.  Floating around in free 3D is kind of fun, but the SS1 cyberspace was a bit lacking in anything much to do, apart from some very dumb enemies and a time limit.
I suppose one thing that might be interesting would be to have each hacking sequence consist of a puzzle in cyberspace, so that cyberspace would become a separate type of game with its own rules, almost like putting in a test chamber for Portal in as a minigame.  There are two problems with that: firstly, it's a large break from the flow of the main game, especially if hacking is frequent, and the main game relies heavily on atmosphere (like SS2 does); and second, there would be a need for a huge number of unique puzzles, one for each hack, and it may just get too much if there are a lot of things to hack.


Does anyone have any thoughts?

[6787f7f836f85Enchantermon]

Plus it also repeats the problem of you standing unprotected with your mind in a computer game while mutants are stalking around looking for blood.

[6787f7f8382d2Kyur]

I remembered and added another title I can write about: Restricted Area.

What exactly would you call cyberspace then?

I'm glad that I'm not the only one who has problems to classify System Shock (1)'s cyberspace, heh.

One way to get around that would be to have time continue to pass while the player is in cyberspace, and the player being snapped out of it if they are attacked in real life.  Possibly displaying a little mini-view of the real world in a corner of the cyberspace interface.

I had the same idea yesterday and it might be quite thrilling to see what's happening in the real world while keeping a watchful eye and at the same time trying not to be too distracted by both "worlds". This could also be used for some sleek cutscenes/scripts since the player is trapped inside cyberspace. At the same time, cause and consequence from cyberspace to the real world can be very vivid.

But wait... Deus Ex did all that, though not in the dimensions of drama I pictured.

Another possibility would be to have cyberspace (which is generally wireframe and transparent anyway) overlaid over the normal view, so the player can see both at once, but is navigating cyberspace instead of the real world.

In general, that's were my thoughts were going with mentioning minimal and clever interfaces from other games - or let's call it "integrated" for that matter. I think it also strongly depends on the point of view of the character.

It still begs the question of how cyberspace can be made interesting as a hacking mechanic.  Floating around in free 3D is kind of fun, but the SS1 cyberspace was a bit lacking in anything much to do, apart from some very dumb enemies and a time limit.
I suppose one thing that might be interesting would be to have each hacking sequence consist of a puzzle in cyberspace, so that cyberspace would become a separate type of game with its own rules, almost like putting in a test chamber for Portal in as a minigame.  There are two problems with that: firstly, it's a large break from the flow of the main game, especially if hacking is frequent, and the main game relies heavily on atmosphere (like SS2 does); and second, there would be a need for a huge number of unique puzzles, one for each hack, and it may just get too much if there are a lot of things to hack.

I agree and also mentioned the problems you pointed out, though I see the bigger problem in the repetitive nature of (simple) minigames, rather than the amount of effort which developers must put into it. Still, you're right of course - even more when skills can directly influence the mechanics of these unique puzzles. Balance and design might be a pain in the ass for this approach. Another serious problem with unique puzzles is the simple fact that there is no replay value whatsover.

Does anyone have any thoughts?

Thanks for your input, the topic is actually more interesting to me than I thought at the beginning.

Plus it also repeats the problem of you standing unprotected with your mind in a computer game while mutants are stalking around looking for blood.

How about... Optional reprogramming of defensive security (like turrets) for the time of hacking to buy some time ? This will make the player also think about destroying all security systems or using them for him/herself. What about mines ? Terminals which are more or less secluded ? Creating (temporary) distractions for enemies ?

[6787f7f838485Kolya]

I think optimally it would work like a parallel universe: Once you enter cyberspace you see a cyberspace representation (glowy wireframe) of the real world location you are in. But this world has different physics, different enemies and partly different architecture. You can float around and through doors. You can see, fight and manipulate enemies and things that are invisible in the real world. Conversely you cannot directly manipulate real world things in cyberspace.

Basically it would be a sci-fi version of the dual spectral planes concept from the Soul Reaver games, except that your body stays where it is.

[6787f7f838670Nameless Voice]

That was another idea that I'd considered.  One flaw with it is that it would let you explore the area without any real risk to yourself, by jacking into cyberspace and "scouting" there.  I suppose some new game mechanic could be invented to stop that (e.g. you can only travel through areas which have networked computer systems that are open to each other).
I suppose another point is that a lot of the things in the real world don't really exist in cyberspace - e.g., you'd expect to see computer systems, robots, security systems, etc., but not non-connected people, inanimate objects like walls, etc.

Another idea was a...  toggle.  Where you could switch between normal mode and cyberspace mode.  After all, in this era of wireless, why should you need to "jack in", as was envisioned in the early 90s?
That could either be a free switch into the virtual world, with your position in both being tracked independently, or it could be an overlay over the real world, highlighting computer systems that you can interact with.

[6787f7f8389a6Kyur]

The idea of parallel worlds is nice, Prey did also follow this idea with ghostwandering to manipulate the enviroment in places your human body could not reach. Like Nameless Voice said, this can be exploited for scouting and to be honest I don't see the point why the architecture of the real world would or should be the same as the digital one at all. Of course it's strange to talk about logic or realism here, but as for ghosts I'm ok with it since the "ghost dimension" is not constructed by humans and cannot be switched off. As far as I know.

Still, there are also good aspects about it. For example the player can play along with the same game controls and is never trapped in some static interface or menu. In that matter, this idea tends more toward the action of an action-rpg.

I think it should be kept in mind what the final design goal is: mere hacking as such (more roleplaying) or cyberspace as an interpretation of hacking (more action).

About vision toggling, I personally have one major problem with it: in any game that featured special vision modes which provided special information, the player is likely to get stuck in them because (s)he might be afraid to miss something. The very same happended to me when I was playing Star Trek: Elite Force 2 or Batman: Arkham Asylum, where certain areas (like secrets) are only visible in a different viewing mode. And since these vision modes are way less enjoyable to look at, I really don't like that approach, unless the effect is very subtle, but then again - why not just always highlight areas of interest (like Nameless Voice said) ?

Another example for crippled visuals by some kind of special vision mode is the Aliens vs Predator franchise: yeah, the predator is cool with his gadgets and close to the movies, but I was often totally surprised of what's going around me (concerning enviroment detail and beauty of graphics) when I switched them off for a while.

Anyway, tough choice to be made, as for what the game's final focus might be: action or roleplay ? The right mix might look very different for each one of us. I think it's very important that if an action-rpg offers really different ways to solve problems, I want very different ways of playing - otherwise it's just the difference between gunning down "real" or "virtual" enemies.

So yeah, gimme some kind of other challenge when I made the active choice as playing the hacker. This also ensures that the other ways of solving things ingame have much more diversity, which also enhances the replay value of the whole game. Yay.