Game History - Hack - 1984
Hack is the precursor to NetHack, both members of the family of text-based
Rogue-like games. Like other roguelikes, Hack is the quintessential
computer role-playing game (RPG): Choose a character class and venture
forth into the dungeon to fight monsters and gain treasure.
Like all descendants of Rogue, Hack is displayed from a top-down view,
painted with text characters. The player ventures throughout the dungeon,
visiting rooms connected by thin corridors. Gameplay is turn-based, with
the turn beginning with the player's action (move, attack, eat, cast
spell, etc.). Commands are mapped to various letters of the keyboard,
including "i" for inventory, "e" for eat food, etc. with one exception:
Attacking a monster involves running into it, so the "attack" function
shares the same keys as movement.
Hack is one of the first significant deviations from Rogue, notable by the
rich interaction possible in the game world: Simple actions result in
complex (yet logical) reactions. For example, it is not uncommon to throw
a boomerang only to miss the target and have it return to hit the player;
or kill a monster that has the ability to turn you to stone as an attack,
then accidentally step on its carcass on the way out and turn to stone;
or having a bolt of fire from a magic wand ricochet around the room, hit
the player, and cause his magic scrolls to catch on fire; etc. In
addition, monsters and objects have secondary, hidden properties; for
example, killing and eating a leprechaun will result in the player
randomly teleporting to different locations.
Game history from Moby Games
Game created in 1984
File Download - Hack-1984.zip