PROGRAMMERS'
HIDDEN
TREATS
LEAD
GAMEPLAYERS
TO
SEARCH
FOR TASTY
EASTER EGGS
by Heather Twist
What you see is not always all you get, especially in a computer game. Tucked away in a hidden world that few gameplayers ever discover could be an "easter egg," a secret, often humorous treasure placed within a game by a programmer. Easter eggs are a little-known programming tradition, amusing players lucky enough to find them since the advent of the first computer games.
Game programmers, like LucasArts' Sean Clark, often insert easter eggs into games both as an amusement to themselves and a bonus to players. "Easter eggs are special messages, images, or sounds hidden within a game," says Clark, project leader of LucasArts' best-selling graphic adventure, The Dig. "They have no specific function within a game other than to amuse players. But just like their real world counterparts, they serve as special 'treats' for those who are lucky enough to find them."
Easter eggs are often extremely well hidden and gameplayers usually only discover them through sheer luck and perseverance. "Back in the old days," quips Mike Stemmle, project leader on Afterlife, "some poor guy would pound on a keyboard for hours and hours until something cool happened, then he'd tell all of his friends on the Internet about his conquest." From there, word would quickly spread. Today, LucasArts will often publish easter eggs so that everyone can appreciate programmers' handiwork.
Fans of the award-winning Star Wars game, Rebel Assault II: The Hidden Empire, will find a treasure trove of easter eggs hidden within it. The eggs include various bloopers from the game's full motion video footage, the fall of a stormtrooper which was inspired by Wile E. Coyote from the famed Roadrunner cartoon series, and a mode which displays alternate dialogue for the entire game.
A favorite easter egg from Rebel Assault II is the now infamous animated stormtrooper chorus line. Here's how to find it: After blasting all of the stormtroopers at the fourth and last encounter in level 12, hold down the keys 'a,' 'c,' and 't.' Continue to hold them down until the elevator doors close and the cut-scene begins.
Easter eggs provide a fascinating glimpse into the personalities of game designers. "Programmers create easter eggs as a way of personalizing their contributions to a game," says Rebel Assault II project leader, Vince Lee. "They insert messages and animations for the same reason homeowners might put their handprints into the wet concrete of a new driveway."