Glitch
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A glitch is a short-lived fault in a system. The term is particularly common in the computing and electronics industries, and in circuit bending, as well as among players of video games, although it is applied to all types of systems including human organizations and nature. The term derives from the German glitschen, meaning 'to slip.'
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[edit] Electronics glitch
In electronics, a glitch is an electrical pulse of short duration that is usually the result of a fault or design error, particularly in a digital circuit. For example, many electronic components such as flip-flops are triggered by a pulse that must not be shorter than a specified minimum duration, otherwise the component may malfunction. A pulse shorter than the specified minimum is called a glitch. A related concept is the runt pulse, a pulse whose amplitude is smaller than the minimum level specified for correct operation, and a spike, a short pulse similar to a glitch but often caused by ringing or crosstalk.
A glitch can occur in the presence of race condition in a poorly designed digital logic circuit.
[edit] Computer glitch
A computer glitch is the failure of a system, usually containing a computing device, to complete its functions or to perform them properly. It frequently refers to an error which is not detected at the time it occurs but shows up later in data errors or incorrect human decisions. While the fault is usually attributed to the computer hardware, this is often not the case since hardware failures rarely go undetected. Other situations which are frequently called computer glitches are:
- Incorrectly written software (software bug)
- Incorrect instructions given by the operator (operator error) (this might also be considered a software bug)
- Undetected invalid input data (this might also be considered a software bug)
- Undetected communications errors
- Computer viruses
- Computer security cracking (sometimes erroneously called "hacking")
- Another human error unrelated to the computer
Graphic fault The term 'graphic fault' is used by programmers and gamers alike to describe glitches that are specifically due to faults in graphic programming. All computer programs are a long set of digital instructions that tell a computer how to construct images and respond to certain electronic signals from an input device. Sometimes, there are certain input commands that the program does not have a response to that corresponds with the gameplay of said game, resulting in a glitch in the graphics of the game.
In video games, a glitch is a term used by players to indicate a programming error which results in behavior not intended by the programmers. Programming errors in games vary from incorrectly displaying graphics, game-freezing, erroneous power-up adjustments to the shutting down of the system playing it. The occurrence of some glitches can be replicated deliberately by doing a series of certain tasks in a specific order; a famous glitch in Super Mario Bros. is a simple example.
Sometimes the game's code may be modified to create interesting glitches. For example, in the game Impossible Creatures, which focuses on combining two animals, making a combined animal "combinable" can result in three or four-animal combinations.
The practice of exploiting glitches in video games is known as "glitching." For example, in an online game someone may use an error in the map to get an advantage. This is sometimes considered cheating, but sometimes just considered part of the game.
Similarly, many glitches can be used in order to make the game much easier for the player. For example, in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask the Fierce Diety Mask can only be used during boss battles, seeing as how strong it is, but a certain trick allows the player to keep the mask on even on the world map. In some multiplayer games, the physics engine can also be abused to obtain a minor advantage over the competition, such as in Super Smash Brothers Melee, where players can perform a glitch called "wavedashing" that allows for certain moves to be made while sliding on the ground, which is not normally possible. Another example is in Star Wars: Battlefront II. During the Space Assault session in Felucia, you can fly inside the assault cruisers after you take out the shields. You must fly into the glitch at at a certain angle. This will take you inside the ship and you can shoot out the interior systems. This applies to both factions. However, there are also a string of silly, pointless glitches such as finding a character in an odd place, walking or falling through solid objects, walking on water or floating, etc. that do very little but are still fun for players to explore and exploit. It should be noted that game manufacturers often warn users that "exploiting a glitch in any game has a high risk of data corruption or for the game to crash".
In the video game Halo 2 many people create multiplayer games where they intentionally cause glitches. These can vary from the popular "super bounce" which causes the player to get shot up into the air for no apparent reason, to simple glitches like picking up objects (such as a flag in Capture the flag style games) through a wall. For obvious reasons, this activity is called "Glitching".
