Nibbles (computer game)
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| Nibbles | |
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| Developer(s) | Rick Raddatz |
| Publisher(s) | Microsoft |
| Designer(s) | Rick Raddatz |
| Release date(s) | 1991 |
| Genre(s) | Arcade game |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multi player |
| Platform(s) | MS-DOS |
| Input | Keyboard |
Nibbles is a simple video game and variant of the similar video game Snake, which is often played on today's mobile phones. The object is to navigate a virtual snake (or worm) through an enclosed space while consuming objects along the way. Objects that appear on the screen vary from numbers to apples, according to the particular version of Nibbles. Normally, the length of the snake increases with each object consumed, making the game more difficult. The player must avoid colliding with walls or obstacles and the snake's own body sections. After a certain number of objects have been eaten, the player progresses to the next level, usually with harder obstacles or a higher game-speed. There is usually a multiplayer mode which allows a second player to control a second snake. The game has existed mostly unchanged since it was introduced in 1991.[specify]
Nibbles originally became popular because it was included with MS-DOS version 5.0 and above, and early Windows NT versions. Microsoft's 24kB QBasic version was copyrighted 1990; the game was thus available on almost every PC for a while. It was one of several programs included as a demonstration of that programming language; the others being Gorillas, an early version of Money (a very simple financial calculator), and REMLINE (a program to remove line numbers from old BASIC programs). Nibbles had a revival in the early 21st century thanks to the proliferation of mobile phone versions, in which it is usually called Snake.
An interesting property of the QBasic game is that it uses the standard 80x25 text screen to emulate an 80x50 grid, making clever use of foreground and background colors, and the ANSI characters for full blocks and half-height blocks.
Modern computer speeds have rendered the game-speed-delay timing loops invalid, and thus the QBasic version of Nibbles requires some code changes to operate correctly on modern PCs. However, the adjustable clock rate on the DOSBox DOS emulator has accounted for feasibility of optimized speed too.
Nibbles is actually a copy/enhancement of a 1977 arcade game called Hustle. It is directly influenced by Mozaik Software's 1984 Amstrad CPC game, Nibbler. Nibbles was coded by Rick Raddatz, who later went on to create small-business software such as InstantAudio.com and InstantVideoGenerator.com.
In 2001, some fans made a homebrew NES ROM image for NES emulators. As a result, people were able to play it on the Gameboy Advance via PocketNES on GBA Movie Player or GBA flash cart.
