Nibbles (computer game)
Encyclopedia
Nibbles is a simple video game and variant of Snake
. It was inspired by an early 1980's game called Hustle from the Radio Shack TRS-80 micro-computer. (It was not influenced by Mozaik Software' s 1984 Amstrad CPC
game, Nibbler
in spite of the similar names). Nibbles was written in QBasic
by Rick Raddatz, who later went on to create small business
companies such as Xiosoft and Bizpad.
(or worm
) through a walled-space while consuming
numbers (from 1 through 9) along the way. The player
must avoid colliding with walls, other snakes or their own snake. Since the length of the snake increases with each number consumed, the game increases in difficulty over time. After the last number has been eaten, the player progresses to the next level
, with more complex obstacles and increased speed. There is a multiplayer
mode which allows a second player to control a second snake by using a different set of keys on the same keyboard.
version 5.0 and above. Written in QBasic
, it is one of the programs included as a demonstration of that programming language
. The QBasic game uses the standard 80x25 text screen to emulate an 80x50 grid
by making clever use of foreground and background colors, and the ANSI
characters for full blocks and half-height blocks. Microsoft
's 24kB QBasic
version was copyright
ed in 1990. Because of MS-DOS's prevalence at that time, it was available on almost every PC
in the early 1990s. 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 also runnable on QB64
as a way to avoid emulation.
and browsers. Notable versions include GNOME Nibbles for Unix-like
operating systems
and Triton Productions' FT Nibbles.
Snake (video game)
Snake is a video game that originated during the late 1970s in arcades and has maintained popularity since then, becoming something of a classic...
. It was inspired by an early 1980's game called Hustle from the Radio Shack TRS-80 micro-computer. (It was not influenced by Mozaik Software
Amstrad CPC
The Amstrad CPC is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sinclair ZX Spectrum, where it successfully established itself primarily in the United Kingdom,...
game, Nibbler
Nibbler (video game)
Nibbler is an arcade machine by Rock-Ola Manufacturing Corporation. Its gameplay is a variant of Snake: The object is to navigate a virtual snake through an enclosed space, while consuming dots along the way. The length of the snake increases with each object consumed, making the game more difficult...
in spite of the similar names). Nibbles was written in QBasic
QBasic
QBasic is an IDE and interpreter for a variant of the BASIC programming language which is based on QuickBASIC. Code entered into the IDE is compiled to an intermediate form, and this intermediate form is immediately interpreted on demand within the IDE. It can run under nearly all versions of DOS...
by Rick Raddatz, who later went on to create small business
Small business
A small business is a business that is privately owned and operated, with a small number of employees and relatively low volume of sales. Small businesses are normally privately owned corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships...
companies such as Xiosoft and Bizpad.
Gameplay
The game's objective is to navigate a virtual snakeSnake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
(or worm
Worm
The term worm refers to an obsolete taxon used by Carolus Linnaeus and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck for all non-arthropod invertebrate animals, and stems from the Old English word wyrm. Currently it is used to describe many different distantly-related animals that typically have a long cylindrical...
) through a walled-space while consuming
Eating
Eating is the ingestion of food to provide for all organisms their nutritional needs, particularly for energy and growth. Animals and other heterotrophs must eat in order to survive: carnivores eat other animals, herbivores eat plants, omnivores consume a mixture of both plant and animal matter,...
numbers (from 1 through 9) along the way. The player
Player (game)
A player of a game is a participant therein. The term 'player' is used with this same meaning both in game theory and in ordinary recreational games....
must avoid colliding with walls, other snakes or their own snake. Since the length of the snake increases with each number consumed, the game increases in difficulty over time. After the last number has been eaten, the player progresses to the next level
Level (computer and video games)
A level, map, area, or world in a video game is the total space available to the player during the course of completing a discrete objective...
, with more complex obstacles and increased speed. There is a multiplayer
Multiplayer game
A multiplayer video game is one which more than one person can play in the same game environment at the same time. Unlike most other games, computer and video games are often single-player activities that put the player against preprogrammed challenges and/or AI-controlled opponents, which often...
mode which allows a second player to control a second snake by using a different set of keys on the same keyboard.
History
Nibbles originally became popular because it was included with MS-DOSMS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
version 5.0 and above. Written in QBasic
QBasic
QBasic is an IDE and interpreter for a variant of the BASIC programming language which is based on QuickBASIC. Code entered into the IDE is compiled to an intermediate form, and this intermediate form is immediately interpreted on demand within the IDE. It can run under nearly all versions of DOS...
, it is one of the programs included as a demonstration of that programming language
Programming language
A programming language is an artificial language designed to communicate instructions to a machine, particularly a computer. Programming languages can be used to create programs that control the behavior of a machine and/or to express algorithms precisely....
. The QBasic game uses the standard 80x25 text screen to emulate an 80x50 grid
Tile-based game
A tile-based game is a game that uses tiles as one of the fundamental elements of play. Traditional tile-based games use small tiles as playing pieces for gambling or entertainment games...
by making clever use of foreground and background colors, and the ANSI
ANSI art
ANSI art is a computer art form that was widely used at one time on BBSes. It is similar to ASCII art, but constructed from a larger set of 256 letters, numbers, and symbols — all codes found in IBM code page 437, often referred to as extended ASCII and used in MS-DOS and Unix environments...
characters for full blocks and half-height blocks. Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
's 24kB QBasic
QBasic
QBasic is an IDE and interpreter for a variant of the BASIC programming language which is based on QuickBASIC. Code entered into the IDE is compiled to an intermediate form, and this intermediate form is immediately interpreted on demand within the IDE. It can run under nearly all versions of DOS...
version was copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
ed in 1990. Because of MS-DOS's prevalence at that time, it was available on almost every PC
IBM PC compatible
IBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to...
in the early 1990s. 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
DOSBox
DOSBox is emulator software that emulates an IBM PC compatible computer running MS-DOS. It is intended especially for use with old PC games. DOSBox is free software....
DOS emulator has accounted for feasibility of optimized speed too. Nibbles is also runnable on QB64
QB64
QB64 is a self-hosting BASIC compiler for Microsoft Windows, Linux and MacOSX, designed to be compatible with Microsoft QBasic and QuickBASIC...
as a way to avoid emulation.
Clones
Nibbles had a revival in the early 21st century thanks to clones for other platforms, including mobile phonesMobile game
A mobile game is a video game played on a mobile phone, smartphone, PDA, tablet computer or portable media player. This does not include games played on handheld video game systems such as Nintendo DS or PlayStation Portable....
and browsers. Notable versions include GNOME Nibbles for Unix-like
Unix-like
A Unix-like operating system is one that behaves in a manner similar to a Unix system, while not necessarily conforming to or being certified to any version of the Single UNIX Specification....
operating systems
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
and Triton Productions' FT Nibbles.
External links
- GNOME Nibbles
- jQuery snakey a Javascript nibbles clone
- Nibbles for DOS A nibbles written by Mohammad Toossi
- Nibbles for curses Nibbles for curses by Luke Th. Bullock & Nils Magnus Englund