Killscreens
Posted: Fri Dec 07, 2012 3:40 pm
A kill screen is a stage or level in a video game (often an arcade game) that stops the player's progress due to a programming error or design oversight. Rather than "ending" in a traditional sense, the game will crash, freeze, or behave so erratically that further play is extremely hard or even impossible.
Video games, like any other computer software, can suffer from a software bug. A bug in a video game is not automatically a kill screen; to be one, the bug must occur consistently in the same point in the game and must preclude any further play. While almost any type of bug could cause this sort of behavior, the most common cause is simple oversights on the part of the game's programmers such as an integer overflow of the level counter.
Video games, like any other computer software, can suffer from a software bug. A bug in a video game is not automatically a kill screen; to be one, the bug must occur consistently in the same point in the game and must preclude any further play. While almost any type of bug could cause this sort of behavior, the most common cause is simple oversights on the part of the game's programmers such as an integer overflow of the level counter.
Donkey Kong also featured a kill screen in the 22nd stage, and the 117th screen (85th in the Japanese version). This is an example of a kill screen that is not due to an integer overflow in a level counter (since programmers prevented this), but a different oversight on the part of the designers.
The amount of time allowed for any given screen is determined algorithmically during play by the level the player is on. The timer is calculated 100×(10×(level + 4)), and has a maximum value of 8000. When the level reaches 22, the game reads 100×(10×(22+4)) or 100×260. However, the 8-bit counter rolls over at 256, meaning the game calculates 100×4. This causes the timer to be set so low that there is barely seven seconds for the player to complete the level, simply not enough time for the screen to possibly be completed.
Steve Wiebe, a competitor from Redmond, Washington, attained this screen when he attempted to beat Billy Mitchell's Donkey Kong high score (which was the world record) on G4TV at E3 2009. It was the first kill screen to be broadcast on live television.
Don Hodge investigates and creates a fix
The amount of time allowed for any given screen is determined algorithmically during play by the level the player is on. The timer is calculated 100×(10×(level + 4)), and has a maximum value of 8000. When the level reaches 22, the game reads 100×(10×(22+4)) or 100×260. However, the 8-bit counter rolls over at 256, meaning the game calculates 100×4. This causes the timer to be set so low that there is barely seven seconds for the player to complete the level, simply not enough time for the screen to possibly be completed.
Steve Wiebe, a competitor from Redmond, Washington, attained this screen when he attempted to beat Billy Mitchell's Donkey Kong high score (which was the world record) on G4TV at E3 2009. It was the first kill screen to be broadcast on live television.
Don Hodge investigates and creates a fix
Pokémon, in very early games, if the player flies out of the Safari Zone and keeps surfing until their time is out, they will exit the Safari Zone even though they never entered it again. If they then go through the door, they will enter a very strange kill screen known as Glitch City.
Glitch City, gotta love that one.Killscreens are actually the proper reward for spending so much time playing these games.