A roguelike by hit game-maker Michael Brough.

Daemon

Hit: parallel threads, process stability

Miss: chokepoints, crashes

Favourite Pac-Man ghost: Clyde

Daemons are the simplest, yet sturdiest forces dispatched against data thieves. They must take 3 damage to be terminated. While they lack advanced movement capabilities and are vulnerable in single-file, daemons can be overwhelming in open spaces. Even two daemons approaching in unison can force the unwitting hacker to dig deep into their resources.

Virus

Hit: root privileges, asynchronous events

Miss: idling, coordination

Favourite Pac-Man ghost: Blinky

Viruses are unauthorised programs which have infested the Task Dispatcher and are using it to replicate themselves ceaselessly. They will pursue hackers rapidly - they can make up to 2 moves per turn. They cannot attack twice, but they can either move twice, or move and then attack. This gives them great control over territory, and makes them dangerous when you're backed in a narrow alley. Their speed, however, can be their downfall, often forcing them into subpar positions.

Glitch

Hit: edge cases, buffer overruns

Miss: breakpoints, patches

Favourite Pac-Man ghost: Pinky

What are these glitches doing here?! Another indie game breaking the fourth wall? Some kind of Glitch Tank product placement?? No, they're just malformed entities created by the Task Dispatcher. They will take every opportunity to walk through walls and penetrate hackers' defensive positions. However, their preferential movement often sees them arrive too early during an attack, or too late, letting them be picked off individually. Nevertheless, a Glitch's ability to flank the player and thwart retreats is fearsome.

Glitch

Hit:

Miss:

Favourite Pac-Man ghost:

walk through walls

Cryptog

Hit: checksums, zugzwang

Miss: brute-force attacks, limited key spaces

Favourite Pac-Man ghost: Inky

While other enemies may blindly step into a hacker's firing line, Cryptogs alone take care to slip sneakily past. They will keep out of the player's reach until they are close enough to strike. Be careful not to let cryptogs become diagonally adjacent to the player, or they may force you to move and take a hit. In addition to their smarts, Cryptogs are invisible if the aren't on the player's row or column. Watch for a marker left at their last known position, and count your moves with care!

Hacker

Hit: megabytes

Miss: killer bytes

Favourite Pac-Man character attributes: greed, gluttony

You, a poor indebted hacker, have plunged into hostile cyberspace to wrest illicit wealth from its sizzling green vaults. Much like Daemons, you will be deleted if 3 damage is incurred. But, you boast a magnificent weapon: a stun-gun that has unlimited range and ammo, and can do 1 damage and stun whatever it hits. This makes you nearly unbeatable against single foes! But, should two or more enemies successfully flank you, not even this weapon can withhold your doom.

To survive the sectors, a hacker must rely on borrowed strength. They must steal progs and wield them against their guardians. All progs require resources, but knowing which combination of progs will inhibit your foes with the cheapest resource expenditure is up to your wits and calculations. Good luck...