Gumball (Apple II)

Gumball
Developer: Eltanan Effects Publisher: Brøderbund Software Platform: Apple II Released in US: 1983 This game has a hidden developer message. This game has hidden developer credits.

Gumball is a fairly obscure game that involves sorting and collecting gumballs at an increasingly difficult pace. However, it never caught on and legitimate copies of the game are now very rare. Luckily, it was backed up and cracked before disk rot could get to it. Not only does this version have some evil copy protection (especially by 1983 standards), but it also has a couple of secrets hidden within.

Developer Messages

When the game starts, the player can press Control and J to enable joystick mode. Press and hold button 2 to activate the targeting mode. Afterward, move the joystick to the bottom-left corner of the screen, then press button 1 to see this message:

PRESS CTRL-Z DURING THE CARTOONS

Pressing Control and Z during any of the four cartoons reveals pieces of a ciphered message. When each of these fragments are deciphered and combined, the decoded message says the following:

ENTER THREE LETTER CODE WHEN YOU RETIRE

If the player presses Control and Z while a piece of said ciphered message is revealed, another small clue will be revealed:

DOUBLE HELIX

And with these clues in mind, the player must complete the game and successfully complete all five levels. Afterward, if the player types in DNA at the retirement screen, the following message is displayed on the screen:

AHA!  YOU MADE IT!
EITHER YOU ARE AN EXCELLENT GAME-PLAYER
OR (GAH!) PROGRAM-BREAKER!
YOU ARE CERTAINLY ONE OF THE FEW PEOPLE
THAT WILL EVER SEE THIS SCREEN.

THIS IS NOT THE END, THOUGH.

IN ANOTHER BR0DERBUND PRODUCT
TYPE 'Z0DWARE' FOR MORE PUZZLES.

HAVE FUN!  BYE!!

                      R.A.C.

This message is notable in that it took 33 years to find, mainly because of how obscured it was. It should be noted that it's currently unknown which game the player can type Z0DWARE in.

(Source: 4 a.m., qkumba)

Hidden Credits

While in-game, press Control-U, then Control-C, and then Control-B. The credits screen will then be seen.