Most programmers in video games sadly go unnoticed, especially in this day and age of gaming. The focus is generally more on the designers, producers, concept artists and voice actors. Well, not all programmers fade into the background. Kazuhisa Hashimoto was possibly one of the most famous programmers of all time. Known for his code ↑ ↑ ↓ ↓ ← → ← → B, A, Start. Rather like the Wilhelm Scream, this has lived on past its initial use. Over three decades later we still can find it as an Easter egg in games.
While this is week old news, I thought it would be a fine moment to pay tribute to Kazuhisa Hashimoto and also use it as a reason to showcase some fine VP talents work. I have hunted down some shots from games that have paid their own tribute to the programmer's code and included them for you to see here.
Originally the code was created to play the NES port of Gradius during its development cycle, as Kazuhisa Hashimoto felt it was too difficult to play. Since then it had been used in over one hundred games, below are a handful of examples.
In Fortnite the code was used to unlock a Space Invaders mini game for a limited time ahead of Chapter 2.
Above and below, two shots of Harely Quinn from Fortnite by the ever-talented Scionjay96
The code showed up in BioShock Infinite unlocking the more difficult "1999 Mode" from the start.
Above and below mypath_inlife showcases two (of many) breathtaking BioShock Infinite shots.
Boarderlands 2 uses it on the menu screen to unlock "extra wubs", but in lacking a photo mode I decided to go with the even more beautiful Boarderlands 3.
The two wonderful shots above are from Artistry Impact, showing the wonderful juxtaposition between Boarderland's grim wastelands and urban landscapes.
Above and below we have two more shots from Tisben, which portray the neon chaos of the game wonderfully.
In Metal Gear Solid 2, 3, 4 and Rising: Vengeance the code was used for a variety of Easter eggs within the games.
Once again the Metal Gear series has no photomode, so here are two captures from Tonio Game Show, one of very few VPs that I have seen upload content from the series.
If entered at the title screen of Rocket League it replaces the title screen with the original games title: Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle Cars.
GTA Online features an arcade game titled Invade and Persuade, if used the code lets you start with 99 lives.
Above and below are two shots by Saucy_Reaper of GTA Online using the Rockstar Editor as the game has no photo mode.
It is nice to consider that one simple line of code inspired so many. Hopefully seeing these VP shots also inspired you as much as they do me. Happy shooting VPs, I look forward to what you have in store for us.
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