CipherList: The Terminal

6x6 Matrix Puzzle Game

Based on breach protocol style matrix puzzles. The goal is to select values from a 6x6 matrix that most optimally complete the keys on the right. The player is awarded points based on the complexity of the sequence they are able to select in the matrix and get it into the limited number of spaces in the buffer. 

Game modes:

• Free play mode where you can just solve the puzzles for fun or practice. 
• Timed mode where you are given only 60 seconds per puzzle and there are a total of 10 puzzles.
• Timed mode where you get as many points as possible in 5 minutes.

Target Platforms:

• Windows
• SteamDeck (SteamOS via Proton)

In order to play this game on Steam Deck I would recommend installing it via the Itch.io app. You can use these steps found here.  You will need to show hidden files if you install the game in the .config directory when browsing to find the .exe. You will also need to make sure to go into Settings -> Compatibility -> check "Force the use of a specific Steam Play compatibility tool" -> select Proton, once the game is Added to Steam.

Mac and other Linux distros like Ubuntu may be added if there is a need or I find myself with the time to create releases for them.

Game Design / Inspiration:

These puzzles have the same ruleset as the Breach Protocol puzzles in the game Cyberpunk 2077. If you have not played or solved those types of puzzles before you may wish to play in the Free Play mode in order to get some experience and learn how to solve them. These puzzles are not always solvable as they're randomly generated, but due to weighting of optional values you should be able to get some points on almost every puzzle variation.

The design of this game pulls in elements of older Mainframe and DOS based computer systems that require usage of the F keys (or PF keys).

That is part of why the UI is not as intuitive as it could be, and does not allow you to click some buttons. It is meant to be a combination of the old Windows XP days and my childlike ideas of hacking into the "Mainframe" back then.

It does offer gamepad support, but is limited to Xbox and PlayStation controllers. Any other gamepad will be assumed to be an Xbox controller and you may need to translate the button mapping to what is displayed on screen.

This game/game engine was built using  MonoGame. 

Synthwave soundtrack (songs by Jake Kirkbride):

•  Losing Light
•  Around
•  Neon Thump

Sound effects were all Creative Commons licensed (allowing for Commercial use) and sourced from freesound.org. These are not copyright or owned by me, and they have their own licensing agreements.

All of the sprites and artwork were created by Jake Kirkbride in Aseprite.

With an obvious reference for the background:

• Bliss (Windows XP wallpaper) by Charles O'Rear 

The Fonts were Bitmap Fonts created by ChevyRay on Itch.io and part of their amazing Font pack that can be purchased here. I break their rules and do some scaling on them, but trust me they're much better than I make them look in my game here. :)

EDIT:

An update was pushed on 11/4/2024 that fixes the matrix row/column highlighting alignment issues on some monitors. There was also a small update on a settings button Label to make it more clear.

When downloading the new version of the game you can keep your previous settings and High Score data by copying the settings.json file from your existing version of the game and overlaying the default one included in the download.