Crack intro: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Credit sequence added to cracked software}}

{{Use British English|date=December 2024}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}

__NOTOC__

[[File:Quartex.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Cracktro for the cracking group Quartex on [[Amiga]]. A typical crack intro has a scrolling text runningmarquee at the bottom of the screen.]]

A '''crack intro''', alsocommonly knownabbreviated as a '''cracktro''', '''loader''', or just '''intro''', is a small introduction sequence added to [[keygen]]s and [[Software cracking|cracked software]]. It aimsaimed to inform the user which "cracking crew" or individual cracker removed the software's [[copy protection]] and distributed the crack or keygen.<ref name="EuroGamer" /><ref name="wired"/><ref name="0dayartTheVerge"/>

==History==

TheyCrack intros first appeared on [[Apple II]] computercomputers in the late 1970s or early 1980s,<ref name="wired" /><ref name="jason_scott_2010" /><ref name="reunanen2010" /> and then on [[ZX Spectrum]], [[Commodore 64]] and [[Amstrad CPC]] games that were distributed around the world via [[Bulletin Board System]]s (BBSes) and [[floppy disk]] copying.<ref name="reunanen2010"/> By 1985, when reviewing the commercially available [[ISEPIC]] cartridge which adds a custom crack intro to [[memory dump]]s of Commodore 64 software, ''[[Ahoy!]]'' wrote that such intros were "in the tradition of the true hacker".<ref name="kevelson198510"/> Early crack intros resemble [[graffiti]] in many ways, although they invaded the [[private sphere]] and not the public space.<ref name="carlsson2009" /><ref name="kotlinski2009" />

As time went on, crack intros became a medium to demonstrate the purported superiority of a cracking group.<ref name="jason_scott_2010" /> Such intros grew very complex, sometimes exceeding the size<ref name="arstechnica2013" /> and complexity<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalekultur.org/files/dk_whatisthedemoscene.pdf|title=The Demoscene|publisher=Digitale Kultur e.V.|access-date=2010-10-25}}

{{better source|date= June 2015}}</ref> of the software itself. Crack intros only became more sophisticated on more advanced systems such as the [[Commodore Amiga]], [[Atari ST]], and some [[IBM PC compatible]] clone systemss with sound cards.<ref name="reunanen2010" /> These intros feature big, colourful [[2D computer graphics|effects]], [[chiptune|music]], and [[Scrolling#Demos|scrollers]].<ref name="demographics" /><!-- 4:12+ -->

Cracking groups would use the intros not just to gain credit for cracking, but to advertise their [[Bulletin board system|BBSes]], greet friends, and gain themselves recognition.<ref name="jason_scott_2010" /> Messages were frequently of a vulgar nature, and on some occasions made threats of violence against software companies or the members of some rival crack-group.<ref name="jason_scott_2010" />

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Crack-intro programming eventually became an art form in its own right, and people started coding intros without attaching them to a crack just to show off how well they could program. This practice evolved into the [[demoscene]].<ref name="EuroGamer"/>

Crack intros and other small software created by [[Software cracker|software crackers]] such as [[Keygen|keygens]] and [[Patch (computing)|patches]] that remove protection from commercial applications often use chiptunes[[chiptune]]s made in the[[music formtracker]]s offor background music. These chiptunes are now still accessible as downloadable ''[[Module file#Music disk|musicdisks]]'' or ''musicpacks''.<ref name="chiptunes2009"/>

==See also==

* [[ChiptuneHacker subculture]]

* [[DemosceneList of warez groups]]

* ''[[Replay: The History of Video Games]]'' – The book describes the Dutch demo making as a major influence on video games in the 1980s.

* [[Warez scene]]

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<ref name="reunanen2010">{{cite thesis |title=Computer Demos – What Makes Them Tick? |last=Reunanen |first=Markku |date=2010-04-23 |publisher=[[Aalto University]] |url=http://www.kameli.net/demoresearch2/reunanen-licthesis.pdf}}</ref>

<ref name="carlsson2009">{{cite conference |url=http://www.mat.ucsb.edu/Publications/burbano_MAH2009.pdf |title=The Forgotten Pioneers of Creative Hacking and Social Networking – Introducing the Demoscene |last1=Carlsson |first1=Anders |date=2009 |publisher=Cubitt, Sean & Thomas, Paul (eds.) |book-title=Re:live: Media Art Histories 2009 Conference Proceedings |pages=16–20 |___location=University of Melbourne & Victorian College of the Arts and Music |isbn=978-0-9807186-3-8}}</ref>

<ref name="kotlinski2009">{{cite web |url=http://chipflip.org/dox/kotlinski_(2009)_amiga_music_programs_89-95.pdf |title=Amiga Music Programs 1985–1995 |last1=Kotlinski |first1=Johan |date=2009 }}{{Dead link|date=June 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}<!--A seminar paper on the history of Amiga music programs, mostly trackers.--></ref>

<ref name="chiptunes2009">{{cite journal |url=http://journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/twc/article/view/96/94 |title=Endless loop: A brief history of chiptunes |first1=Driscoll |last1=Kevin |first2=Joshua |last2=Diaz |year=2009 |journal=[[Transformative Works and Cultures]]|volume=2 |issue=2 |doi=10.3983/twc.2009.0096 |quote=As the demo scene established its independence, chiptunes were carried out of the gaming sphere altogether to finally establish their own stand-alone format: the downloadable musicdisk.|doi-access=free }}</ref>

<!-- Books -->

<!-- not currently used as a citation

<ref name="donovan2010">{{cite book|author=Tristan Donovan|title=Replay: The History of Video Games|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_lrSSAAACAAJ|year=2010|publisher=Yellow Ant|isbn=978-0-9565072-0-4}}<!--http://pastebin.com/pnQcM3tE--></ref> -->

<!-- News, magazine -->

<ref name="kevelson198510">{{citeCite news |last=Kevelson |first=Morton |date=October 1985 |title=Isepic |url=https://archive.org/streamdetails/Ahoy_Issue_22_1985ahoy-10_Ion_International_US#magazine-22/page/n69n70/mode/2up1up?view=theater |titleaccess-date=Isepic2025-01-14 |work=Ahoy! |date=October 1985 |last=Kevelson |first=Morton |pages=71–73}}</ref>

<ref name="EuroGamer">{{cite web |url=http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=291159 |title=Linger in Shadows |first=Dan |last=Whitehead |date=2008-11-12 |website=[[Eurogamer]] |access-date=2010-10-23 |quote=Amateur coders busy cracking the copy-protection on the latest Commodore 64 and ZX Spectrum games got into the habit of marking their work with an animated intro - or "cracktro" - inserted before the game began. |archive-date=2019-09-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190924195029/https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/linger-in-shadows-hands-on |url-status=dead }}</ref>

<ref name="0dayartTheVerge">{{cite web|last=Kopfstein|first=Janus|title=0-Day Art: saving digital art one torrent at a time - Net pirate provocateurs challenge the monetization of online works |url=https://www.theverge.com/2012/4/23/2961601/0-day-art-digital-art-torrents-piracy|work=TheVerge|date=2012-04-23|access-date=2012-04-26}}</ref>

<ref name="arstechnica2013">{{cite web |url=https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/04/a-history-of-the-amiga-part-9-the-demo-scene/ |title=A history of the Amiga, part 8: The demo scene |first=Jeremy |last=Reimer |date=2013-04-29 |website=[[Ars Technica]]}}</ref>

<ref name="wired">{{cite webmagazine |url=https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/3.07/democoders.html |title=Demo or Die! |first=Dave |last=Green |date=July 1995 |workmagazine=Wired |access-date=2010-10-23}}</ref>

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==Further reading==

* {{cite journal |first1=Markku |last1=Reunanen |first2=Patryk |last2=Wasiak |first3=Daniel |last3=Botz |title=Crack Intros: Piracy, Creativity and Communication |journal=[[International Journal of Communication]] |volume=9 |pages=798–817 |year=2015 |issn=1932-8036 |url=http://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/3731}}

* Patryk Wasiak, [http://www.zeithistorische-forschungen.de/16126041-Wasiak-2-2012 ‘Illegal Guys’]. A History of Digital Subcultures in Europe during the 1980s, in: Zeithistorische Forschungen/Studies in Contemporary History, Online-Ausgabe, 9 (2012), H. 2

* {{cite web |first=George |last=Borzyskowski |date=November 1996 |title=The Hacker Demo Scene and Its Cultural Artifacts |url=http://greent.mindnever.org/demoscene.pdf |publisher=Curtin University of Technology}}<!-- A paper presented at the Cybermind Conference 1996 in Perth, Australia --> Read online: [http://www.scheib.net/play/demos/what/borzyskowski/ http://www.scheib.net/play/demos/what/borzyskowski/].

* Hastik, Canan; Steinmetz, Arnd (2012a): [http://canan.hastik.de/science/cerc2012.pdf Demoscene Artists and Community] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131212154444/http://canan.hastik.de/science/cerc2012.pdf |date=2013-12-12 }}. In Bours, Patrick; Humm, Bernhard; Loew, Robert; Stengel, Ingo; Walsh, Paul (eds.): Proceedings of CERC 2012, pp.&nbsp;43–48.

* Driscoll, Kevin; Diaz, Joshua (2009): [http://journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/twc/article/view/96/94 Endless Loop: A Brief History of Chiptunes]. Transformative Works and Cultures 9, 2009.

* {{cite journal |url=http://widerscreen.fi/numerot/2014-1-2/crackers-became-us-demosceners/ |title=How Those Crackers Became Us Demosceners |first=Markku |last=Reunanen |date=2014-04-15 |journal=WiderScreen |issue=1–2}}

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==External links==

* [http://www.intros.c64.org World of C64 Crackintros] &ndash; A large collection of C64 cracktros in native "prg" file format (supported by most C64 emulators)

* [http://www.defacto2.net/cracktros.cfm Defacto2] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051231045334/http://www.defacto2.net/cracktros.cfm |date=2005-12-31 }} &ndash; Hundreds of cracktros, loaders and installers for the PC

* [http://amp.dascene.net Amiga Music Preservation] &ndash; Thousands of cracktros in all tracker formats.

* [http://www.chiptune.com/ Chiptune.com] &ndash; A chiptune dedicated website containing thousands of chiptunes from Amiga and other formats. The website itself emulates the [[Amiga Workbench|Amiga Workbench 1.3]].