The developer offered a tiny hint
The answer was found this week by Glenn “Netrix” Anderson, after atiny hint offered by the designer of the puzzle, Brandon Dillon. After finding the solution, Anderson, who is also a programmer in the video game industry,tweeted that, “It was really cool to take part in this experience. The incredibly talented team that made Hack ‘n’ Slash a reality has been an inspiration to me as a programmer and game developer.”
I’ve been avoiding spoiling the solution or the contents of the secret room, but Guillaume Fortin-Debigaré, a software analyst who has also worked in the games industry,has broken down the solution if you want to do it yourself. Once you get into the secret room, you’ll find"a special message from Brandon Dillon to the player before triggering the game’s win state. Using graphics not normally shown elsewhere in the game, Brandon explains the game’s backstory, the missing Act 1, and some additional insights into the people that made the game possible."
It’s always fun when a community is still exploring and uncovering new things in a game years after release, particularly when, as in Hack ‘n’ Slash’s case, the game is relatively obscure. It’s no surprise that this somewhat daunting puzzle game about programming is appealing to so many professional programmers, though.
