Bitburner mixes real JavaScript with a dystopian cyberpunk game world in which you mime the hacker yourself. Players are enthusiastic.
Coding, one of the most important skills of our time, remains a closed book for many people. But it doesn’t have to stay that way in the new year 2022! Because there is a game on Steam that introduces you to JavaScript in a playful way. The important scripting language is used in browsers, but also by hackers.
And that’s exactly the kind of wannabe neo you play in Bitburner, a free-to-play hacking role-playing game released on Steam on 11 December 2021. To automate processes and scam money, you even write your own scripts under guidance. In this way, you will be able to learn the basics of JavaScript. On the Steam page, the developers explain that basic knowledge of programming is helpful, but not absolutely necessary.
How Bitburner works
From the very beginning, Bitburner takes you by the hand. You search for servers using simple terminal commands and connect to one in order to finally hack it by command and capture money. In the process, your character’s hacking ability improves, which later even gives you access to secured servers. You can also weaken servers to gain access more easily.
So that you no longer have to perform every hack manually, you write your own scripts that target servers independently. The goal is to automate large parts of the gameplay according to the idle principle. You will be able to answer real programming questions, play mini-games, trade on the stock exchange and upgrade your character with augmentations.
The better you learn to understand JavaScript and turn your knowledge into your own scripts, the more efficient you become at earning money. This is an unusual form of progression that is directly tied to gaining real world skills.
Players celebrate Bitburner
On Steam, gamers are literally gushing with praise. Of over 1,000 reviews, 95 percent are positive as of today. Fans praise the simple basic mechanics, which, however, gain in game depth and challenge through the possible complex scripts. For example, (Cake Eater Games)
writes
An absolutely fantastic programming challenge!
The game features “simple” mechanics that are very easy to understand. Hack the user, increase their money, steal their money, weaken their security.
SIMPLE, RIGHT?! Now automate it! And create a script that takes full advantage of these mechanisms. The game mechanics are simple, but automating them and understanding the maths behind them is not. And that is why I love this game.
For gamers (Oatmealine), Bitburner clearly stands out from other idle games:
In most idle games, you see people having ridiculous playtimes – mostly because they turn it on and leave it on to get extra stuff while not focusing on the game.
With this game? No. I haven’t slept in 2 days. 10/10
