10 Times Video Games "Helped" (And Made Everything Worse)

As a game released in 1987 with ASCII graphics that many would rather not glimpse at now, it may be surprising that HetHack is still worth talking about. After all, if you showed many people a screenshot of it, they'd likely think you fell asleep on your keyboard.

But there's a reason that a fan community still exists for it now, and that's because it's the grandaddy of many of the games and gameplay mechanics we know and love today.

However, this also means it's the grandaddy of many of the weirder mechanics we know today - something that is best shown to us through polymorph, an ability that can turn you into a random monster.

The thing about polymorphing is that, in NetHack, it can easily be a blessing or a curse dependant on both the player's skills, and also a healthy dose of luck.

Because, while this new form is sort of a second life - letting you go back to your normal form when killed - it can be a profoundly unsatisfying one. Turn into a fragile creature, and the official advice is to throw on object up in the air to fall on you until you die, all the while super bitter that you didn't transform into a cool dragon.