▲
2
▼
Within the game is a series of hidden developer messages. The first one, which reads "PRESS CTRL-Z DURING THE CARTOONS," is accessible by enabling joystick mode and pressing button 1 after navigating the joystick cursor to the bottom-left of the title screen. If the player complies with the message and presses Ctrl-Z during the game's cutscenes, they'll be given different fragments of a cipher message; piecing them together and decoding them reveals the sentence "ENTER THREE LETTER CODE WHEN YOU RETIRE." Likewise, pressing Ctrl-Z while the game displays the cipher fragments brings up the phrase "DOUBLE HELIX," alluding to the shape of a DNA molecule. Accordingly, if the player types "DNA" on the retirement screen that appears after beating the game, they will receive a congratulatory message from programmer Robert Cook.
The complicated nature of this Easter egg resulted in it going undiscovered until 2016, when game preservationist 4a.m. tried cracking the ROM's atypically complex antipiracy protections while attempting to preserve as many Apple II games online as possible. Cook sent 4a.m. a congratulatory message on Twitter after discovering the secret, jokingly stating that "I assumed it would take a thousand, but you solved it in a mere 33 years."
The complicated nature of this Easter egg resulted in it going undiscovered until 2016, when game preservationist 4a.m. tried cracking the ROM's atypically complex antipiracy protections while attempting to preserve as many Apple II games online as possible. Cook sent 4a.m. a congratulatory message on Twitter after discovering the secret, jokingly stating that "I assumed it would take a thousand, but you solved it in a mere 33 years."
The Cutting Room Floor article:
https://tcrf.net/Gumball_(Apple_II)
Vice article:
https://www.vice.com/en/article/d7ydz7/it-took-33-years-for-someone-to-find-the-easter-egg-in-this-apple-ii-game-gumball
Robert Cook's congratulations:
https://twitter.com/robert_a_cook/status/741357633966219264
https://tcrf.net/Gumball_(Apple_II)
Vice article:
https://www.vice.com/en/article/d7ydz7/it-took-33-years-for-someone-to-find-the-easter-egg-in-this-apple-ii-game-gumball
Robert Cook's congratulations:
https://twitter.com/robert_a_cook/status/741357633966219264
Related Games
Lode Runner
Myst
Prince of Persia
Living Books: Green Eggs and Ham
Living Books: Dr. Seuss's ABC
Midnight Magic
Riven: The Sequel to Myst
Spelunker
Karateka
Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame
Reckless Rufus
The Simpsons Arcade Game
Tennis
Hard 'n' Heavy
Zombi
Metal Gear
Jet Set Willy
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Rampart
Klax
Uninvited
Pac-Land
Eric and the Floaters
Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing!
The Three Stooges
Solar Fox
Beyond the Ice Palace
Agent X II: The Mad Prof's Back!
Final Fight
Millipede
Space Quest: The Sarien Encounter
RoboCop
SimCity
Xevious
ThunderCats: The Lost Eye of Thundera
1942
Xenon
Creatures II: Torture Trouble
Herbert's Dummy Run
Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards
Bonanza Bros.
Bomb Jack II
Altered Beast
Uuno Turhapuro muuttaa maalle
Street Fighter
The Addams Family
Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny
Ghouls 'n Ghosts
Popeye
Castlevania