Because they actually cared...

Im sure many of you will know the term 'Easter Egg'.

It is the name given to hidden messages, motifs, or even features in media, most commonly found in video games.

This usage of the term was coined by Steve Wright, an Atari director in the 80s. But this moment of phrasing isn't the interesting part of the story. The interesting part is why Atari directors suddenly felt the need to to address, name, and define the presence of these hidden inclusions.

You see, company policy at Atari in the 80s - like many other video game manufactures- was to not credit the programmers who actually made the games. They did this ostensibly because they didn't want their programmers being headhunted, though primarily the reason was because they did not want individual programmers using their accreditation as bargaining power in future internal negotiations.

It was, in short, a scummy thing to do.

Especially when you factor in the sheer insane level of crunch these programmers were working through, with limited resources and all at a time when they were often in 1-3 person that were essentially building & laying the track even as they drove the train.

So it is understandable that one of these programmers decided they would actually rather like their name signed to the artform that their industry and they as creatives were currently not only producing, but pioneering. This programmer was Warren Robinett, and during the creation of the 1979 game 'Adventure' he would hide a secret message, accessible only through a hidden trigger, simply reading;

'Created by Warren Robinett'.

Now Warren would leave Atari soon after the release of 'Adventure' so when this hidden message was discovered by the gaming public a little while later, Atari could hardly punish anyone. They initially wanted to recall the game and republish it with updated code, but this was deemed too expensive. It is here we find Steve Wright, the director we mentioned at the start, he suggests they keep these inclusions, and even encourage them in the future, describing them as "Easter eggs for consumers to find"

With this a unique artistic microcosm was formed within the nascent art form of video games and digital media as a whole.

It is worth noting that Robinett's easter egg was not the first. There were a small handful of others from 1975 through to the release of 'Adventure'. But i think Robinett's is worthy of noting not only because it lead to the colloquial naming, but because it plainly demonstrates what I find so truly wonderful about easter eggs; They represent an artists passion.

Whilst that may well be a passion born out of frustration with a menial bit of level design. The passionate desire to remind yourself of your creative humanity, your autonomy in amongst walls of faceless code. Or in this case the passion brought forth from justified pride in work well done, that others claim credit for.

But regardless it is a sign of passion, of autonomy, and humanity. It is not something you do if you no longer care for anything, it is a sign of hope, of resilience, of life. It is silly and small, and they can go unnoticed for decades, but that is why its so beautiful, and why I will always hunt for easter eggs.

They remind us that in a world so impossibly large, where we are so infinitesimal small, we can still make a mark, so long as we care to do so.