Hacker Cracking

Welcome to Hacker Cracking, a word puzzle game where you crack codes by finding hidden 4-letter sequences.

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Please note that this message is additional content: My email address (luozonghan88@gmail.com(main email)) was blocked four hours before the competition ended when I submitted my project.

I was worried that I wouldn't be able to submit my project to the competition, so I submitted it again using this account (my2607044640@gmail.com). I hope you and your team can understand the reason for my duplicate submission.

---------- Forwarded message --------- From: cold riki luozonghan88@gmail.com Date: Friday, September 19, 2025, 7:55 PM Subject: Account was flagged by our automated processes! To: support@devpost.com

Hello, there are only four hours left before the competition ends. When I was uploading the competition content, my account was flagged by our automated processes! (Your account was flagged by our automated processes and is currently suspended pending review. Please email support@devpost.com within 30 days to resolve.) Therefore, I will use another email address to upload my project. competition project first. I hope you and your team can understand the reason.

Inspiration

I've always been fascinated by the intersection of cyberpunk aesthetics and word puzzles. Growing up playing games like Wordle and watching movies like The Matrix, I wanted to create something that captured that "hacker cracking codes" feeling while being genuinely challenging and fun.

What it does

Hacker Cracking is a daily word puzzle game where players crack 4-letter codes from a grid of 6 letters. Each day, everyone gets the same set of letters, but here's the twist - our anti-cheat system ensures each player gets a different solution, preventing solution sharing while maintaining fair competition. Players have 10 attempts to crack the code using a color-coded feedback system (green for correct position, red for wrong position, black for not in solution). The game features daily leaderboards, custom level creation, and a full cyberpunk aesthetic with matrix rain effects and terminal-style UI.

How we built it

Built on Reddit's Devvit platform using TypeScript/JavaScript with a client-server architecture. The frontend uses HTML5 Canvas for custom graphics and animations, while the backend handles Redis-based data persistence, leaderboards, and user management. Key technical features include anti-cheat randomization system using time-based random selection, Pacific Time synchronization for daily resets, real-time leaderboards with duplicate prevention, custom level sharing via Reddit posts, and responsive design that maintains the retro terminal aesthetic.

Challenges we ran into

The biggest challenge was implementing the anti-cheat system. Initially, players could share solutions, making daily competitions unfair. We went through multiple iterations - from complex seeded random approaches to crypto-based randomization - before settling on a simple but effective solution that picks 4 random letters from the daily 6-letter set every time a player enters the game. Another major challenge was timezone handling for daily resets and leaderboard duplicate entry prevention.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Perfect anti-cheat system that prevents solution sharing while maintaining fair daily competitions, seamless Reddit integration for custom level sharing, immersive cyberpunk aesthetic with Matrix rain effects and terminal styling

What we learned

We learned valuable lessons about timezone handling in global applications, building fair competitive systems, and how powerful community-driven features can be when integrated with Reddit's platform.

What's next for Hacker Cracking

weekly competitions, difficulty levels (easy, medium, hard daily challenges)

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