## Description
FastTracker 2 was an early successful PC .MOD-tracking music composition
utility, early competition for Future Crew’s ScreamTracker but more clearly
inspired by Amiga tracking software that preceded them both. When called upon
to explain its success against such strong competition, some will mumble
something about the mouse support, or give a nod toward the ability to “play
along” with your song-in-progress in realtime using the computer keyboard.
These half-hearted attempts dance around the most telling ingredient in
FastTracker 2’s success: it contained a fully-functioning clone of Nibbles,
Microsoft’s QBasic take on the classic “snake game” spectacularly depicted
with “light bikes” in the feature film _Tron_.
Since the implementation of this game was not the main attraction, it was not
especially feature-rich, and only occupied a fraction of the screen display.
Nonetheless, all the salient characteristics were there: the boxy worms
(multiplayer mode optional) would grow accordingly in length after eating the
numbered boxes, dieing after colliding with the walls, each other, their own
body or other obstacles. Additional gameplay flavours included variable play
speed, absent boundary barriers permitting “wrap”-around, and a superimposed
grid indicating more clearly if your snake was about to eat a number-box or
munch its own tail.
(Apparently some people also used FastTracker 2 to compose music with 8)
FastTracker 2 (included game)