Lenslok is a
copy protection mechanism found in some computer games and other software on the
8-bit Atari computers,
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...
,
ZX Spectrum,
Sinclair QL,
MSX
MSX is a standardized home computer architecture, announced by Microsoft and ASCII Corporation on June 16, 1983. It was initially conceived by Microsoft as a product for the Eastern sector, and jointly marketed by Kazuhiko Nishi, then vice-p ...
and
Amstrad CPC. The first game to use it was ''
Elite
In political and sociological theory, the elite (french: élite, from la, eligere, to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. D ...
'' for the ZX Spectrum.
Overview
Lenslok was released in 1985 as a plastic lens in a foldaway frame.[ The Lenslok device was essentially a row of prisms arranged vertically in a plastic holder. Before the game started, a two-letter code was displayed on the screen, but it was corrupted by being split into vertical bands which were then rearranged on screen. By viewing these bands through the Lenslok they were restored to their correct order and the code could be read and entered allowing access to the game.]audio cassette
The Compact Cassette or Musicassette (MC), also commonly called the tape cassette, cassette tape, audio cassette, or simply tape or cassette, is an analog magnetic tape recording format for audio recording and playback. Invented by Lou Otten ...
in a standard case.
In order for the Lenslok to work correctly the displayed image has to be the correct size. This meant that before each use the software needed to be calibrated to take account of the size of the display. Users found this setup particularly annoying, at least in part because they found the instructions that were initially shipped unclear.[ and some games shipped with mismatched Lensloks that prevented the code from being correctly descrambled.]
Software
Lenslok was used only on 11 releases:Elite
In political and sociological theory, the elite (french: élite, from la, eligere, to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. D ...
'', released by Firebird
* ''The Advanced Music System'', released by Firebird
* ''Fighter Pilot
A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...
'', released by Digital Integration
* ''Graphic Adventure Creator
Graphic Adventure Creator (often shortened to GAC) is a game creation system/programming language for adventure games published by Incentive Software, originally written on the Amstrad CPC by Sean Ellis, and then ported to other platforms by, amon ...
'', released by Incentive Software
* ''Jewels of Darkness
''Jewels of Darkness'' is a trilogy of text adventure games by Level 9. The individual games were initially released separately in 1982. They featured some themes and names inspired by the books of J. R. R. Tolkien and so became known as the '' ...
'', released by Rainbird
* '' OCP Art Studio'', released by Rainbird
* ''The Price of Magik
''The Price of Magik'' is the third game in the '' Time and Magik'' trilogy.
Gameplay
Sequel to the previous game; Myglar the Magician, guardian of the Crystal, has become insane and is draining its energy for his own use; he must be defeated bef ...
'', released by Level 9 Computing
Level 9 was a British developer of computer software, active between 1981 and 1991. Founded by Mike, Nicholas and Pete Austin, the company produced software for the BBC Micro, Nascom, ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64, Oric, Atari, Lynx 48k, RML 380Z, ...
* ''Supercharge'', released by Digital Precision
* '' Tomahawk'', released by Digital Integration
* ''TT Racer'', released by Digital Integration
See also
* Product key
A product key, also known as a software key, serial key or activation key, is a specific software-based key for a computer program. It certifies that the copy of the program is original.
Product keys consist of a series of numbers and/or letters ...
References
{{Reflist
External links
Lenslok Instruction Sheet
(PDF file)
Bird Sanctuary - Lenslok
Article containing further details on Lenslok, with photographs.
LensKey
A Lenslok emulator allowing access to emulated
In computing, an emulator is hardware or software that enables one computer system (called the ''host'') to behave like another computer system (called the ''guest''). An emulator typically enables the host system to run software or use peri ...
versions of the games.
Copy protection
ZX Spectrum
Atari 8-bit family