BOFH: Servers Under Siege is a fan-made video game for the PC and the C64 developed by Covert Bitops. Based on the Bastard Operator from Hell stories, the game features the titular BOFH finding out that his workplace has been taken over by terrorists. However, said terrorists let all the people in the building leave and have instead took the computers hostage, and planted bombs inside the server racks. The BOFH decides that the logical course of action is to eliminate all the terrorists single-handedly and sneaks in.
In both versions, the goal is to defuse all the bombs in the server racks across the buildings and defeat the terrorist leaders on the sixth floor. The two versions feature similar gameplay with slight differences.
The game, in both of its versions, is available on the Covert Bitops website
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Tropes:
- "Die Hard" on an X: "Die Hard" in a school, except the computers are the hostages.
- Enemy-Detecting Radar: in the PC version, the BOFH may find a "scanner", which will display the locations of enemies, computers and pick-ups on a mini-map. However, its batteries deplete quickly and the BOFH may not use weapons while the scanner is active.
- Gameplay Randomization: which of the server racks have bombs in them, and how to defuse them, is randomized every time. The C64 version's manual includes a rough map of all the floors with indication of all the servers and their codenames.
- Improvised Weapon:
- If the BOFH finds a drill or a network cable, he will use them as weapons.
- The BOFH can find an Ethernet cable and use it as a whip.
- Made of Explodium: the computers and other pieces of technology will explode when damaged, hurting anyone nearby.
- One-Man Army: the BOFH, since even on the easiest difficulty he'll have to take down dozens of terrorists on his own.
- Real-Place Background: according to the manual of the C64 version, the game's map is based on a real building. Its layout makes it easy to realize that the building in question is a school (which is stated outright in the PC version).
- Revenge Before Reason: the BOFH is so enraged by the terrorists "kidnapping" his beloved computers, that he decides to take them on personally, without any weapons, instead of contacting the police.
- Terrorists Without a Cause: the terrorists (labeled the "Internet Salvation Force" in the PC version) don't seem to have any ideological beliefs aside from possibly disliking computers, and even then they decided to further their beliefs by... capturing a school?
- The Straight and Arrow Path: some of the terrorists are equipped with crossbows, and the BOFH can use one as well after taking their weapon. Crossbows don't alert enemies and can be used for stealth attacks.
- This Is a Drill: an electric drill can be used as a weapon by the BOFH.
- Top-Down View: used in both versions of the game.
- Wire Dilemma: in both versions, disarming the bombs in the server racks involves cutting wires. Notes on which wires to cut are obtained by eliminating technicians. In the C64 version, each note tells about a single wire that has to be cut on one of the racks, and these can be cut in any order. In the PC version, each note lists all four wires for a server rack that have to be cut in a specific order. Either way, cutting the wrong wire (or cutting them in the wrong order for the PC version) will blow it up and kill the BOFH.
