Game Idea: Hacking Edition
Apr 17, 2026
I want to make a video game. I keep having this idea bounce around my noggin. I imagine a hacking game. Somewhere between Watchdogs and Hacknet.
I loved the stealth and infiltration of Watchdogs 2. I loved the “real feel” of Hacknet. Both are gamified of course. But hacknet made you feel like the real deal. Watchdogs 2 made you feel like a revolutionary and spy. Both had drawbacks.
Hacknet limited you to your singular OS interface. It was immersive. You really felt like a lone hacker in his home wreaking havoc. But it ended up being a bit repetitive.
Watchdogs hacking was overly gamified. Press a single button to own a car and send it flying forward. It was fun and made you feel powerful. But left me wanting something more involved.
My dream game is something right in the middle of those two games. The more involved hacking of Hacknet, combined with the infiltration of Watchdogs 2. You get assigned a target. A personal computer with some files on it. A server that needs a virus. A network that needs taken down. A power grid that needs taken offline. You load into the level. You scout out the building. You bring equipment in with you. Jammers to bring down devices on the network. A personal laptop, or wrist computer thingy, to jack into the local network and start enumerating devices. Find ways to exploit the cameras, doors, security measures, etc. Guards will be on deck roaming around. Then you execute. Move in after planning your way through the map.
It could be fun if it became a choreographed heist. After enumeration and planning, you set into motion the chain of payloads delivered and move through the map as things break around you. Teardown did this concept really well, though with brute force instead of hacking. Though a more “inflitrate and sneak” approach could also be a lot of fun. That would leave more room for recon tools, like the drone and spiderbot from Watchdogs 2. As well as offensive tools, like fancy taser or whatever.
No matter the direction, the player character should never feel strong. I want to keep the vulnerable nerd feeling. You’re not a strong secret agent of death. You’re a geek with some tools and a job.
Games are a lot of work, but this idea has been banging around in my head for a long time. The way I imagine it hasn’t been done before, not really. It could perform well if I execute even decently. The hard part as guy doing it in his free time is keeping the scope small, so this doesn’t take the rest of my life.