: At certain points (often upon startup or during specific in-game puzzles), the game would display a set of runes .
Design implications: scarcity, ceremony, and perceived authenticity
To understand the necessity of the code wheel, one must first understand the game itself. Released in English in 1995 by Megatech Software, Knights of Xentar is an action role-playing game (RPG). It is the third installment in the Japanese Dragon Knight series developed by ELF.
The 1990s represented a golden age for PC gaming, but it was also an era plagued by rampant software piracy. Before the ubiquity of digital rights management (DRM) and internet-based activation keys, game developers had to get creative to protect their intellectual property. One of the most iconic, nostalgic, and sometimes frustrating relics of this era was the physical copy protection device.
The game screen will display two symbols (e.g., a "sun" and a "dragon").
In the 1990s, software piracy was a significant concern for publishers. Physical copy protection, often in the form of , was a common solution. A code wheel typically consisted of two interlocking circles of printed cardboard. The player would align specific symbols or numbers and then input the code revealed in a specific window.