It doesn’t happen often but I’ve seen it a few times. Why would NES graphics turn into numbers when they glitch out?
In: Technology
NES graphics were stored in memory tables, and the program code contained very simple instructions on how to index into the table and pull out the right graphic.
If the program bugged out, it would start looking at improper places in the table, and pulling out whatever it found — programs can only do exactly what they’re told, and if you give them bad input, they’ll give you bad output.
In some cases, this causes the game to pull too many numbers out, and draw too many symbols — and it will faithfully pull and draw until it finishes.
[This video](https://youtu.be/NKKfW8X9uYk) does a really good job of explaining the Pac-Man “kill screen,” the glitchy mess that occurs when level 256 overflows the level symbol drawing subroutine.
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