X.EXE. This is a DOS game made by an Estonian. It's a Xonix clone.

=====The file=====
For it's size, it's very playable. The game executable (X.EXE) is only 8107 bytes. The executable is from October 14, 1992, and the binary contains a few sentences in Estonian ("Kollarv läks üle max.-i", "Maxsamm läks lõhki !").

It may have been compiled using Turbo Pascal or similar, as the binary also contains text "Portions Copyright <nowiki>(c)</nowiki> 1983,90 Borland".

The binary is in  [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DOS_MZ_executable|MZ file format]] and also contains [[http://justsolve.archiveteam.org/wiki/LZEXE|LZ91 signature]], but regular UNLZEXE tools didn't work. What worked was [[https://github.com/virginwidow/mz-explode|mz-explode]]. To compile mz-explode, in Linux, I had to change line 407 in CMakeLists.txt (replaced "gcc49" with "gcc"), then I ran "cmake .", "make", and "bin/mzexplode X.EXE xoutput.exe".

  ~/src/mz-explode/bin/mzexplode X.EXE xoutput.exe
  Input file                      :       X.EXE
  .EXE size (bytes)               :       1fab    8107
  Initial CS:IP                   :       1db:e
  Initial SS:SP                   :       2e4:80
  Minimum allocation (para)       :       1238    4664
  Maximum allocation (para)       :       b238    45624
  Header Size (para)              :       2       2
  Relocation table offset         :       1c      28
  Relocation entries              :       0       0
  
  Output file                     :       xoutput.exe
  .EXE size (bytes)               :       2d40    11584
  Initial CS:IP                   :       0:c33
  Initial SS:SP                   :       bda:8000
  Minimum allocation (para)       :       1126    4390
  Maximum allocation (para)       :       c273    49779
  Header Size (para)              :       20      32
  Relocation table offset         :       1c      28
  Relocation entries              :       70      112

{{ :x.zip |Download X.EXE as ZIP}}

=====The game=====
The goal is to decrease the area where the balls can bounce, and to avoid balls hitting you and to avoid balls bouncing into each other. Otherwise, there will be a skull who will eat more area for the balls to bounce.

To complete each level, you need to fill a certain amount of area (or, make the area for the balls smaller than a certain size).

{{::x_exe.png?400|The game played in DosBOX}}

=====Videos=====
There used to be one Youtube video about this gameplay, but the channel Rozyx is deleted now. Original URL: https://www.youtube.com/@Rox00000/videos

I made a video about the gameplay: https://youtu.be/WqX6FNptlc8

=====Bugs=====
There are a few known bugs in the game.

Sometimes, there is a section of filled area created without any connection.

{{::x_exe_artefact.png?400|}}

If the score goes over 32767, it turns negative and current level may become impossible to be completed (as on following image).

{{ :x_exe_glitch1.png?400 |}}

In the last levels (maybe levels 12 and up), the game will have problems, and often a level will complete even if a 1x1 area is created.

This happens after you enter level 16: text in Estonian.

{{ :x_exe_level16.png?400 |}}
=====Other=====
The game might be related to a Xonix clone by Erik Jürviste that was just 4 kB (https://arvutimuuseum.ee/cs00000/).

P.S: If you know anything about this game, who made it etc, please contact me (jaan_r@yahoo.com)