Incident: Data Loss Crisis During Pokemon Red and Blue Development.

Published Date: 2018-09-28

Postmortem Analysis
Timeline 1. The software failure incident where Game Freak almost lost all the data for Pokemon Red and Blue due to a computer crash happened during the development of the games, which took four years [76211]. 2. The article was published on September 28, 2018. 3. Estimation: The incident likely occurred sometime during the development phase of Pokemon Red and Blue, which started around 1994. Considering the four-year development timeline mentioned in the article, the software failure incident likely happened around 1998 (September 28, 1998). Therefore, the software failure incident happened around September 1998.
System 1. Sun Sparcstation 1 computers running Unix [76211].
Responsible Organization 1. The software failure incident was caused by a computer crash on the Sun Sparcstation 1 computers used by the development team at Game Freak during the creation of Pokemon Red and Blue [76211].
Impacted Organization 1. Game Freak's development team [76211]
Software Causes 1. The software cause of the failure incident was a nasty computer crash on the Sun Sparcstation 1 computers running Unix, which nearly resulted in all the data for the game, including all the Pokemon, the main character, and everything, being lost [76211].
Non-software Causes 1. Hardware failure: The Sun Sparcstation 1 computers used by the team were prone to crashing, leading to the risk of data loss [76211].
Impacts 1. The software failure incident almost resulted in the loss of all the data for the Pokemon Red and Blue games after four years of development, causing a significant risk to the project's completion [76211].
Preventions 1. Regularly backing up the data to prevent loss in case of a crash [76211]. 2. Implementing a more stable and reliable computer system for development work to avoid crashes [76211].
Fixes 1. Implementing a robust data backup system to prevent data loss in case of crashes [76211]. 2. Seeking advice from experts or previous colleagues for guidance on recovering data from crashes [76211]. 3. Conducting thorough research and exploring different resources to troubleshoot and resolve the issue [76211].
References 1. Junichi Masuda, director at Game Freak, who worked as a composer and programmer on the original Pokemon games [76211].

Software Taxonomy of Faults

Category Option Rationale
Recurring one_organization (a) The software failure incident of a computer crash that almost resulted in losing all the data during the development of Pokemon Red and Blue happened at Game Freak, the developer of the games [76211]. Junichi Masuda, one of Game Freak's directors, mentioned the incident where their Sun Sparcstation 1 computers running Unix crashed, putting all the game data at risk. (b) There is no specific mention in the provided article about a similar software failure incident happening at other organizations or with their products and services.
Phase (Design/Operation) design (a) The software failure incident described in the article was related to the design phase of the development process. The incident occurred during the development of Pokemon Red and Blue when a computer crash almost resulted in the loss of all the data for the game, including the Pokemon characters and main character. The team was using Sun Sparcstation 1 computers running Unix, which were prone to crashing. The incident highlighted the vulnerability of the system during the design phase of the game development process [76211]. (b) There is no specific information in the article about a software failure incident related to the operation phase or misuse of the system.
Boundary (Internal/External) within_system (a) The software failure incident described in the article is within_system. The incident occurred due to a nasty computer crash on the Sun Sparcstation 1 computers running Unix that the team at Game Freak was using to develop Pokemon Red and Blue. The crash nearly resulted in all the data for the game, including the Pokemon characters and main character, being lost after four years of development [76211]. Junichi Masuda, one of the directors at Game Freak, mentioned that they had to overcome this challenge internally by conducting research, seeking advice from a former employer, and consulting with an internet service provider to recover the data stored on the computers.
Nature (Human/Non-human) non-human_actions (a) The software failure incident in the article was primarily due to non-human actions. The incident occurred because of a nasty computer crash on the Sun Sparcstation 1 computers running Unix that the team was using to develop the Pokemon Red and Blue games. The machines were prone to crashing, and this crash nearly resulted in all the data for the game, including all the Pokemon and main character data, being lost [76211]. Junichi Masuda and his team had to work hard to recover the data and solve the problem, which was a critical moment in the development process.
Dimension (Hardware/Software) hardware (a) The software failure incident in the article was related to hardware. The incident occurred due to a computer crash on Sun Sparcstation 1 computers running Unix, which nearly resulted in the loss of all the data for the Pokemon Red and Blue games [76211]. Junichi Masuda mentioned that the team faced a really bad crash on the computers that had all the data for the game, including the Pokemon characters and other essential elements. The machines were prone to crashing, leading to a critical situation where the data was at risk of being lost [76211]. (b) The software failure incident was not directly related to contributing factors originating in software. The issue was primarily caused by a hardware failure, specifically a computer crash on the Unix machines being used for game development [76211].
Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) non-malicious (a) The software failure incident described in the article was non-malicious. It was not caused by any malicious intent but rather by a computer crash that nearly resulted in the loss of all the data for the Pokemon Red and Blue games during their development [76211].
Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) accidental_decisions (a) The software failure incident described in the article was not due to poor decisions but rather an accidental event caused by a computer crash that nearly resulted in the loss of all the data for the Pokemon Red and Blue games. The incident was a result of the machines being used for development, Sun Sparcstation 1 computers running Unix, being prone to crashing, leading to a nerve-racking moment for the development team [76211].
Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) development_incompetence, accidental (a) The software failure incident described in the article can be attributed to development incompetence. The incident occurred due to a computer crash that nearly resulted in all the data for the Pokemon Red and Blue games being lost. The team at Game Freak was using Sun Sparcstation 1 computers running Unix, which were prone to crashing. The developer, Junichi Masuda, mentioned that they didn't know how to recover the computer from the crash, which had all the data for the game, including the Pokemon and main character details. Masuda had to conduct extensive research, seek advice from former colleagues, and even consult English language books on Unix machines to solve the problem, highlighting the lack of expertise in handling such situations [76211]. (b) The software failure incident can also be considered accidental as the crash that led to the potential loss of data was not intentional but rather an unexpected event. The crash was described as a "really bad crash" that the team did not know how to recover from, indicating that it was an accidental occurrence rather than a deliberate action [76211].
Duration temporary (a) The software failure incident described in the article was temporary. The incident occurred when there was a nasty computer crash that nearly resulted in all the data for the Pokemon Red and Blue games being lost. The team was using Sun Sparcstation 1 computers running Unix, which were prone to crashing. Junichi Masuda mentioned that they didn't know how to recover the computer from the crash, and it felt like they might lose all the data for the game. However, Masuda and his colleagues were able to ultimately solve the problem after doing research and seeking advice from various sources [76211].
Behaviour crash (a) The software failure incident described in the article is a crash. The incident involved a computer crash that nearly resulted in all the data for the Pokemon game being lost. The system lost its state and was not performing its intended functions, which caused a significant risk to the project [76211].

IoT System Layer

Layer Option Rationale
Perception None None
Communication None None
Application None None

Other Details

Category Option Rationale
Consequence unknown (a) death: People lost their lives due to the software failure (b) harm: People were physically harmed due to the software failure (c) basic: People's access to food or shelter was impacted because of the software failure (d) property: People's material goods, money, or data was impacted due to the software failure (e) delay: People had to postpone an activity due to the software failure (f) non-human: Non-human entities were impacted due to the software failure (g) no_consequence: There were no real observed consequences of the software failure (h) theoretical_consequence: There were potential consequences discussed of the software failure that did not occur (i) other: Was there consequence(s) of the software failure not described in the (a to h) options? What is the other consequence(s)? The consequence of the software failure incident: The articles do not mention any consequences such as death, harm, basic needs impact, property loss, or non-human impact due to the software failure incident. The incident mainly focused on the potential loss of all data for the Pokemon game due to a computer crash, which was averted through the team's efforts and problem-solving [76211].
Domain entertainment (a) The failed system in the article was related to the entertainment industry. The incident involved the development of the original Pokemon Red and Blue games by Game Freak, which are classic Nintendo Game Boy games that fall under the entertainment category [76211].

Sources

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