Google Images Terminal Easter Egg
👇 Scroll down to play!
Quick Facts
Search Google Images via a BBS‑style terminal — results render as ASCII art.
N. Landsteiner
2012
Available on elgooG
Interact with the Easter Egg
How It Was Made
Concept Overview
Before graphical browsers took over, images on Bulletin Board Systems (BBSs) were often shared as ASCII art — pictures built entirely from text characters. This constraint sparked a distinctive visual style and plenty of creative problem-solving in the early online era.
Google Images Terminal extends the Google Terminal concept to image search, recreating how visuals could be experienced in a text-only world.
Inspiration and Development
Created by N. Landsteiner of mass:werk (www.masswerk.at) as a companion to the Google BBS Terminal, this project tackles a fun challenge: make modern, high-resolution image search work within the limits of 1980s terminals. The solution — rendering results as ASCII art on the fly — shows how creativity thrives under constraints. We’re happy to help preserve and share this clever tribute to early digital art.
The Easter Egg Experience
Key Features
You’ll get the same authentic terminal feel as the Google Terminal — green phosphor glow, subtle flicker, modem handshakes, the works. The twist: every image result is displayed as surprisingly detailed ASCII art, echoing how BBS users shared visuals back in the day.
How It Works
Search images through a little time machine that turns today’s pictures into captivating text-based art.
How to Play
- Click the button above to connect.
- Enjoy the nostalgic modem sequence — sounds included.
- At the prompt, enter your image search.
- Press Enter to run the query.
- Watch as results are rendered live as ASCII art.
- Keep exploring to see more text-based visuals.
This creative extension highlights N. Landsteiner’s technical flair and sense of play. The original lives at Mass Werk. On-the-fly ASCII conversion offers a hands-on look at how people shared visuals before graphical browsers — turning limits into a distinctive form of digital expression.
Final Thoughts
Google Images Terminal blends modern search with retro display tech in a way that feels fresh and fun. Though unofficial, it captures the spirit of early computing — resourceful, curious, and a bit mischievous. Try it and see how yesterday’s text art reimagines today’s images.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is Google Images Terminal?
Google Images Terminal brings image search to an authentic 1980s-style terminal — complete with monospaced type, a blinking cursor, and live ASCII rendering that turns pictures into text.
Inspired by Squirrel-Monkey.com’s playful “If Google were invented in the 1980s,” this project by N. Landsteiner faithfully channels the BBS era. It’s not an official Google product, but it’s a smart, affectionate nod to pre-browser image sharing.
Features include a virtual keyboard for easy input, monochrome display options (classic green or amber), optional CRT scan lines, and real-time ASCII rendering that transforms any image into surprisingly detailed text-based artwork.