When you enter a "cheat code" into the cheat device though, it replaces (or " patches" to use a common technical term) the instruction from the ROM with the instruction you specify. (Literally - this is why they attach to the cartridge in the way they do.) In most cases, when the console asks the ROM what to do next, the cheat device simply passes that request on to the ROM, the ROM answers, and the game plays normally. The way these devices work is, they sit between the console and the ROM. There is a value in memory that is accessed to see how many lives Mario has, and that number is decreased by one. The mechanics of the game also include how other events are considered - such as what happens when Mario loses a life.
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All of this information about how to respond to a button press is encoded in the ROM. For instance, pressing A in Super Mario Brothers causes a sound to be played, Mario's sprite changes (he puts his hand up) and his sprite moves upwards for a given amount of time, and then he descends back to the ground. The game program/ROM essentially tells the system how the game is played. Since these ROM chips contain the game, sometimes we use the terms "game program" and "ROM" interchangeably. In a video game system, the data for the game is encoded in a number of Read-Only Memory (ROM) chips, on a circuit board, which we call the cartridge. James' answer to this question goes into some detail about the more "modern" approach to this problem. I believe more modern devices follow a similar principle, but are far more advanced. Source: Game hacker since 1999, founder of įor the purposes of this, I'm assuming we're talking about the "classic" GameShark/GameGenie devices, which sit between the cartridge and the hardware. There is plenty more info we could dive into, but that should give you a good basis for understanding. (how many lines it executes is up to the enhancer and often is an option in the codetype itself!) IF the comparison returns true, then the CodeHandler will execute the next line in the code. With Conditionals, the CodeHandler reads the value at the code's address and compares it to the value in the code. (changing whatever was there, like setting your health to 100!)Ĭonditionals (typical options are >, <, =, !=)
With RAM Write, the CodeHandler will take the value and place it at the address. RAM Writes (typical options are 8bit, 16bit, or 32bit)
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Now a code itself is separated into THREE parts: (other enhancers - like Gecko OS for Wii - don't need master codes because the enhancer itself has a handful of SDK-based hooks that it can "find" in the game while it loads.) Structure of codes If you are familiar with GameShark's " Master Code", that is what sets the hook. Once the Code Handler is finished executing, it returns the flow of programming back to the point of hijacking. What the hook actually does is redirect the flow of programming to the Code Handler the enhancer left behind. (because SDKs are used, this makes finding hooks that work in all games for a system much easier)
Specific locations in a game's programming that get executed roughly every frame (like reading the controller data) are where "hooks" will be placed. In doing so, it leaves behind a Code Handler in the system RAM and " hooks" the game's programming. When GameShark (and other game enhancer products/homebrew) gets loaded by the console, the enhancer is what launches the actual game.
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